As an Earth-friendly system of farming, Biodynamic practices sometimes include mimicking what we find in Nature. Most of the Biodynamic preparations and ferments, with the exception of the compost preparations are diluted with water and dynamised before use. ‘Dynamising’ is the Biodynamic term used to describe the specific stirring of the solution, which is a method that creates the vortices we see in Nature’s free-running waters. So let’s take a minute to look at this process.
Firstly we need to take a look at water; Water is Hydrogen and its oxide, oxygen (H20). Hydrogen is highly organisational in the way that it bonds with oxygen to create water; because of this water has a memory for patterns built into its molecular structure. This enables patterns to be embedded in water structures, this in turn provide organisation which is the basis of life. Hydrogen inspires Life and Oxygen is its carrier!
With this in mind, water and its capacity for memory is the ideal medium to impart the Biodynamic preparations’ rhythms, energies and patterns to both soil and atmosphere.
So how do we impart the Biodynamic preparations into the water? We use the vortex motion and dynamising process. We find vortices throughout nature, from seed pods and snail shells through to our galaxy which is in the form a vortex. When we add the preparations to water and stir it in one direction vigorously to create the vortex, the water molecules are organised into layers that slide across each other creating an intimate laminar flow. Laminar flow allows the penetration of the patterns and energies from the Biodynamic preparations into the water. This penetration intensifies and reproduces the rhythms and influences, all the while creating the medium for applying them to our vineyards.
The vortex/laminar flow can be created by hand stirring, stirring machines and flow forms.
How to Dynamise
To create a vortex, one begins stirring in a direction, feeling the initial resistance of the water and then the easy suppleness and growing speed of it as it creates the laminar effect and a strong vortex. The water will become organised into laminar layers with the flow of water, picking up speed in the centre and flowing back up on the outside. The appearance is like the spinning vortex when you let the bath water out, only much bigger. Once the vortex is mature (organised), we reverse the direction creating chaos and energy before the new vortex has formed in the reverse direction. We repeat this action continually for one hour. Each time the vortex is produced, a new order of organisation is created. Of course, this repeated action imparts the energies, patterns and rhythms form the Biodynamic preparations and we build up the cosmic evolution of order and life.
The person doing the stirring also imparts their intentions and beliefs as they are engaged in an almost meditative action. The end result is a very special remedy to be applied on the farm to create life.
While hand-stirring is viable for small farms (max 200L), mechanised stirring is often necessary for larger concerns. There are a variety of options available to the biodynamic farmer from stirring machines (220 to 400L), and flowforms (500 to 2500L at a time) You can read more about this in our article The Lively Energy of Nature’s Water.