Cosmic Journal #036

Advent and Alignment with the Divine

TO bear the light of mind
into the night of world-winter,
my beating heart impels my soul,
impels her to impart and sow
a shining kernel from herself
into the world’s fertile ground
whence it may come to spring,
in course of time and dark of sense,
the sacred Word resounds
and draws all beings to transfiguration

Liturgy of the Seasons, Week 37, translation by Max Leyf

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Greetings to You,

Our time in December seems to have moved quite quickly this year, as we now find ourselves on the threshold of the Winter Solstice and the important Season of inner reflection and rebirth that gives us an opportunity each year to evolve as Human Beings. Over the last three months, Archangel Michael has inspired us with the Courage to face our own Ahrimanic dragons, those thoughts, fears and materialistic desires that keep us divided from each other and all of the Worlds around us.

As Biodynamic Farmers and gardeners, we have looked both upwards to the Stars, the Moon and planets, the Cosmic forces that influence our lives here on Earth, as well as inwards, to find the ongoing Will to stand upwards. In this special gift given to Humanity, we can become a bridge between the Spiritual-Astral worlds and the densely Physical and living Etheric Earth bodies, aligning our Human Feeling, Thinking and Willing with the Divine.

To work towards this alignment, we are invited by Rudolf Steiner and so many other historical and contemporary teachers to meditate, daily if able, in order to find centeredness within ourselves where this balance in Life can be found. Then, taking time to reflect back each day and throughout the Seasons as our lives progress, we can find ways in each living moment to remain in this center, creating Harmony with all that surrounds us, as well as the inner thoughts and feelings that fill our daily lives. As Agricultural stewards, we can recognize and take responsibility for our mistakes, those choices which were out of alignment with our commitments to the Earth and each other, evolving each day as we wake up with heightened awareness and a deeper commitment to surrendering ourselves to the Spiritual force of Love.

Over the last month, we have also fostered strengthened feelings of inner gratitude, recognizing those who are no longer with us. Our active remembrance of St. Martin helped to reignite the Warmth created by his compassionate acts of giving and our ceremonial Biodynamic offerings of Gold potentized Horn Silica was given to the Mineral Kingdom on December 1st, beginning of the First Week of Advent.

Bringing our own physical desires into Light through the First Week of Advent, we were given an opportunity to confront our own lower tendencies, those that are purely Arhimanic and rooted in materialism and fear. As we move into Week 2 of Advent, starting yesterday December 8th, we intentionally now bring our focus to the Plant Kingdom which serves as a reminder of the fluid Feelings and Emotions that occur within us, oftentimes causing us great suffering.

Stinging Nettle carrying Seed and Spirit into Winter

This season, as we prepare to evolve as free Human individuals, we are reminded by the late Christian Community leader Friedrich Benesch of the importance of active inner living, in his words:

“For the earthly human being the experience of the highest divine unity is threefold. It is not just a passive thinking, feeling, and willing of an existing divine entity. It is an active, creative co-thinking, co-feeling, and co-willing of this divinity; inactive inner thinking out, feeling and willing, and with it, an active inner living or experiencing. ¹

As we each find this creative relationship to the Divine, the Four Weeks of Advent serve as a preparatory process through which we can develop greater awareness and attunement of our own living experience. Hazel Archer Ginsberg’s weekly Advent offerings (available on Youtube) explore these beautiful inner and outer processes that are fully alive this Season, bringing more Light to the 4 fold evolution that evolves this Month, taking us from the physical world, into the Etheric, the Astral and then into ourselves, the Human Ego and Spiritual World. As we continue our work through Advent, the 3 Fold and the 4 Fold processes become evermore active and intertwined in our lives, and I hope that the additional resources serve as helpful guides as we now move deeper into the Second Week of Advent.

Opening up our Biodynamic calendars, we can see that the Moon is currently ascending through the constellation of the Fishes today, Monday, December 9th.

In our gardens and greenhouses, we spend time checking on our Winter greens and other leafy herbs, enjoying in silent wonder the ability for these plants to maintain growth despite the cold and darkness, a stark contrast to last Summer. Harvest and tend to all plants, feeling into the energies brought forth by Pisces today as we flow through the gardens ourselves, in ultimate reverence to the Plant Kingdom this Week.

In preparation for our Winter rebirth, we are encouraged to check in with our own inner Feelings and Emotions as the Moon passes overhead in the Fishes, a distant reminder of our own Cosmic descent into the first semi-physical Human forms and the Selfless Love of Christ that now lives within the body of the Earth, as discussed in our last Journal.

In the afternoon as we meditate on the importance of our current incarnation and our essential task to infuse Love back into Humanity, we can relieve ourselves from physical garden work this afternoon allowing the Moon to move across the Sun’s ecliptic, occurring at 3pm EST. This Ascending Lunar Node can create strong, negative impacts on our work as farmers as we transplant seedlings and work with Soil Life.

