Dynamisation (stirring)

What is dynamisation?

Dynamisation is the rhythmic stirring with which the biodynamic spray preparations, horn manure 500, horn silica 501 and also horsetail tea, are prepared in water before use. A small amount of the preparation is put into water and stirred for a full hour. Only then is it sprayed. The name comes from the "dynamic" interaction between preparation and water: the forces of the tiny amount of preparation are meant to pass to the whole quantity of water.

Dynamisation is not a side step but an integral part of using the preparations. Steiner put the essence in a nutshell: "Much depends on bringing about an intimate interpenetration." Without this intensive stirring, the preparation would remain distributed without effect; only the rhythmic movement "opens it up" for the water.

The principle: vortex and chaos

Stirring follows a fixed pattern. With the stirring tool you create a strong vortex, a deep funnel or "stirring crater", in one direction. Once the vortex is fully formed, you break it off abruptly so that the water falls into chaos. Out of this chaos you build a new vortex in the opposite direction. This alternation of ordered vortex and dissolved chaos is repeated for the whole hour.

The funnel is of particular importance: in the biodynamic picture, it brings the water into maximum contact with its surroundings (air, light, warmth) and makes it receptive to the forces of the preparation. The repeated change of direction is regarded as the actual working principle of stirring.

Origin and practice

The method goes back to Steiner's Agriculture Course, in which he describes diluting, stirring and distributing the preparation. Today's stirring practice was worked out by Wistinghausen and others.

Stirring should be done by hand where possible, with a stirring stick or twig broom. What matters is intensive mixing: not the exact quantity, but the "intimate interpenetration". The basis is water that is as good and unpolluted as possible; it is often warmed slightly (in summer through a collecting vessel on the south side, in spring and autumn in a kettle). Clean the vessel between stirring horn manure and horn silica, because the two opposite poles should not be mixed.

When to stir and how quickly to apply

The timing depends on the preparation: since horn silica is applied in the morning, stirring starts correspondingly early; horn manure is stirred in the afternoon for application in the evening. In extreme drought it has proved useful to spray horn manure in the evening and horn silica the next morning.

The stirred preparation should be applied promptly, because its effect gradually fades after about a day. Stored in coir, however, the forces keep for several days to a few weeks, so that at times of frequent spraying you can stir "in advance"; horn manure should be sieved for longer storage. After stirring, the preparation is in any case poured through a fine sieve (jute sack, fine-meshed stocking or a stainless steel sieve) into the spray tank so that the nozzles do not clog.

Equipment: stirring barrel, broom, sieve

The stirring vessel helps determine quality and effort. Stoneware, wood (must be kept wet), copper (warming) or stainless steel (cool and neutral) are suitable; plastic and aluminium are unsuitable and, in biodynamic experience, impair the quality of the preparation. The barrel should be tall and cylindrical to slightly conical, its height about one and a half times its diameter, so that a good stirring crater forms. In a 200 to 400 litre barrel, only 150 to 300 litres are stirred accordingly; in a home garden a 10 to 20 litre vessel of clay or enamel with a stirring stick is enough.

The broom is bound from hazel, willow or birch twigs (or made as a wooden paddle) and reaches to about a hand's breadth above the bottom of the barrel; it is easiest to stir with when it is just covered by water.

Stirring by machine: where things stand

Larger farms increasingly stir mechanically to replace scarce labour. Common stirring machines imitate stirring by hand; they trigger the change of direction either with a timer or with a float switch (the latter comes closest to the rhythmic change). There are also shaking mixers (Oloid, swing mixers) and flowforms (Virbela after Wilkes) that lead water in lemniscate-shaped vortices. A conclusive experimental comparison of the stirring methods is still lacking; first results were compiled in the journal Lebendige Erde. It is widely advised to keep influences that disturb life forces (motors, electric heating, radio) away from the immediate vicinity when stirring; this is a view from biodynamic practice, not a measured effect.