Applied Biodynamics — Issue No. 106 (Winter 2022)

Issue No. 106 is a winter issue oriented toward inward activity, preparation making, and conceptual clarification of biodynamics as both an agricultural and ethical practice. The issue combines institutional reporting, a preparation-focused meditation, and extended philosophical essays explicitly tied to biodynamic work rather than abstract spirituality.

“News From the Farm—A Winter Update” documents winter activity at the Josephine Porter Institute following pandemic disruption and the resignation of long-time preparation maker Larry Mabe. The article records continued preparation-making capacity within JPI, including recent workshops where participants practiced making horn manure (BD 500), horn silica (BD 501), yarrow in buck bladders (BD 502), chamomile in bovine intestines (BD 503), dandelion in bovine peritoneum (BD 506), and oak bark preparation in cow skulls. The article specifies that thousands of horns filled with manure are currently buried on site, awaiting transformation before distribution. Emphasis is placed on continuity of method, collective will activity, and preparation quality research planned for the coming year. Winter is presented as a period of burial, inner work, and institutional re-grounding rather than dormancy.

Stewart Lundy’s “Contemplating the Three Kings” provides a detailed examination of the Three Kings preparation and the seasonal impulse it represents. The article situates the preparation within astronomical observation, seasonal rhythm, and bodily correspondence, explicitly linking the act of spraying to outward sacrifice and inward reception. The preparation is described as anointing the periphery of the farm organism, with emphasis on timing around the Christmas season and Epiphany. The article does not provide a procedural recipe but frames the preparation as a repeatable gesture embedded in seasonal and cosmological observation, intended for long-term farm continuity rather than immediate agronomic response.

In “Reconnecting to the Cosmos (and Resonating with It)”, Lundy examines the role of ruminants, particularly cattle, as mediators of cosmic forces through digestion and manure formation. The article explicitly contrasts untreated plant residues with manure and composted manure, describing the four stomachs of the cow as a condensed seasonal process. Manure is framed as materially and energetically distinct from raw plant matter, with reference to soil outcomes documented by Alex Podolinsky. The article remains descriptive, grounding claims in observed soil organic matter increase, compost behavior, and plant quality rather than speculative abstraction.

John-Scott Legg’s “What Is Freedom? An Introduction to Rudolf Steiner’s Ethical Individualism” continues a series on The Philosophy of Freedom. The article outlines Steiner’s epistemological framework, distinguishing belief from knowledge and instinct from free action. Freedom is defined as the capacity to act from intuitive moral insight rather than habit, law, or impulse. While philosophical in nature, the article explicitly links freedom to practical life and ethical responsibility, positioning biodynamic practice as an arena in which freedom is exercised through conscious, repeatable decision-making rather than adherence to templates.

Lundy’s “As Above, So Below: Biodynamics as the Conscious Emulation of the Evolution of the Celestial Spheres” presents a detailed correspondence-based explanation of biodynamic preparations. Each preparation sheath and plant substance is described as a microcosmic reenactment of planetary formation processes. The article details why specific animal membranes are used for specific plants, emphasizing containment, transformation, and condensation of forces rather than material transfer. The article explicitly cautions against mineral fertilization alone, describing preparations as carriers of potential energy rather than substances, and frames preparation making as a careful, repeatable alchemical process rather than symbolic ritual.

Articles

• News from the Farm
• Contemplating the Three Kings (S. Lundy)
• Reconnecting to the Cosmos (and Resonating with It) (S. Lundy)
• What is Freedom? An Introduction to Rudolf Steiner’s Ethical Individualism (John-Scott Legg)
• As Above, So Below: Biodynamics as the Conscious Emulation of the Evolution of the Celestial Spheres (S. Lundy)

Key Topics Covered

• Winter preparation making and burial at JPI
• Continuity of preparation quality following staff transition
• Three Kings preparation seasonal timing and purpose
• Spraying as outward sacrifice and inward reception
• Role of cattle in manure transformation
• Observed soil improvement through biodynamic practice
• Ethical freedom as conscious action
• Planetary correspondence in biodynamic preparations

Citation

Applied Biodynamics, Issue No. 106, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics, Winter 2022.