Biodynamics: Earth Herbalism, Earth Alchemy

Biodynamics is a holistic agricultural study and practice that was birthed from a gathering in Poland in 1924. It includes a number of treatments derived from natural ingredients and from a certain lens, Biodynamics could be seen as healing the earth with herbs. This may be a way that an herbalist or holistic medicine practitioner could relate to the concept of Biodynamic Agriculture.

Then, add to the physical use of herbal healing on the earth, the idea that the use of these methods, actions, and applications is actually a pronounced statement, wish, or encouragement to elemental beings asking them to do their work here.

Let me begin by saying that I could not honor the work that is being done on the earth by spiritual beings with a single piece of writing.  This is not an ill begotten attempt to do so.  Rather, I want to encourage those who feel moved by even the possibility of the existence of these forces to continue along that path to wisdom!  I am but a walker on that path.

One of my biodynamic agriculture teachers reverently revealed the four elemental beings that are influenced by the individual OR collective will of humankind.  They are known by many names but among those names are the sylphs, undines, gnomes, and salamanders.  Othe names may be Air, Water, Stone, and Fire.  All cultures know them unless they choose to forget.  It was taught to me that these beings have important work to do here but are influenced by us. It’s important to know that this can go either way, these spiritual beings can be influenced positively, or negatively.

It’s been said that negatively influenced elementals could make a room (or a farm) smell terrible or affect children on a playground such that their play is violent.  Positively influenced elementals can bring joy to a place and may have the ability to enliven the soil and strengthen the plants. They can even bring plants what they need, sometimes from miles away.  It may be that our belief and acknowledgment of the elementals allows them to do their work.  It may be that our observation and deep study of them empowers them.  It may be that our mere intent to communicate with, see or understand them opens up pathways for us to see with the mind’s eye of our prior evolutionary periods, their form which is lost to our mind of densified and hardened reductionism.

In addition to those beings who dwell here, invisible to our modern senses there are also cosmic forces from past incarnations that appear to us as other celestial bodies.  From these celestial bodies come forces that can be weakened or strengthened by what we choose to do here and when we choose to do it.  Our ancestors looked up at the sky and saw a bull, fish, lions.  Our rational minds think they traced the stars but these were strong, beautiful and detailed pictures.  Thank goodness we at least have a record to put the pieces together in our own minds.

There is a strong and powerful rhythm to the universe and long ago, we danced to these rhythms of the universe.  As our ego developed within us, we internalized those rhythms and no longer rely on them and our ability to even recognize them has dwindled but this does not make them any less powerful.  There is intense energy pouring forth from all of these forces I describe and now we have a choice.

We can choose to recognize these rhythms and proximities, waxing and waning.  As our senses have been poisoned and infected, we now may rely on the use of data and scientific instruments to help supplement what we’ve lost.  Science will one day catch up to the truth of the spiritual world.  It is not different but EXACTLY THE SAME.

Unlike humans, the plants still use these rhythms as in-breaths and out-breaths both microcosmic and macrocosmic (day/night, seasons, years)  More often than not, our contemporary agriculture goes to inhibit these chronic forces just as with the rest of our non-consensual relationship with the natural world.  Be it developing systems of moving air and water in rigid organization rather than with the flow of everything or simply paving roads that act as walls between network nodes of mycelium not only do we not feel the forces, we are at war with them.

This is where biodynamics comes in.  It is the idea of working with forces that we know and forces that we cannot see but know are here.

A foundational application of biodynamics is in the preparation of compost in an effort to focus in spiritual and cosmic forces for transformation.  I can tell you first-hand that this compost is transformed in a way that is undeniable to a witness.  There are six preparations that are added to a compost pile and in this way, it is like we are treating the earth with herbs.  But these herbs have been prepared, in some ways very much like the way we may ferment a medicine or prepare a tincture or homeopathic remedy.