On Tuesday, December 10th as well as the morning of Wednesday, December 11th the Moon remains in Pisces encouraging us to dive even deeper into our Feelings and Emotions, as well as those underlying fears and desires that feed our internal imbalances. Allow yourself time this week to explore this reality within yourself, finding moments of centeredness as we continue to give gratitude to the Plant Kingdom for their lessons, sacrifices and gifts which they, without reservation, give to us daily.

At 11am on Wednesday, December 11th the Moon transitions into the Fire sign of Aries and will remain here through the day tomorrow, Thursday, December 12th. While most of our fruiting plants are now dormant, we might align our actions today with the fiery energies brought forth by the Ram in order to make important decisions or to find completion in a task. You might feel inspired today, possibly putting intention and Love into your garden plans for next year, decluttering your living space so energy flows freely or finding another way to contribute to the unique relationship you have with your home, farm or garden.

At 7:30PM on Wednesday, join JPI and the Spikenard Honeybee Sanctuary in our last 100 Year Anniversary gathering as we come to completion in our year long study of Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture lectures. All past recordings of this series, Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture: Life Based on Love, are also available and this entire series is an amazing Gift within itself. Thank you Ines, Alex, M, Georgie, Stewart, Ben, and everyone else for your contributions to this special series over this past year. Hope to see you all on the call!

On Thursday, the Moon reaches its closest position to the Earth at 8am, a point called Perigee, which we generally take as an indication to refrain from plant and field work. Like yesterday, the influence of Aries can be felt again today and we can give gratitude to Silica, the alchemical relationship of Sulf & Sal, and the greater Mineral Kingdom that holds the Warmth of the Earth and the Christic impulse of Love which we feel so strongly this Season.

Today, as we spend time with our family and friends, or walk amongst the Plant Kingdom outside in the gardens, we are reminded of the importance of our actions and the necessity for these to be in alignment with Divine order, selfless Love, Grace and Freedom. Celebrate your successes and make commitments that serve the greater good of the community, continuing to let your inner Light and Warmth be felt by all those around you.

Early on Friday, December 13th the Moon transitions into the Earth sign of Tuarus at 3am grounding us for a few days as we approach the Third Advent Sunday and our offerings to the Animal Kingdom.

As we work today, we can offer BD 500 Horn Manure, the Pfeiffer Field Spray or Barrel Compound out to our farms and gardens, again thanking the Mineral and Plant Kingdoms for their continued nourishment and Earthly structure they give to our current reality. We now know that Life was once all but Spiritual Warmth, and the return to Earthly constellations serves as a rhythmic reminder of our current, more densified, world that we experience today. Taurus, the great Bull carries Cosmic Spirit into the Earth, through Nitrogen, further supporting us for our own inner rebirth and personal evolution. This gift, as described in depth by Rudolf Steiner is made possible in Humanity through the birth of Jesus (preparation), Epiphany (the descent of Christ into Jesus) and the Mystery of Golgotha (resurrection) which fully united Divine Love with the body and Soul of the Earth.

In regards to this Christmas gift, Rudolf Steiner writes in his archive lecture from December 19, 1904:

“The Christmas festival is not [concerned with] something transient and of the past, it is not a festival commemorative of something transient and of the past, for the Christmas antiphon does not proclaim: Christ was born, or Christ has been born. Rather, it says, “Today, Christ is born.” It always speaks of “today.” That is significant and important. “Today” is spoken of, in the sense of Christ’s own words; “I am with you, unto the end of time.”

Steiner continues, “This is something with which each year comes before us, anew, and reveals the connections between humanity and heaven… The human being must attain that inner harmony, that rhythmical nature, which is portrayed by the Christ, who was incarnate in Jesus. This is the connection between humankind and heaven.”

As we work, the constellation of Taurus helps to guide us in this Cosmic connection, reminding us that we are given the choice each day to find this inner harmony with the world around us. Taurus, represented strongly in Biodynamics through the cow, keeps us as Farmers connected to the present moment where co-creation, co-feeling and co-thinking with the Divine can begin to occur.

As we approach Christmas, which for most of us has been extremely commercialized, the words of Rudolf Steiner help to remind us that the “Holidays” of our Western world are in desperate need for Spiritual re-enlivenment, even more so than what was experienced a little over 100 years ago.

Anytime this weekend when working with the soil or in the late afternoon as the shadows grow long, we can practice our own rituals of giving as we prepare and then offer our special Biodynamic preps out to the land. In this simple yet profound act, we pause in our modern lives to Feel into the present moment, as our will and thoughts come into alignment, co-creating alongside the Spiritual hierarchies to bring Life, Light and harmony to Earth.

