Biodynamics and Permaculture have different premises and different goals.
If you want to do permaculture, as part of TT or something else, take care to run Google searches in which biodynamics is excluded.
To get citations concerning JUST permaculture, I had to run a google advanced search in which I put biodynamics into the exclude slot.
If biodynamics is not excluded from a google search on permaculture, many citations will come up in which the casual reader will be easily led to assume the two are the same.
They actually originate from quite different persons Bill Mollison and Rudolf Steiner.
Biodynamics has a religious belief system behind its creation, though many may practice some or part of it, not having been told this and be quite unaware of it.
Or the vaguely inspirational nature of the scene in which Biodynamics is taught and often slushed together with permaculture may be soothing.
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www.google.com]
Permaculture is often mentioned in T-Town. Here is an article on its history.
Here is an article on the history of Permaculture. Note that
nothing is said about astrology, cycles of the moon
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1. Care of the Earth ...includes all living and non-living things– plants, animals, land, water and air
2. Care of People ...promotes self-reliance and community responsibility– access to resources necessary for existence
3. Setting Limits to Population & Consumption ...gives away surplus– contribution of surplus time, labor, money, information, and energy to achieve the aims of earth and people care.
Permaculture also acknowledges a basic life ethic, which recognizes the intrinsic worth of every living thing. A tree has value in itself, even if it presents no commercial value to humans. That the tree is alive and functioning is worthwhile. It is doing its part in nature: recycling litter, producing oxygen, sequestering carbon dioxide, sheltering animals, building soils, and so on.
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www.permacultureactivist.net]
By contrast, unlike the permaculture stance which attributs intrinsic worth to every livihg thing, Rudolf Steiner made some worrisome distinctions between nations and their allegedy different karmic destinies. Steiner, an Austrian was convinced that Central Europe occuppied a priviliged place in the spiritual evolution of Europe.
Austria had lived through a quite different version of that same myth--that its ruling family, the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperors, embodied a special destiny for the redemption of Europe. Steiner, born in the 19th century, tried to take a medieval notion of destiny and tranlated into it into something that tried to reconcile modernity with much earlier belief systems which were under stress and becoming outmoded. Steiner tried to extend this sense of mastery to everything--from the stars down to how to bring redemption to the soil via biodynamic methods which he created. He was trying to bring a sense of coherance to a world under stress.
But..this agenda is very different from permaculture which Steiner would have written off as materialistic.
Here are some of Steiners notions that, unlike in permaculture, some peoples or nations have better karma than others.
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Let us, for instance, compare a Frenchman with a Russian. It is a Frenchman's particular trait that he is especially persistent in holding onto, and dwelling in, what the collective soul of his people carries into his physical body and ether body during his life between birth and death. This can be seen in his definitive idea — not as an individual but as a Frenchman — of what it is to be French. Above all, he stresses the importance of being French and what that means to him. But this notion held by Frenchmen or by anyone else from a Romance culture about their nationality affects the ether body by clearly imprinting the idea of nationality on it. A few days after the Frenchman has passed through the gate of death he loses his ether body; it is then a closed entity that has a prolonged existence in the etheric world. The ether body is unable to dissolve for a long time because it is impregnated with, and held together by, the Frenchman's idea of nationality. Thus, if we look to the West we see the field of death filled with firmly defined ether bodies.
Now, if we take a closer look to the East, at Russian man, we recognize his peculiar trait; his soul, upon passing through the gate of death, carries an ether body that dissolves in a relatively short period of time. That is the difference between the West and the East. When the ether bodies of Western Europeans are separated after death, they tend to maintain a certain rigidity. What the Frenchman calls “Gloire” is impregnated in his ether body as a national Gloire. He is condemned for a long time after his death to turn his spiritual sight onto this ether body, and to look at himself (The Russian, however, looks little at himself after his death.) Through all this, Western European man is exposed to the ahrimanic influence because his ether body has been infected by materialistic thinking.
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in Central Europe the close association of the “I” with the Christ principle had put a stamp on the entire development of the area, to the effect that even the linguistic spirit of a people took up this association and equated “I” (Ich) and “CH” (Christ): I-CH conjoined became “Ich.” In pronouncing “Ich” in Central Europe one utters the name of Jesus Christ. That is how close the “I” wants to be to the Christ, longing for the most intimate closeness with Him. This living together, as one, with the spiritual world, which we in Central Europe must strive to attain in all intellectual fields, is not known in the West or in the East. Therefore, something in the twentieth century is necessary so that the Christ principle can gradually spread over the entire European continent.
