Nungali Posted December 25, 2013 (edited) yes, and is a continual process, one has to start somewhere ... in BD some get stuck as there is no organic cow to start with . Just start with what you have the influence will spread, as long as one continually decreases the pollutants as well and follows the process, after several cycles of years of BD farming the cow will be organic. Ummmm .... for others reading that didn't get it .... I am not just talking about the cow . There is no instantly working magic pill one can take that fixes everything. If there is I am sure it is expensive Edited December 25, 2013 by Nungali Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nungali Posted January 1, 2014 (edited) So the preparation is in the pit , the cow manure is ‘sealed’ within the cow horn and ‘cooking’ underground. “ No man can understand this Art who does not know the Salt and its preparation, which takes place in a convenient spot that is both moist and warm; there the dissolution of its liquid must be accomplished, while its substance remains unimpaired. These are the words of Geber. “Know that the Salt of which Geber speaks has none of the specific properties of salt, and yet is called a Salt, and is a Salt. It is black and fetid, and when chemically prepared, assumes the appearance of blood, and is at length rendered white, pure, and clear. It is a good and precious Salt which, by its own operation, is first impure and then pure. It dissolves and coagulates itself, or, as the Sage says, it locks and unlocks itself. No Salt has this property but the Salt of the Sages. Its chemical development it may undergo in a moist and convenient place, where its moisture (as the Sage says) may be dissolved in the Bath of Mary. He means that it must be warm enough for its water to be distilled, yet not warmer than the excrement of horses, which is not fresh.” It is dug up (at the right astro time) and the horns are emptied and stored (best in a large earthen ware pot with a lid that fits yet allows the contents to ‘breath’ it is kept moist and far away from any ‘ energy polluting/dissipating ’ (or ‘Arihmanic’) substances . Ideally the pot or vessel is surrounded by ‘insulation’ such as dry peat moss or saw dust (again from a pure source) and stored in a wooden box inside a special shed or similar. Or the pot could be buried in the earth of a shed. It needs to be periodically checked and misted with good water so it doesn’t dry out but kept lightly moist so it doesn’t become invaded by mildew or moulds. Like the ‘stone’ in some texts it only need ‘touch’ another (and right – according to the type of alchemy one is using) ) substance to impart its ‘spiritual’ or vibrational energy. This is where water comes in. But it must be ‘special’ water – charged or invigorated. "For this they willingly, through their wickedness, are ignorant or, that through the Word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water, and in the water." "A spirit is within, which by deliberate skill you must separate from the body. Simply disjoin the material part from the vapour. You should then add the cold water of the spring. With this you should unweariedly sprinkle both. You will then have the true Elixir of all this Art." (Here the focus is on spring water but the significance of the rest of this passage is application – see below.) “ A watery form it is at first like any other liquid water, being a thin fluid; yet its nature is not like that of any other water upon earth. There is only one spring in all the world from which this water may be obtained.” (The passage continues on with heavy Christian symbolism. ) First it must be healthy pure water … with that one can make the ‘thin fluid’ . “For, in truth, the spring is difficult to find; but he who knows it may reach it easily, without any expense, labour, or trouble.” "O water, that art lightly esteemed by the vulgar, who do not perceive thy great virtues, in thee lie, as it were, hid the four elements. Thou hast power to dissolve, and conserve, and join nature, such as is possessed by no other thing upon earth. “ “If you would know the properties and appearance of this Stone, know that its appearance is aqueous, and that the water is first changed into a stone, then the stone into water, and the water at length into the Medicine.” There are many more references to water in the texts. Basically the preparation need to be dissolved in the water in a way to make ‘the water’. A small portion of preparation 500 is added to water in a large earthenware pot or cauldron or large open wooden barrel or similar and stirred with a wooden paddle. Stir one way until a deep funnel-shaped vortex is formed, to the bottom of the vessel if possible. Then stir the other way to make a chaotic, air and water mixture, and keep going to a vortex forms in the other direction, then reverse … and so on for one hour. [ Some suspend the stirrer via a rope from