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The Hibernian (Irish) Mysteries As The Foundation of Biodynamics (Part VI)
by L.A. Rotheraine, Evergreen Elm's Master Gardener
"Now I will turn again to the fact that in this 5th post Atlantean epoch humanity will have to find ways of dealing with great life problems which in a certain sense were veiled by the wisdom of the past. I have already called your attention to them. One of these great problems will be concerned with finding out how to place the spiritual etheric forces at the service of practical life ..."
- Rudolf Steiner, November 25,1917, Dornach, Switzerland The Wrong and Right Use of Esoteric Knowledge
In 1924, Rudolf Steiner gave us the science that utilizes the spiritual etheric forces. The biodynamic preparations bring the spiritual etheric forces into the service of practical life. Biodynamic science is a new form of the primeval wisdom given to humanity by spiritual beings that contemporary humanity calls angels and ancient civilizations called gods. In ancient times, the angels told humans how to use spiritual forces in Oracle Sanctuaries.
Oracle Sanctuaries were the names of the places where ancient wise women and men were instructed in the mysteries of creation by our angelic teachers. The highest Oracle Sanctuary was that of the Sun (Christ) Oracle. Steiner called the Sun Oracle the highest, most sublime of all the ancient Oracles since it not only encompassed the Christ Mystery, but also all the other oracle wisdom within it. The wisdom, mysteries of the Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Venus and Vulcan oracles were held in the Christ (Sun/Son) Oracle just as the material realities of plant and animal creation are outlined in Steiner's Agriculture. Agriculture, by Dr. Rudolf Steiner, is the Sun science now and for the future of earth evolution.
The biodynamic science is man's path back to the ancient creative wisdom. In many ways, it is the new form of the ancient Sun Oracle. How and when did the decline of the angelic science begin? Dr. Steiner states in his book, An Outline of Esoteric Science:
"Toward the middle of the Atlantean period of evolution a great evil gradually began to manifest itself within mankind. The mysteries of the initiates ought to have been carefully guarded from individuals who had not purified their astral bodies of error through preparation. When such human beings acquire a certain insight into mystery knowledge, into the laws by which the higher beings guide the forces of nature, they then place these laws at the service of their perverted needs and passions. The danger was all the greater, since human beings, as already described, came into the realm of lower spiritual beings who, unable to carry out the regular Earth evolution, acted contrary to it. These spiritual beings influenced human beings constantly by arousing in them interests that were, in truth, directed against the welfare of mankind. But human beings had still the ability to use the forces of growth and reproduction of animal and human nature for their own purposes. Not only ordinary human beings, but also a number of the initiates succumbed to the temptations of lower spiritual beings. They went so far as to use the described supersensible forces in a way that ran counter to the development of mankind, and for this activity they sought associates who were not initiated and who - for lower ends - seized upon the mysteries of the supersensible working of nature. The consequence was a great corruption of mankind. The evil spread further and further, and since the forces of growth and reproduction, when diverted from their natural functions and used independently, stand in a mysterious connection with certain forces that work in air and water, mighty, destructive nature forces were unfettered by human deeds. This led to the gradual destruction of the Atlantean region through terrestrial catastrophes of air and water. The Atlantean humanity insofar as it did not perish in the storms - was compelled to emigrate. At that time the earth received through these storms a new face. (On the one side, Europe, Asia and Africa received gradually the shapes they bear today. On the other side, America. To these lands went great migrations."
The area of land now called Ireland survived these catastrophes.
B.C.J. Lievegoed in MYSTERY STREAMS IN EUROPE AND THE NEW MYSTERIES, states, "Secluded in a forgotten area in Ireland, the 'great Hibernian Mysteries' lived on as deep, secret, direct Sun Mysteries, a continuation of the central Sun Oracle of Atlantis."
"One feels that what Rudolf Steiner said about the Hibernian Mysteries before the Christmas Foundation meeting could become the foundation for Biodynamic agriculture after the meeting.
The Hibernian Mysteries did not follow the route from Middle Atlantis to Central Asia. They continued directly from the great Atlantean Sun Oracle and were connected with Atlantean clairvoyance.
These (the Hibernian-Atlantean esoteric knowledge) were the great mysteries - great because of the vast span between Saturn and Vulcan, and the direct encounter with the Christ."
For the specifics of how the Irish-Hibernian Mysteries radiated Rudolf Steiner's soul, see Biodynamics 181,185,192,197 and 203.
