Applied Biodynamics — Issue 080 (Spring 2013)

Issue 080 focuses on how biodynamic growers work with elemental and cosmic rhythms in practice, and how these principles are taught, tested, and transmitted through structured preparation-making education. The issue combines an extended interview with a detailed workshop report, emphasizing observation, repetition, and comparative field work.

In “Earth, Water, Air, and Fire: Working with the Elements and the Cosmos,” Abby Porter interviews Sherry Wildfeuer, founding editor of the Stella Natura biodynamic planting calendar. Wildfeuer recounts her formative experiences in biodynamic gardening and agriculture, including work at Camphill communities, Threefold Farm, the University of California at Santa Cruz, and the Goetheanum. Central to the article is her description of element-based field experimentation, in which adjacent plots were cultivated, sprayed, and harvested according to specific lunar–zodiac relationships associated with root, leaf, flower, and fruit crops.

Wildfeuer provides a detailed account of a four-plot comparative experiment in which identical crops were managed with different timing protocols. While vegetative growth appeared similar across plots during the season, harvest results differed measurably. Root crops grown on earth-constellation timing showed increased yield and superior form, and calendula seed development demonstrated distinct differences in ripening and germination timing between plots. These outcomes are presented as the result of repeatable timing discipline and direct comparison, rather than isolated observation.

The interview further explains how planting calendars are constructed using astronomical data rather than equal-sign astrological divisions, and why transition periods are included to avoid ambiguous constellation boundaries. Wildfeuer discusses discrepancies among calendars, the need for growers to conduct their own trials, and her ongoing maintenance of a personal experimental garden to verify calendar indications. Throughout, she emphasizes that cosmic rhythm work remains an evolving field requiring careful record keeping and collaborative experimentation.

In “JPI Fall Intensive, 2012,” Abby Porter documents a multi-day preparation-making workshop held at the Josephine Porter Institute. The report details each stage of the work: honoring and sacrifice of the cow; harvesting and preparation of intestines, peritoneum, horns, skulls, and bladders; stuffing and burial of chamomile, dandelion, oak bark, yarrow, horn manure, and horn silica preparations; and retrieval of previously buried materials. Anatomical distinctions among the four stomach compartments are described as part of the instructional process, reinforcing why bovine materials are central to biodynamic preparations.

The workshop report specifies materials, sequencing, burial cycles, and processing stages, including multi-year horn silica burial and demonstration of pest ashing. Participant feedback is summarized to show how full-process exposure affects subsequent commitment to preparation making and use. The article frames the Intensive as a training environment where observation, repetition, and shared standards ensure continuity and quality of biodynamic practice.

Together, the articles present biodynamics as a discipline in which cosmic timing and material processes are engaged through structured experimentation, direct comparison, and hands-on verification, supported by educational institutions.

Articles

• Earth, Water, Air, and Fire: Working with the Elements and the Cosmos (A. Porter Interviews Sherry Wildfeuer)
• JPI Fall Intensive, 2012  (A. Porter) 

Key Topics Covered

• Elemental and cosmic timing in biodynamic practice
• Construction and use of planting calendars
• Four-plot comparative field experimentation
• Root leaf flower and fruit crop responses
• Astronomical versus astrological zodiac boundaries
• Grower-led verification through experimental gardens
• Preparation making using bovine materials
• Anatomy of the cow and preparation functions
• Burial cycles and multi-year horn silica processing
• Hands-on education in preparation quality and handling

Citation

Applied Biodynamics, Issue 080, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics, Spring 2013.