Cosmic Journal
#034
FOR the first, that world I now behold
which, without my soul’s participation
were but a bleak and barren land
cold, and stale, and unensouled,
without a soul to understand
to whom it could disclose itself in revelation
could only fade and slip through grasping hand
Liturgy of the Seasons, Week 33, translation by Max Leyf
Hello again friends & fellow land stewards,
It has certainly been a heavy past couple weeks with many opportunities for introspection and awakened consciousness. In our last Journal, we explored the celebrations of Halloween, Samhain, All Hallows' Day, All Saints Day and All Souls Day, along with the many other rituals that occur around the world in honor of the Dead. Through these festivals, we give recognition to those who have impacted our lives bringing their inspiration and teachings into our own Souls this Autumn, as we continue our lives here on Earth.
Through this process of connecting with those no longer with us on the physical plane, we can consciously spend time too thinking about our own lives and daily impacts since every moment presents us with decisions in which we can engage moral judgment and the power of our Will. In relation to our farming practices, we can take a pause each evening as we go to sleep, running our day backwards through our mind, taking note to ourselves where we might be out of alignment with our commitment to the Life of our farms, both seen and unseen.
As we learn from Rudolf Steiner, this daily inner conversation helps us to find center within ourselves, as we interact with all the forces that surround us and try to knock us out of balance. Like a honeybee that lives each day fully absorbed in universal Love, we too can develop a relationship with this great Spirit, taking steps each day to decrease our judgments, material attachments, spoken untruths and the false narratives that we as Humans create within ourselves and in our culture.
Beyond these last two weeks, the Spirit of Archangel Michael has served as our guide since the beginning of Autumn in order to confront the growing influence of Ahriman that permeates the Northern Hemisphere. Discussed here before, Michael has overcome Ahriman and the forces of materialism in earlier stages of evolution, and now we as Humans must face the increased fear, densification and extreme egoism that dominates Earth today.
To dive deeper into the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, specifically the “Michael Letters,” check out Cynthia Hoven’s latest November 7th offering What does it really mean to be a Human Being? The beauty and importance of Cynthia’s videos cannot be expressed strongly enough and her work serves as a continued inspiration for many of us as we find our ways through the darkness.
Each day this season as we farm and garden, a reminder of Michael’s Courage is given to us, as we witness perennial plants release their leaves, “dying back”, as they place their trust in the Spring resurrection that will soon come. Through this, we too can find inner courage to face the material objects and internal stories that ensnare us, keeping us from becoming a beacon of Light like the Saints and martyrs who have come before to share their gifts with the world.
Looking forward, the upcoming weeks in November provide us with many more moments of inner reflection and continued work outside to prepare ourselves and our gardens for the Winter ahead. Michael continues to stand by our side as we experience the threshold of Death this month, preparing us for the season of Advent and the return of Light that occurs in the depth of darkness.
As we each move through this threshold this month, we can find rhythm in our daily gardening, farming and living practices by becoming more attuned to the Moon’s real-time position in relation to the constellations, as well as the ascending and descending Lunar cycle. Using a Biodynamic calendar helps to illuminate this information, giving us a tool to help bring us back into alignment with the greater Spiritual forces that create all Life. Because our imaginations have been hardened off and we have become blind to these forces, our internal and external work as Biodynamic farmers begins to reopen the doors to these creative forces and helps to rebuild relationships based on cooperation, reverence and moral good.
Looking at our calendars for guidance, the week begins on Monday, November 11th with the Moon in the Air sign of Aquarius where it will be until 12pm.
In the early morning hours, before sunrise, we might choose to offer Horn Silica BD 501 out to our gardens as an offering not only to Archangel Michael but also to St. Martin who we celebrate today. While it is also Veterans Day here in the US, today is also Martinmas, a precursor to Thanksgiving, recognizing the 4th Century Roman soldier, St. Martin, whose story of him sharing his winter coat with a street beggar, teaches us about the compassion we can foster within ourselves and the Warmth we share with others through our actions.
