Cosmic Journal

#022

FORGOTTEN is my sovereign will 
as world-warmth, announcing summer, fills 
my wakeful heart and dreaming mind; 
“to lose thyself in light,” 
inciteth me, the season’s wisdom, 
and exhorting me still further says: 
“you must have lost yourself, yourself to find!”

Liturgy of the Year, Week 9, translation by Max Leyf

---

Hello friends and fellow farmers, 

Today is Monday, May 27th and I’d guess that many of us likely will be out in the fields as we celebrate Memorial Day here in North America. In our journal, we will be exploring the celestial conditions over the next two weeks, paying specific attention to the Moon as it travels through the 12 constellations that surround us here on Earth. As farmers, gardeners and land stewards, we can tune into and feel these transitions, allowing them to influence our daily interactions with plants, soil life and all other beings to the best of our abilities.  

With the Moon, stars, planets and other astral bodies constantly affecting the Mineral, Plant and Animal Kingdoms, we as Humans can fairly easily and conveniently support this natural rhythm using tools like a Biodynamic calendar to guide us.  As we approach the 100 year anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture lectures, we can celebrate and renew our own devotion to the Earth, ourselves and the world beyond everyday through our own conscious actions.  

Biodynamic preparations, gifted to us by Steiner in 1924, are intimate offerings that help to bring balance to our gardens and can be used throughout the seasons to deepen our connections to each Kingdom.  In short summary, this Spring, we applied BD 500 to help enliven soil and mineral Life, BD 501 infused with the ethers of Light & Warmth to support plant/fruit maturity, BD 507 Valerian to help protect crops against light frosts and BD 508 Equisetum tea to aid against mold and mildew.  We might have also substituted or added an offering of the Pfeiffer Field Spray or Barrel Compost, and in some regions you’ve also been anointing compost piles with the compost preps, BD 502 - 507 (or even spraying some of these individually out across the land).   

Whether you’ve used BD preps dozens of times in your life or getting ready for your first, we can exercise our own willpower each morning or evening when we gather to stir, spray and continue to evolve.  Each time we offer Biodynamic offerings, we take time to interact in partnership with the Tone/Chemistry of our gardens, giving thanks for the abundance in our lives, asking for continued guidance and protection over our farms.  

As we move out of May and into June, we can see in our Biodynamic calendars that the Moon recently reached its lowest point in the sky on Saturday, May 25th, and now is ascending for the next two weeks.  In contrast to a descending Moon where we are focused on transplanting and soil cultivation, an ascending Moon now influences Life forces to rise, making it an ideal time to seed, harvest fruits and collect aerial plant parts (including Spring flowers which will later be used to make our BD Preps).  

Today, Monday, May 27th, the Moon is in the Fire sign of Sagittarius until 2pm Eastern Standard Time, which has an influence on fruiting plants.  With this encouragement, we might sow more squash and summer grains, tend to tomato trellises and our fruiting trees, and direct energy this morning towards creating an environment infused with abundant Love.  On each Fire day in the zodiacal cycle, we can celebrate the importance of Warmth in our lives, both that which we can easily feel like the Sun’s rays or the radiance of a fire, as well as a deeper felt-sense that connects each of us to all else in existence.  

As the Moon moves into the Earth sign of Capricorn at 2pm, we shift our focus onto root crops and soil health, continuing to build compost piles and preparing beds for direct seeding.  This afternoon as the Sun sets, we can offer a selection of BD 500 Horn Manure, the Pfeiffer Field Spray or Barrel Compost to our gardens in order to support the Life forces of the Earth.  Especially before cultivating the soil, we can take time to communicate our intentions to the land, expressing our gratitude and humbleness to the countless, unseen beings that give Life to our plants and gardens.  

For more information on specific Biodynamic preparations, when to stir them, how to make your own or where to purchase some for yourself, check out our other articles here on Substack or visit JPIBiodynamics.org. 

On Tuesday, May 28th the Moon remains in Capricorn and we can continue to tend to root crops and soil cultivation.  This afternoon, or on other upcoming Earth days this season, would be a perfect time to offer any of the Biodynamic soil sprays.  

The Moon continues to be backed by the constellation of Capricorn on Wednesday, May 29th until 3pm, and we can take this opportunity to focus on completing any soil projects started over that last couple days.  

In the afternoon, and through the day tomorrow, Thursday, May 30th, the Moon moves into the Air sign of Aquarius shifting our focus onto flowering plants.  Collect dandelion, yarrow, chamomile and valerian flowers today, drying them for later use.   