a tripod over the vessel. You can also do it with an assistant and swap stirring.] Even someone as sceptical as me couldn’t deny something unusual was going on (and I continued to notice this each time I made a ‘water’. After around 20 minutes the water seems ‘thinner’ i.e. it is easier to stir, the stirrer ‘cuts’ though it easier, the vortex each way (after the chaotic cycle) forms quicker, instead of a ‘normal, splashing, sound when forming the vortex it starts to sound like a deep echoing, tearing sound. The sound of the chaotic cycle with direction changing is different as well. It’s an interesting experiment that anyone can try. Of course, focusing on this for an hour changes your consciousness … but that IMO is an important point ( and why I disagree with mechanical stirrers) . Some sing tones into the water upscale , when stirring one way and downscale when stirring the other way. Some do invocations or prayers (to the elementals or what one will … some Bio-dynamic gardeners are ‘hard-core Steiner followers’ – which is a Christian mystery based system. ) At this stage the preparation has a limited life, without the water going back to the earth it will begin to ‘evaporate’ its potency . “You should also know that in our Art we distinguish two things -- the body and the spirit: the former being constant, or fixed, while the other is volatile. These two must be changed, the one into the other: the body must become water, and the water body. Then again the body becomes water by its own internal operation, and the two, i.e., the dry and the liquid, must once more be joined together in an inseparable union.” Best to use straight away ( in its premixed form the 500 will store long periods if the method above is followed.) The simplest method is to use a small tree branch with lots of little leaves and dip it in the water and walk around sprinkling the soil and ground. The idea is 500 relates to the earth energies, the Moon, winter forces, sunset, descent into the earth, ‘underground’ energies that arise and increase the top part of the plants growth, hence ‘ rampant’ [ the main type of growth based on nitrogen … that is, establishing the plant, its ‘skeleton’ , structure , over-all health, and expansion and feeding from the soil - earth and water . The other type of growth is related to the other preparation 501 ; ‘Sun’, light , sky, summer, dawn, arising from earth to the air ( post dawn mist rising) , the other two elements – air (nourishment from atmosphere) and fire (light and heat) and is based on the other two points of the chemical triangle Phosphorus and Potassium; the plant shifts mode and begins to flower and fruit and disperse seed. ] So it is best to sprinkle 500 around sunset and have the descending energy take the preparation’s energy into the ground. "A spirit is within, which by deliberate skill . You must separate from the body. Simply disjoin the material part from the vapour. You should then add the cold water of the spring. With this you should unweariedly sprinkle both. You will then have the true Elixir of all this Art." Sprinkle both refers here to 500 and 501, we will get to 501 below. “ Thou needest no outward help; nature preserves nature, and is not separated from nature by the operation of nature. The thing is easy to find, the knowledge is easy, altogether familiar, yet it is as a miracle to many.” “ Seal this one substance in an airtight alembic, and treat it according to the precepts of our Art, which we shall set forth further on. Then the sowing in the field can take place.” There are a lot more technical considerations in the application of bio-dynamics which I will pass over. The end result is healthy, pure, energised disease resistant glowing produce. Production may not match super high producing monoculture, chemical fertilizer, farms but …. I don’t know how many store bought peaches or nectarines I took a bit out of and then composted in the last few years. There is debate about its value of course … I am sure Monsanto has all sorts of evidence to show what is best for us. But there is no fooling the people that have seriously tried it. Some BD wineries have won awards … they were some of our best customers , especially for 501. You know how fussy, particular and delicate a wine judges or makers palette is. I don’t understand such things … but I know when I have eaten the best peach I have ever tasted . In comparing the Bio-dynamic process, aims and results to the alchemical texts cited , I feel it just gets more and more obvious; “ I prefer to leave the further elaboration of this subject to the reader, and to confine myself to a more detailed account of its fruits, entrance, and life, of the mode of opening the garden, and catching a glimpse of the glorious roses, of the way in which they multiply, and bear fruit a thousand-fold.” To briefly look at prep 501; it is made from carefully selected quartz crystal