As we stir our Silica spray today, feel the powers of Sunlight contained within this special mineral offering knowing that we are supported by the Higher Powers in our work today. Greeting the first rays of Yellow light with our Silica spray, we give thanks to the Flower Kingdom and ever important animals that graze the fields, committing ourselves to acting in kindness in all relations, as modeled to us by St. Martin many centuries ago.
Depending on your current field crops and local climate conditions, you might also add Valerian BD 507 to your 500/501 sprays this month to help buffer light frosts and to further increase the forces of Warmth and presence of Spirit. As the morning continues, collect seed heads that remain in the field, tend to perennial flower bulbs needing to be tucked in for Winter and monitor the air flow throughout your gardens, greenhouses and fields to avoid stagnation.
In the afternoon on Monday, the Moon transitions into the constellation of Pisces bringing our attention to leafy plants, the element of Water and the ether of Tone. Feel into the rising sap brought upwards by the Moon as it continues its journey of ascension along the horizon. Allow the full depth of Autumn to fill your senses, transporting us back to a time long ago when Human densification was just beginning here on Earth and our world was still mostly illuminated by Spiritual Light.
In the morning on Tuesday, November 12th the Moon crosses through the Sun’s ecliptic around 11am, creating strong effects on root development here on Earth. Because of this Ascending Node, you may choose to refrain from work in the morning and early afternoon to allow for these powerful effects to pass.
Whether you choose to continue to work with leafy plants or find pause on Tuesday, the mercurial constellation of the Fishes continues to shine on us through Wednesday, November 13th. Harvest, plant and care for cool weather greens, preparing beds as needed for Winter crops.
In the evening on Wednesday, join JPI and the Spikenard Honeybee Sanctuary as we continue to discuss Rudolf Steiner’s 1924 Agriculture lectures. The Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture: Life Based on Love call will begin at 7:30pm EST and this will be the second to last meeting in this series (all past recordings are available). These conversations cover the historical importance of Steiner’s Agriculture lectures, practical Biodynamic applications and the Spiritual nature that underlines our work as Land Stewards, Biodynamic Farmers and Anthroposophists.
As we enter the early morning hours on Thursday, November 14th the Moon transitions into the Fire sign of Aries increasing the Spiritual Warmth and Love that the Earth is gifted from the Higher Worlds.
At 6am, the Moon reaches its closest position in relation to the Earth, an event called Perigee which occurs about every 28 days. Much like the impacts created by Ascending/Descending Nodes, we might refrain from work today since these intersection points can be disruptive to root establishment and plant growth. Take time to meditate, possibly finding a late season apple or pomegranate that still hangs on a tree, focusing your attention on this one expression of the Divine. Allow the Warmth contained in this beautiful fruit to flow into your own inner Soul as the Great Ram shines on us today, freely sending Love to every Being here on Earth.
The Moon continues to move through Aries on Friday, November 15th inviting us to continue to nourish our own, inner Spiritual Fire. At 4pm the Moon reaches its Full Moon position, an expression of completion and fruition. This afternoon, we celebrate being alive, giving ultimate gratitude for being able to have an opportunity to work closely with the Land, growing nourishing food for our friends and family.
An hour past full illumination, the Moon moves into the constellation of Taurus, bringing us to completion in one aspect of rhythmic order - the Zodiacal rotation through Earth, Air, Water, Fire which serves as our foundation for these Journals. Returning to an Earth constellation from Fire this evening, we can ground ourselves once again as the Sun sets, acknowledging the importance of the Elemental Kingdoms and the countless Beings that make our dreams and endeavors of an agrarian society possible.
This afternoon and throughout the weekend on Saturday, November 16th and Sunday, November 17th, it is a good time to offer BD 500 Horn Manure, the Pfeiffer Field Spray or Barrel Compound out to your gardens while the Moon moves across the constellation of the Great Bull.