Students of the Irish Mysteries, like the Atlantean students of the Sun Oracle became masters of the spiritual etheric forces that create mineral, plant and animal life on earth. They were taught by spiritual beings that build the nature kingdoms on earth. Contemporary humanity calls these beings angels as ancient civilizations called these same beings gods. These beings are the primary life forces in the universe. Through biodynamic agriculture, the 20th century is about to learn that genetics are merely the result of the forces of these angelic hierarchies. It is to harness and utilize the spiritual etheric forces of the angels that Dr. Steiner gave us the biodynamic science. Biodynamic agriculture is the tool, the medium for the conscious working of human and angel on earth.
Let us turn to the summer of 1994 to examine the possibility that the Irish-Sun wisdom is back on earth.
In 1994, I placed bags of horn silica next to the four or five Selke Biodynamic Cherry tomatoes and the one Ratatouille tomato I would use to create our master seeds for 1995. I also used, and continue to use, extra-ordinary amounts of unusual combinations of the biodynamic preparations. For details, see Biodynamics 203, the 501 Ratatouille Tomato Seeds.
A spiritual mutation took place in both the Selke Biodynamic Cherry Tomato seeds and Ratatouille Tomato seeds from those particular seed tomatoes. I said,
" About 1/3 of our plants from the seeds of the Ratatouille tomato that had the bag of 501 over it developed hundreds of quick ripening pear and plum shaped tomatoes, while the other 2/3 produced the normal large fruited, multifarious shaped Ratatouilles. Since a cross between the Ratatouille and the one cherry tomato plant that was 25 feet away from our 501 Ratatouille has been deemed "impossible or at least very highly unlikely" (because of the anther-stigma style geometry of both self pollinating species) by everyone from Seed Savers to Penn State something strange has happened.
There were hundreds of ripening pear and plum shaped tomatoes on 9 of our 24 Ratatouille plants - 2 had been uprooted by the rain saturated soil and wind. I believe we had 26 all together.
These Ratatouilles were in bunched clusters identical to our cherry tomato. The first pear shaped and plum shaped tomatoes were ripe in about 70-75 days. They were seedy like the cherry but much sweeter. Their color was like that of the cherry. The plums were about 2-3" wide and 2" long and the pear about 2" long by 1-1/2" wide.*
I assumed it was the 504 or 505 that produced the strange phenomena. I inoculated each tomato hill with either the stinging nettle or oak bark preparations. My assumption was based on a similarity in form that appeared in several of our hybrid Early Girls. They were not our seeds yet they exhibited the same bunching characteristics as our cherry. A few of the Early Girl tomatoes took on the plum form with 2 longitudinal lines creating seams in them, that sort of squared them off, quartering them in the early stages. These lines ran from the stem to blossom end but disappeared in the ripening stage. These lines eventually disappeared as the growing season progressed. I picked the best pear and plum shaped tomatoes to enter in the McKean County Fair and purchased entry forms for them indicating plum or pear. This would be the first year we had ripe tomatoes other than the cherry to enter in the other four, tomato categories.
On Sunday, August 6th, I decided to pick a few more tomatoes from each of the five species we were entering, as back ups, in case anything happened to my original selections. There were still plenty of plum shaped tomatoes, but to my amazement, the pear shaped tomatoes (dozens were still on the vines several days before) ripened into plum shaped forms. Ironically, in the five tomato classes, we took four first place ribbons - cherry, plum shaped, pear shaped and pink. Our Ratatouille took a 5th (one cracked open because someone squeezed it before it was judged - one of our own people). Our pink tomato blue ribbon was five partially ripened Ratatouilles of the heart shaped variety. Those of you that have grown the Ratatouille know that they keep their pink color for several weeks before turning bright red. Another interesting aspect of the 501 Ratatouille seeds - the seeds from one 501 Ratatouille Tomato accounted for four ribbons in four different tomato categories and three of the four received first place money! (See also McKean County Fair Statistics and Highlands Star Seed Ad.)
What about the 501 Cherry Tomatoes? Like the Ratatouille, they were directly under a bag with 2 units of 501 in it. About 30 were grown up here from their 501 seeds. Dave Vecellio of Big Shanty, PA got a 12 footer with over 2000 tomatoes. I should say over 1998 cherries and 2 small, beefsteak-formed Ratatouilles. Evergreen Elm had a total of about 10 cherry tomato plants. Our biggest and best Selke BD Cherry tomato was the only one that had one small beefsteak formed Ratatouille! And one of our hybrid Early Girls (not our seeds) also had one beefsteak formed Ratatouille!"