rods, crushed to a fine powder or dust ( the ‘amusing’ thing here is if one doesn’t want to end up like some of those alchemists or early chemists,) use a respirator filter! (Yes, I know,,, the package arrives on the organic farm with a warning saying , “Danger! Use a respirator ! “ – some disagreed with me on that, but why should I put others at possible risk, if a decision is to be made that it IS safe for human lungs - it is after it goes in water - the user can decide that ) , It is packed into a cow horn and buried over summer, when dug up it is emptied and placed in a sealed glass container, kept absolutely dry and left where it is exposed to sunlight. It is mixed the same way in water and sprayed into the air after dawn so it lifts up into the atmosphere . ( There are concepts of the earth breathing in and out and different times of day and year.) It shouldn’t go on the ground or on some plants ( I nearly killed some native trees at my place by allowing wind drift to push the spray on to them, a few weeks later they looked like they had been seared IMO this is weird as the liquid is totally filtered { as any grit will destroy the rubber seals in ones sprayer pump} materially, there is only the water in the spray, 501 does not dissolve in any way in water … it is like fine powdery sand). “ It is generated in the earth, then broken, destroyed, and mortified. Out of it arises a vapour which is carried with the wind into the sea, and thence brought back again to the land, where it almost immediately disappears. It must be caught in the air, before it touches the ground; otherwise it evaporates.” “As soon as it is borne from the sea to the land, you must promptly seize it, and enclose it in your phial, then manipulate it in the manner described. You may know its coming by the wind, rain, and thunder, which accompany it.” This passage made me sit up! On my first mixing in water I did it in a flat circular area – basically a circle, it was 500 and late in the day. Rain was coming, perfect, it will ‘rain in’ the prep into the soil and it won’t ‘evaporate’. I was stirring and I had ‘Incantations ‘ by Mile Oldfield playing on the outside sound system … then there was lightning and thunder! It got so close I seriously began to wonder if it was going to strike the ‘cauldron’. After about 45 mins into the stirring it changed and the storm went away. The trick with 501 is to ‘treat the atmosphere' with a homeopathic dose. “Therefore it should not escape you. Though it is born anew every day, yet it existed from the beginning of the world. But as soon as it falls to the ground, it becomes useless for the purposes of our Art. “ And "From our earth wells forth a fertilizing fountain, whence flow two precious stones. “ In this case I see as 500 & 501; Sun and Moon preps. “ The first "straightway hastens to the rising of the Sun; "the other makes its way to the setting thereof. From them fly forth two Eagles, plunge into the flames, and fall once more to the earth. Both are furnished with feathers, and Sun and Moon, being placed under their wings, are perfected." “Know also that two waters flow forth from this fountain; the one (which is the spirit) towards the rising Sun, and the other, the body, towards the setting Sun. The two are really only one very limpid water,” (both ‘dissolved’ in water). The quantity of this water is so great that it flows over the whole earth, yet leads to nothing but the knowledge of this Art. The same also is misused too often by those who desire it.” http://www.levity.com/alchemy/glory1.html I am sorry if any one thought this would make gold coins or bars … but ask a farmer what is gold and ask anyone what good is gold without food or water. Hopefully , if we manage to change our agricultural strategies soon, we might be able to keep producing food … natural, healthy, vitalised food. Next …. What about all those strange little critters that transform and change and shape-shift in the alchemist’s flasks. Do they have an equivalent in bio-dynamics … yes! In the meantime check out the 7 (planetary) flasks of the Splendor Solis ( 12 – 18 ) http://www.levity.com/alchemy/splensol.html [ also note diagrams 1-4 1 The arms of the working. 2. The alchemist with his preparation. 3. The Knight of the double fountain ( two types of water). 4. The aim of the operation; Sun and Moon conjoined. In Bio-dynamics the aim is to get an optimal healthy balance of the root / ground energies ( root networks are often in the shape of a downward pointing triangle ) to ‘ascend’ into the foliage (often in the overall shape of an upward pointing triangle) and visa versa , that is, conceptually to make both triangles move into each other to make a hexagram. The others are equally interesting including the ‘drowning king’ and 8. What are we to make of 21 ? ] Continued on another day … Edited January 1, 2014 by Nungali 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