You might also offer Hugo Erbe’s HE#9 Harmonizing Preparation this week as a special offering to the Elemental Beings although it is generally suggested that this be given after the other Biodynamic Preparations have been offered. Please check in with your farm or reach out to us at JPI with any questions you have :)
As an additional point of interest, we also notice that the Full Moon this month is just days away from reaching its highest position in the sky, a moment that occurs each month when the Moon returns to the constellation of Gemini. In Biodynamics, we take note of this, since next month in December, these two events will be in alignment presenting us with a very important opportunity to work with the Mineral Kingdom in late December/early January. During these 13 Holy Nights there is greater communication and agreement between the Mineral and Plant Kingdoms in contrast to what is experienced in Summer when the Full Moon occurs low in the Sky and the cycle is out of alignment.
More on this and the 13 Holy Nights will be discussed in upcoming Journals as we move into the season of Advent! In the meantime, this weekend, tend to root crops, compost piles and garden beds as needed.
At 4am on Monday, November 18th the Moon transitions into the Air sign of Gemini. Then at 5am, it reaches its highest point along the Southern horizon, marking the beginning of the Biodynamic Transplanting period. Now for the next two weeks, life forces will be descending into the soil and lower plant parts making it an ideal time for plant establishment and root growth.
In the early morning, before Sunrise, we gather again before our ceramic crocks to potentize and offer Horn Silica BD 501 out to our farms. Similar to our ceremony a week ago, Archangel Michael’s forces continue to support us in finding Courage today and this week, as we approach the end of Autumn, crossing deeper through the threshold of Death.
On Tuesday, November 19th we work alongside the Flower Kingdom while the Moon remains in Gemini, taking time to feel into the increased Spiritual Light cast down to Earth from the constellation of the Twins.
Early on Wednesday, November 20th the Moon moves into the Water sign of Cancer at 5am bringing forth a focus on the ether of Tone. Today and tomorrow, Thursday, November 21st care for the leafy plants that fill our greenhouses taking moments of pause to connect with the unique living forces that bring life to your farm and gardens.
At 9pm on Thursday the Moon transitions into the Fire sign of Leo connecting us again to the Spiritual Warmth that will always continue to exist behind the material cold that we feel with our physical touch as the days grow shorter.
On Friday, November 22nd, Saturday, November 23rd and Sunday, November 24th the Moon moves through the constellation of Leo encouraging us to work with Fruiting plants. While this might be seasonally difficult for some, we can internalize this influence allowing the climate of the outer world to influence the work that we do within ourselves.
As we’ve discussed before, the threshold of Death that we currently cross eventually leads us back to rebirth, and what lies in between depends greatly on the choices each one of us makes daily. While resurrection will come, we are given an opportunity this Winter to either continue with the current status quo of densification (the gift that Ahriman has brought us) or we can work to Spiritually evolve ourselves in order to find the Freedom that lies on the other side of darkness.
This weekend, the Cosmos invites us to reflect on our lives, this past year and each moment where we are given a chance to exercise compassion, serving the greater good of all Humanity. With the Lion overhead, we are now given the Freedom to deepen our devotion to ourselves and our gardens, engaging our Will in a commitment to furthering our Spiritual evolution in the face of Ahriman (and Lucifer).
On Sunday, November 24th the weekend comes to a close with the Moon transitioning into Virgo at 6pm. This week, in preparation for the beginning of Advent, we invite in the Earthly powers of the Virgin into our lives as we continue to become in greater alignment with the celestial world.
If you are needing a NEW 2025 calendar, the Stella Natura Biodynamic Calendar and the Maria Thun 2025 Biodynamic Almanac are IN STOCK at JPIBiodynamics.org and great resources to help guide you through this work.
May we all find the Courage to Evolve - Russell
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Thank you!! 💥✨💥