The Cosmic energies of the Great Bull can be further experienced on Saturday, December 14th as the Moon continues to amplify this influence into the Earth. Deep below us, the elementals are busy with their own inner work and we ground ourselves today, finding center within through our personal, inner work. Preparing for tomorrow, we can feel the support of the Mineral and Plant Kingdoms, who are bound to but alive in the Earth, as we dedicate our Advent Sunday prayers to the Animal Kingdom and the Astral World.

The third light of advent is the light of the beasts,

The light of hope that we may see in greatest and in least.

These Waldorf verses, shared with us by our Biodynamic farming friend Suzanna Ballah (@ Ursa Farmstead), shed light onto our own personal transformations, those of which are not entirely bound by Earthly forces. This Week, and as we move into the morning on Sunday, December 15th we give gratitude to the countless number of animals that support our current civilization and society, those that have and continue to build soil for our next generations and the animals that we closely tend to as companions and livestock.

Under the Full Moon, we might choose to offer Gold Potentized Horn Silica BD 501G out to our gardens, gathering together before dawn to stir this preparation of pure Light and Love. We can feel the outer cold come into balance with our own inner Warmth as we stir, inviting in both the Yellow Light of the New Day Sun and Greater Cosmic Light into our farms, gardens and greenhouses.

As we walk through our fields, tending to root crops and soil health today, we are invited to connect with all of the seen and unseen Life that surrounds us, remembering that Archangel Michael continues to watch over us in support through the Advent process as our own inner Light grows brighter and brighter.

This Week, we might also feel the separation that exists between us as Humans and the Animal Kingdom, as we work to further develop our own Individual “I’s,” our Egos and Souls - that which is our connection to the Spiritual world. This free capacity to consciously evolve, to bring our feeling, thinking and willing into alignment with Love, sets us apart from the Mineral, Plant and Animal Kingdoms highlighting the important responsibility we have collectively and individually here on Earth as stewards.

At 3pm the Moon moves into the Air sign of Gemini, while it also reaches its highest point simultaneously, increasing the Spiritual Light that shines down upon us. As noted before in Journal #034 and #011, we take point of this important Lunar alignment when the Moon is Fully illuminated and also at its highest point along the Southern Horizon, a point of deep relationship between the Etheric and Physical Worlds. This Winter occurrence for us here in the Northern Hemisphere, marks a period where now the Moon will descend while also decreasing in its reflected Light, creating an opportunity for us to bring our own Light to Earth during these dark moments of Winter.

An offering of potentized Horn Silica prepared in Water

On Monday, December 16th we might again offer our Gold Potentized Horn Silica BD 501G or Hugo Erbe’s HE#9 Harmonizing Preparation out to our gardens while the Moon remains in Gemini and the days of Transplanting begin. Today, and through the week as the Moon starts to descend, we can focus our meditative work on connecting with our inner Soul, represented externally to us in the Animal Kingdom and the Astral World. As we work in the garden, take note of the element of Air and the Warmth of Yellow Sunlight, feeling your thoughts become action as you co-create with the Divine under the guidance of the Twins.

For those planning to additionally offer Hugo Erbe’s #8 Three Kings Preparation, a companion spray that is a further expression of gratitude to the Elemental Kingdoms and a protective force for all beings, we recommend that orders are placed ASAP to allow for delivery before New Years Eve. We’ll explore the Three Kings Prep and Epiphany in more depth in our Next Journal and in general it is recommended to offer this only after the other 9 foundational Biodynamic preps have been introduced to your land.

The Moon continues to shine on us from Gemini through the morning on Tuesday, December 17th and we focus our attention onto flowering plants, if applicable this Season, and the continued care for livestock (which really is a daily responsibility). Find moments of silence to meditate inwards as you complete your garden work, bringing your Soul into focus as we are bathed in Spiritual Light through the morning and early afternoon.

At 3pm on Tuesday, the Moon transitions into the Water sign of Cancer shifting our focus to Tone, the unique living feeling that is your farm or garden. As we tend to leafy crops within our greenhouses and under row cover, we can pay attention to both our most inner emotions and the farthest-outward vibrations of the Stars, becoming a bridge ourselves here on Earth as we focus our intentions on growing food for our communities and living a Life based on Love, compassion and giving.

On Wednesday, December 18th the Moon remains in Cancer and we are reminded today of the importance of sound emotions and feelings when we are confronted with a choice. In this last Week of Advent, we can experience the direct connection between our feelings (the Etheric) and our thinking (reflected in the Astral World) and how these contribute to the actions we willfully choose to take in our normal, daily lives.