On Friday, May 31st the Moon transitions into the Water sign of Pisces at 9am influencing the Tone, or Chemistry, of our farms.  Spend time working alongside leafy plant relatives today, while allowing yourself to feel into the current flow of your farm or garden space.  

In the morning on Saturday, June 1st continue to seed and harvest lettuce and other leafy greens while paying close attention to areas of too much or too little moisture.  Spend time pruning back low hanging leaves and creating spaces where air can flow freely to keep mildew and other plant diseases controlled.  

At 11pm on Saturday, the Moon crosses through the Sun’s ecliptic which has a negative effect on plants and soil Life.  During this ascending node, refrain from work during the hours before and after this event, taking the afternoon to rest.  

In the morning on Sunday, June 2nd, the Moon remains in Pisces but looking at our calendars we can see that it also reaches Perigee at 3am, the closest point to Earth in its orbit.  Because of this strong lunar effect, refrain from work in the morning while going back to leafy crop work in the afternoon. 

On Monday, June 3rd the Moon moves into the Fire sign of Aries early in the morning at 1am bringing our attention back onto our fruiting plant relatives. We again bring our focus onto the ether of Warmth, allowing Love to flow from our hands and through our gardens as we care for plants requiring long days of maturity, enhancing the Spiritual ripeness of each one through our devotion and intentional actions.  Tend to tomatoes, squash, peas, grains and other fruiting crops.  

Throughout the day on Tuesday, June 4th the Moon remains in Aries and we continue to work with fruiting plants while basking in the individual feeling of Warmth that your unique garden expresses this Spring.  At 6pm, the Moon transitions into the Earth sign of Taurus and we might take tonight as an opportunity to celebrate the Warmth of Life through the offering of a Biodynamic soil spray.  Any selection of BD 500 Horn Manure, the Pfeiffer Field Spray or Barrel Compost will help enliven the Life forces of the soil.  Applying preps in the early evening over the next three days (Tues-Thurs) is recommended especially if new ground is being broken or soil being turned.  

On Wednesday, June 5th and Thursday, June 6th the Moon continues to shine on us back by the constellation of Taurus encouraging us to tend to root crops and the soil.  We can prepare beds and direct seed crops midweek and for many of us Biodynamic farmers “root days” are great days to get caught up on various types of Plant Kingdom tasks (even those related to flowers, fruits and leaves since root/soil health is paramount to overall plant health).  

At 8am on Friday, June 7th the Moon transitions into the constellation of Gemini gifting us with an elemental influence of Air and etheric infusion of Light here on Earth. We can work with flowering plants which have an affinity to this influence during this time deepening our connections to these plants throughout our gardens.  

At 1pm, the Moon reaches its highest point along the horizon and now will be descending in the sky for the next two weeks.  This marks the Beginning of the Transplanting Time and the start of a major push to get crops out into the fields!  As the Moon descends, energetic and elemental forces are drawn downwards, making the mid part of June a great time to get seedlings into the ground.  

As we work this weekend, we will also celebrate the 100th anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture lectures - a series that began on June 7th, 1924.  This gift, as well as Steiner’s many other lectures, not only provide us with practical agricultural insight but also lay the foundation for our own personal evolution as we practice daily to live more in alignment with the Higher Worlds.  For more information, check out the ongoing discussions hosted by JPI and Spikenard Honeybee Sanctuary which dive deep into this series.  The next free virtual study group will be held on Wednesday, June 12th at 7:30pm EST and recordings are being archived as well.  

This morning as the Moon moves into Gemini, we might offer BD 501 Horn Silica to help bring balance to the Earthly impulses created by our BD soil sprays this week.  Horn Silica helps to support the processes of photosynthesis, healthy plant formation and maturity.  Taking time today to gift our gardens with the ethers of Light and Warmth will be much appreciated by our Plant Kingdom relatives as we move closer to Summer. 

On Saturday, June 8th and the early morning on Sunday, June 9th continue to tend to flowering plants until the Moon transitions into the Water sign of Cancer at 11am on the 9th.  Please note there are some more complex planetary intersections occurring this weekend that might affect your plans. We encourage you to refer to the BD calendars to dive deeper into these happenings and to make conscious decisions based upon the unique needs of your farm.  

It will certainly be a busy month for us all and we hope that by tuning into the cosmic rhythms we can create more harmony within our own lives.   To learn more about working in relation to the Moon and the constellations, check out the Stella Natura Biodynamic Calendar and Maria Thun 2024 Biodynamic Almanac, both currently in stock at JPIBiodynamics.org 

Thank you all for tuning in and may your day be filled with many blessings - Russell