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The alliance between France and Russia (World War I) can be blamed on the seductive powers of Ahriman or, if you will, on the ahrimanic element, the twenty billion francs that France gave to Russia.
'This alliance is the physical expression of a struggle raging between French and Russian souls, a struggle that has an impact on Central Europe as it strives in its innermost soul for an encounter with the Christ. It is the karma of Europe that we in Central Europe must experience in an especially tragic way what the West and East must settle between themselves
There is a highly readable Indian Anthroposophical website that supplies information on Biodynamic farming methods. Since discussions in America and the UK often mush or elide permaculture and biodynamics into a very confusing muddle, its worth while to read this just to observe some differences.
One commenter on a website I did not cite said, dont get lost in terminology.
Well, clarifying terms is important in clear communication.
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www.biodynamics.in]
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The Preparations
The Biodynamic preparations, when applied to the soil in the various ways – through the stirred cow horn dung BD500, and the preparations BD502-507 which are used in composts, liquid manures or cow pat pit (CPP) – on one level actually work through the soil micro life and encourage the development of mycorrhizal fungi hyphae and the rhizobia as well as other micro and macaro soil organisms. They thus work to enliven the soil structure and make the plant nutrients more available. Again to quote Rudolf Steiner, “The plants then will be able to use not only what is in their own field, but what is in the soil of a nearby meadow if they happen to need it or of what is in the soil in the neighbouring forest.” The forces that are in the preparations work through the microbial life in the soil or the healthy nature of the soil. Cosmic influences come into the soil through healthy living soil.
Actually the preparations make the organic part of the soil active and living. The biodynamic farmer can actually see the changes in the structure of his soil and also most importantly the health and quality of his crops.
The enlivening of the soil through the increase of the living organisms therein, is the most important aspect of the biodynamic system of agriculture. Actually it is the preparations which make organic farming work.
We can now come to the thought that there is a spiritual impulse or connection, working out there between the soil, plant and the cosmos. The preparations when used on the land, can be seen as a bridge between the life of the soil and the wholesome growth of all plants. Rudolf Steiner talks about nature spirits or elemental beings which are also a bridge between the world of spirit and the world of plant and the world of animals. Thus, it is great if the farmer can develop a connection with his plants and his animals with enthusiasm for their well-being.
Rudolf Steiner calls it the etheric formative force, where Spirit is working out of Matter.
Biodynamics and Homeopathy
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www.biodynamics.in]
Here for starters is how biodynamic farmers are advised to time planting cycles.
The preparations are
(BD500 - Cow Horn Manure
BD501 - Cow Horn Silica
BD502 - Yarrow
BD503 - Chamomile
BD504 - Stinging Nettle
BD505 - Himalayan Oak Bark
BD506 - Dandelion
BD507 - Valerian
BD508 - Casurina Tea
)
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www.biodynamics.in]
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BD 500 Application Harvesting
BD 501 Application Liquid Manure Application
Compost Making Peppering
Compost Spreading Plant Potatoes
Cultivation & Soil Preparation Pruning
Fungus Control Seed Sowing
Transplanting Seedlings, Container Grown Plants, Trees & Shrubs
BD 500 Application
During an Descending Moon Period
in the afternoon/evening (sunset)
at the beginning of the plant's growth
and just before harvest
BD 501 Application
During an Ascending Moon Period
in the morning (sunrise)
at the beginning of the plant's growth
and just before harvest
ALSO
on Moon opposite Saturn day
in the morning (sunrise)
to strengthen against fungus & improve quality
Seed Sowing
On Moon opposite Saturn day
48 hours before Full Moon
during an Ascending Moon Period
AVOID NODE, APOGEE, PERIGEE & NEW MOON
for the particular constellation effect:
Root Plant -- Earth constellation day
Capricorn/Makara
Taurus/Vrishaba
Leafy Plant -- Water constellation day
Pisces/Mina
Flowering Plant -- Air/Light constellation day
Gemini/Mithuna
Aquarius/Kumbha
Fruit or Seed Plant -- Fire/Warmth constellation day
Sagittarius/Dhanush
Aries/Mesha
Compost Making
Best during Descending Moon period
Compost Spreading
During Descending Moon period
in cool weather
depending on soil conditions
and crop requirements
Cultivation & Soil Preparation
Best during Descending Moon period
when weather and soil conditions permit
NOTE: Cultivation and working the soil when it is wet can cause structual damage
Transplanting Seedlings, Container Grown Plants, Trees and Shrubs
Best during Descending Moon period
at appropriate season
Harvesting
Best during Ascending Moon period, except for roots and potatoes,
which are best during Descending Moon Period
Fruit, green vegetables, hay and silage
keep better and maintain quality in storage
if harvested during an Air/Light Flower period:
Gemini/Mithuna or Aquarius/Kumbha
Grains and Seeds for saving
best when harvested during a Fire/Warmth seed period:
Sagittarius/Dhanush or Aries/Mesha
Roots and potatoes
best harvested in a Descending Moon period
when the Moon is in the Earth root sign Virgo/Kanya
AVOID Harvesting at Full Moon, Perigee and during a Water constellation leaf day, such as Pisces/Mina, since these are times of more water in the Earth, so the crops would hold too much water for satisfactory storage.