With increased levels of fear and desire spreading throughout the Western world this Season, fueling what we see in commercial Christmas culture, the Crab reminds us to stay standing upright as Humans, finding balance as we exercise our ability to Love, despite the temptations of Ahriman (fear, materialism, nationalism and division) and Lucifer (desire, egotism and disassociation).

At 6am on Thursday, December 19th the Moon enters into the Fire Sign of Leo, while the Sun also moves into the Fire sign of Sagittarius. This strong Cosmic Warmth is married today with Venus (in Capricorn) coming also into trine with Jupiter (in Taurus) creating deep grounding effects that bring us a strong sense of balance to the Earth. Today in the gardens, we can work with fruiting plants and/or root crops, finding harmony in our work as we communicate, listen and co-create with the plants around us. Similar to the fiery effects of Aries last week that brought completion, Leo encourages us to be an active participant in our lives,experiencing every moment possible, a lesson that we as Humans need to continue to remember.

The Moon continues to shine on us backed by the constellation of Leo all day on Friday, December 20th as well as on Saturday, December 21st. In whatever way it looks like for you, find moments of surrender, connecting to the Spiritual Hierarchies that are alive within and around each of us. Outside in the fields and barns, we give gratitude to the Animal Kingdom for their ongoing gifts to Humanity and turning internally, we give recognition to ourselves for continuing to carry the embers of the Spiritual World with us through these most intense moments of darkness.

Winter Solstice Forest Walk

On Saturday, we celebrate Winter Solstice, spending time as a community welcoming the beginning of Winter with candlelit feasts, bonfires and snowy labyrinth walks. This weekend we acknowledge a cycle of completion in our Lives and a chance for renewal, in each of our own lives as Human Beings.

Preparing for rebirth this Winter, we continue to celebrate the inspirational work of Rudolf Steiner and the many gifts that he continues to bring into our lives through his lectures and writings. At 1pm EST, join the American Misraim as we journey through the Winter Solstice, exploring the deep ritualistic teachings of Rudolf Steiner as we gather together virtually as a community. This is a free event, open to all who want to tune into the Seasonal rhythms and dynamic Spiritual essences of Life.

On Sunday, December 22nd the Moon returns to the constellation of Virgo at 2am bringing forth the Virgin powers of Mary, of which our Advent work this Week emerges from. As daylight begins to illuminate our fields, gardens and homes on Earth, the following Waldorf verse brings us guidance:

The fourth light of advent is the light of humankind,

The light of love, the light of thought to give and understand.

Through the Warmth and Love of Spirit, we are called to remember the Light of creation that exists within us, surrendering to the Freedom we can find from the inner and outer shackles of fear and desire. This inner Light which we celebrate this week shines through our interactions with others and is a daily act of awakening, of giving and of reaching clear thinking. “Today, Christ is born”, reaffirms to us, that we as Humans have the capacity to become the bridge between Heaven and Earth, a process that has been our theme during Advent and can serve as our foundation throughout the year as we learn to live in rhythmic-connection with the celestial world.

In the early morning on Sunday, we can stir and spray GOLD Potentized Horn Silica BD 501G out to our farms and gardens, following it with BD 500 Horn Manure, the Pfeiffer Field Spray or Barrel Compound later in the day as an offering of Harmony. The Moon will remain in Virgo until Christmas, inviting us to deeply connect with our own inner Being of Christ, bringing Life to this Season that is ripe with Spiritual communion, wonder and awe. This morning, in our offering, we might also include frankincense and myrrh (in oil or resin form) bringing further protection and purification to our gardens and Lives.

Following BD 501, the Earthly Biodynamic Soil sprays then bring colloidal organization, increased vitality and pure Cosmic knowledge down into the Plant (Etheric) and Mineral (Physical) Worlds. As expressed before, what this looks like exactly for each of us will vary but nonetheless the invitation to participate and co-create is there for you if you choose.

Winter Sunset

In the afternoon, the Moon descends through the Sun’s ecliptic at 6pm, an event that we might observe by refraining from afternoon field work. As darkness returns this evening and the Moon shines overhead in Virgo, we might spend time preparing for the days ahead, the beginning of the 13 Holy Nights on December 24th and then the birth of Jesus on Christmas.

Like the movements we witness in our skies above, we will continue to experience many changes here on Earth, through our lives and into the future. In each moment, we are presented with opportunities for inner reflection and personal rebirth as we align ourselves with Divine Love.

Thank you for being a part of this Human journey with us.

We are happy to also announce that the Celestial Planting Calendar is NOW BACK IN STOCK along with the Stella Natura Biodynamic Calendar and the Maria Thun 2025 Biodynamic Almanac.

Check out JPIBiodynamics.org for further information about Biodynamics or leave a comment below here on Substack.

Thank you & Blessings to you all - Russell

Reverse Ritual: Spiritual Knowledge is True Communion. 2001, pg 157

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