Library - "Agri-Culture:Rhythms and Rituals"

In this first session we looked at the breathing of the earth, the development of the vegetation throughout year. How do the cycles and rhythms express themselves in the different regions of the world?

With Jean-Michel Florin and Eduardo Rincon

We will look at the different qualities of the yearly cycles, which are specifically perceptible in agriculture. Fitting to these cycles, we will look at the significance of the summer solstice in different regions and at the co-creating opportunities that farmers have, for example, to influence their farms through the use of the biodynamic preparations.

With Jean-Michel Florin and Eduardo Rincon

The vitality of the earth is essentially revealed through vegetation, i.e. the growth, reproduction and decay of plants. It shows its soul in the blossoming of plants, their colourfulness and above all through the enormous diversity of the animal world. Rudolf Steiner draws our attention to the fact that the "astrality" of animals is an essential supplement for a healthy agricultural organism. In this course we will explore the specificity of the earthly summer state and the astral atmosphere of the earth, as well as looking at animals as key elements for the resilience of agricultural goods and large landscapes. 

With Jean-Michel Florin and Eduardo Rincon

Looking at the wisdom of indigenous people and how the relationship between the earth and the cosmos is represented in ancient calendars, we asked ourselves if we still can recognise this relationship today? The elements stand as mediators between the earth and the cosmos. How are the elements perceied today? Looking at the climate on earth, they seem to be out of balance. How can we recognize their essence and try to understand them, even tame them? Plants as an expression of the elements can help us to bring the elements into a dialog to create resilience and harmony.  With Jean-Michel Florin and Eduardo Rincon

The world is constantly in motion. Every place on Earth, every farm, has its unique character and individuality concerning its environment and biography, in which humans play a central role. As humans, we are called upon not only to remain in motion but to develop, shape, and transform ourselves. Transformation can occur through the conscious development of our inner attitudes and deliberate action in the outer world.

With Eduardo Rincon and Jean-Michel Florin.

Plants, as mirrors of the environment, are very receptive to cosmic influences. To understand this better, we also need to look at the cosmos.  In what rhythms do the sun, our moon and the planets in our solar system move? What qualities do they characterise? We look at Rudolf Steiner's image of the superior and inferior planets  and identify various sources of cosmic influence on the plant world.

With Eduardo Rincon and Jean-Michel Florin.

With guest speaker Ernst Zürcher ( Forest Engineer ETH-Zurich,. Dr in natural sciences ETHZ, lecturer BFH)
Due to their perennial growth mode, trees reveal rhythms that are less obvious in annual plants. At the level of biology, physiology and physics, they show cyclic, reversible processes with astronomical periodicities. Forestry traditions stipulating variations of the wood properties in function of the Moon position at the tree felling date have long been considered by science as mere superstitions. As such traditions exist independently all over the world, and as water has always been taken into account for understanding wood behaviour, good reasons were given for researching these topics as chronobiological phenomena, using modern scientific tools and accurate statistical methods. Similar reflections in the field of tree biology (germination and initial growth) and tree physiology (diameter fluctuations, sap flow, bio-electricity) led to specific research either. The results open fascinating perspectives, especially in the light of the new water paradigm.

December: In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice, the astronomical beginning of winter, occurs on the 21st. The living earth has breathed in. How is this quality of time expressed in nature? In contrast, how does it look in the southern hemisphere?

In many traditions, December is a search for light in the darkness. Lights are lit and Christmas is celebrated. What does Christmas mean to you? What can we find in these holy nights for ourselves and for the coming (agricultural) year? With Jean-Michel Florin