Liquid Manure Application
Best just before Full Moon
in the afternoon
several times during crop growth, as needed
Plant Potatoes
Best during Apogee
Fungus Control
During Full Moon and Perigee
Spray with BD 508 prior to & during these days
These are stress times, they bring watery influences to the Earth
which can lead to fungus attacks, esp. during warm weather.
ALSO
On Moon opposite Saturn
Spray with BD 501 in the early morning (sunrise)
which will strengthen the plant to resist fungus
Pruning
Best during Descending Moon period
Fruit trees & berry shrubs at appropriate season
on a Fire/Warmth day, if possible
Leo/Simha or Sagittarius/Dhanush
Flowering shrubs and roses at appropriate season
on an Air/Light day, if possible
Gemini/Mithuna or Libra/Tula
Peppering
At Full Moon, several times during the growing season
Best when Sun in following constellations for specific pests:
Sun in Aries/Mesha for larvae
Sun in Taurus/Vrishaba for hardshell insects
Sun in Gemini/Mithuna for flies
Sun in Cancer/Karkata for snails & slugs
From the Steiner lecture quoted above
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"We can understand this clearly by realizing that for occult knowledge it is evident that the earth is not only what geologists describe. Geologists conceive the earth's components as being similar to the skeleton of man. Yet the spiritual also belongs to our earth whose aura has been permeated by Christ. During the day's twenty-four hours, this earth sleeps and is awake just as we are. We must familiarize ourselves with the fact that the state of wakefulness on earth occurs during the winter, and the state of sleep during the summer. The earth spirit is most awake in these twelve or thirteen days from Christmas to the Epiphany. In ancient ages when, as you know from the various presentations in my lecture series, human beings elevated themselves to a sort of dreamlike clairvoyance to reach a spiritual understanding of the world, in those ages the most favorable time for this process was summer. Thus, it is quite natural that whoever wants to elevate himself to spiritual heights by means of a more dreamlike clairvoyance will have an easier time of it during the summer, when the earth is asleep. Therefore, St. John's midsummer-day was in ancient ages the most propitious time to raise the soul to the spiritual level. The old way of spiritual interaction with the earth has been replaced by a more conscious elevation that can best be reached during the earth's wakefulness.
For this reason, legends inform us that unusually endowed people, who are particularly suited by their karmas, pass into an extraordinary state of consciousness that resembles sleep, but only on the surface. its inner quality is such that it can be inspired by those forces that elevate human beings to the domain we call the spirit world.
"
This from another permaculture website
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The Permaculture Design System
Permaculture draws together the diverse ideas, skills and ways of living which need to be rediscovered and developed in order to empower the local communities to move from being dependant consumers to becoming responsible and independent productive citizens.
The Permaculture Design System
ETHICS
Permaculture is not just a system for efficient production of food. It has an ethical basis which underpins the fundamental objective of practicing Permaculture anywhere on the earth. There are three key ethics:
• Care For Earth
• Care For People
• Recycle or Redistribute Surplus
If these ethical objectives of are violated in our activities then we cannot define what we are doing as Permaculture.
Corboy...I fail to see how one can come together as citizens if any group believes itself to have superior karma by occupying a priviliged place in by knowing the use of gardening alchemy and cycles of the moon to bring spiritual energies into matter and more rapidly usher in the arrival of a redemptive cosmic force and that those who dont know how to do this are considered inferior in this grand scheme of things--something not even mentioned in histories of permaculture obtained by excluding biodynamics from a Google search.
Again, it appears to me that howevermuch others may diasgree, permaculture and biodynamics do start from quite different premisies and have quite different goals.