In 1996, something equally interesting happened. Dave Vecellio's 1995 Selke Biodynamic Cherry Tomato plant had two Ratatouilles appear on separate, independent branches from the clusters of cherry tomatoes on the plant. As you can see in the picture, Dave's 1996 Selke Biodynamic Cherry Tomato plant has a Ratatouille at the end of a cluster of cherry tomatoes. Dave was given his plant by me. It was a continuation of the line of cherry tomatoes that had the bag of 501 by the seed tomatoes. I used a bag of 501 on the 1995 seed tomatoes also - and will continue to do this in 1997. Our cherry tomatoes at the Elm St. Garden produced a few Ratatouilles also. Those that harvested them do not remember where they were located on the plant.
If you look at the picture of Janet Giordano's cluster of "cherry tomatoes" you'll be amazed to know that they came off of a Ratatouille plant I gave her. It too was a continuation of the 501 Ratatouille strain from 1994. Janet had
about half a dozen clusters of cherry tomatoes on her otherwise perfect Ratatouille plant. There were no other tomato plants in Dave Vecellio's garden or Janet's. Not that it would matter anyway, because a physical cross is just about impossible.
The year 1996 held one more interesting surprise for us. For about six or seven years now, I've been trying to grow the perfect or archetypal Ratatouille tomato - without success. This would be a semicircular form, neither convoluted nor convex at the blossom end and without shoulders at the stem end. Those tending toward this form store better and are easier to transport because they are more difficult to bruise. A Ratatouille plant, again, a descendant of the 1994 501 
Ratatouille, was given to Bradford gardener, Bob Cummins. As you can see by the picture, Bob Cummins raised the plant that produced the quintessential Ratatouille Tomato. Fortunately, I sprayed that plant many times with both Thun Barrel Compost and horn silica (501) mixed with juice of valerian flowers (507). The juice of valerian flowers is added to the horn silica after the horn silica has been stirred for forty minutes and the two are stirred together for the last twenty minutes. Bob also used our fermentation process of fermenting the seeds in juice of valerian flowers for the tomato pictured and another Ratatouille that was smaller but equally as perfect in form. We will use the seeds from Bob Cummins Ratatouilles in 1997. All future generations of biodynamic Ratatouille Tomatoes will stem from the one pictured here or its slightly smaller twin.
I believe I know what happened to our biodynamic tomatoes. The combinations of biodynamic preparations I used and the way I used them, changed the laws of physical nature as they are taught in the 20th century. Their spiritual etheric forces created a strange intermingling between two tomato plants 25 feet apart. These spiritual etheric forces manifested, impregnated and sculpted physical substance in a way thought not to be possible.
I believe Rudolf Steiner knew the preparations had this potential when he gave them to us. The problem has been we have not been creative enough in experimenting with them.
On June 10, 1924, lecture 2, Dr. Steiner states:
'. . . In former epochs - notably in primeval epochs - it was different. At that time it was still possible quite easily to transform one plant into another; hence it was very important to know these things. Today too, it is important if we wish to find what conditions are favorable to one plant or another . . .
Dr. Steiner is speaking here about the wisdom of the ancients that has become biodynamic gardening and farming - biodynamic science. From Atlantis, to Ireland, to Germany, to America came the science to reunite the human race with the angels. The angels and their creations are the spiritual etheric forces.
Thousands of years before the Sun King of the angels (Christ) sundered death's mask with His resurrection, knowledge of the Sun King, Light King of the Cosmic Word, was taught in the Atlantean Sun Oracle. At that time, humans and angels worked together, in special circumstances.
The Atlantean Sun (Christ) Oracle survived the Biblical Great Flood in the region we call Ireland today. The mysteries of the Sun Oracle metamorphosed into the Hibernian (Irish) Mysteries after the final destruction of Atlantis. In primeval Ireland, humans and angels worked together in the creation of the nature kingdoms on earth.
At the time of the Hibernian Mysteries, the spiritual etheric forces that permeated the earth were of a much purer and living state. At the time of the last "Great Mysteries" (Hibernian Mysteries) these forces were on the wane. As the Mysteries declined, so did the life forces of our planet. It would take a spiritually conscious humanity to resurrect the aging earth. The angelic hierarchies foresaw this consequence and prepared a group of souls to work with them in this joint human/angelic project - Biodynamics. Rudolf Steiner became the ambassador between man and the angels for this task. He gave us the Hibernian Mysteries, the Biodynamic Preparations and the Agriculture Course. The Biodynamic Preparations, Biodynamic Science, should be called the resurrection preparations, the Resurrection Science. Our task now is to inoculate the soil of the entire earth with the biodynamic preparations. This will place "the spiritual, etheric forces at the service of practical life", and radiate the light of the Sun King into human souls.
Copyright 1997 L.A. Rotheraine
First printed in Biodynamic Journal