Dandelion (506) — a portrait of the "heavenly messenger"

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is the fifth compost preparation and bears the number 506. In the "Agriculture Course" (GA 327), Rudolf Steiner calls it a "heavenly messenger" — a plant that helps the soil respond finely to the cosmic forces. This portrait covers the plant, its mode of action and its making.

The plant

Like yarrow and chamomile, dandelion belongs to the daisy family. Steiner describes it as beneficial to the whole surroundings in which it grows. The yellow flower heads are used, collected in spring.

Mode of action: sensitivity to the cosmic

According to Steiner, dandelion gives the soil a kind of sensitivity: it helps to attract the forces from the wider surroundings — the "cosmic" — and to make them available to the plants. In the substance logic of the preparations, it is attributed a connection to silica and to the interplay with potassium. It thus adds the dimension of fine-tuning the soil to the other compost preparations.

Sheath and making

The sheath of the dandelion preparation is cattle mesentery — the peritoneum that envelops the cattle's intestines. The collected, slightly wilted flower heads are pressed together and sewn into the mesentery, forming balls. These are buried in autumn and mature in the ground over winter. From the end of April to the beginning of May they are recovered and the contents taken out as the preparation. The yearly cycle is shown in the article Making biodynamic preparations in autumn.

Use in compost

The dandelion preparation is inserted in small quantities into the maturing compost — alongside yarrow, chamomile, stinging nettle and oak bark. It is part of the combined barrel compost.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Steiner call dandelion a "heavenly messenger"?

Because, according to Steiner, the dandelion preparation helps the soil respond finely to the forces of the wider surroundings and make them available to the plants.

Which sheath belongs to the dandelion preparation?

Cattle mesentery. The sewn-in flower balls mature in the ground over winter.