A wonderfully designed book that is already treasured by some within the biodynamic movement, In Partnership with Nature deserves wider attention. Placing special emphasis on different kinds of knowledge, the author shows how they can enhance our understanding and experience of nature — as well as our practical dealings with it. The author builds upon the spiritual science of Rudolf Steiner, which emphasizes that science is possible both in the practical realm of material experience and in the realms of soul and spiritual experience.

Numerous black and white illustrations help the reader conceptualize these multiple realms of experience.

Bockemuhl begins with an introduction of the Goetheanum, Goethe, and humanity’s relationship with nature. He then discusses different approaches towards an understanding of nature, the interplay of cosmic and earthly forces upon the plant, and levels of the etheric. Next Bockemuhl addresses the relationship of architecture and the landscape and the how Rudolf Steiner introduced Goethe’s principle of metamorphosis into the field of architecture — with photographs to help illustrate the concept. The author then turns to quality evaluation, explaining how food quality cannot be judged by numbers and measurements alone. From this discussion, he guides the reader to an understanding of the medicinal plants. Finally, Bockemuhl concludes with a discussion of biodynamic agriculture — including methods of fertilization and the activity of light, plant formation and the processes of substance, the preparation plants, the life of the compost heap, and grass compost.

Translated from the original German.

Excerpts:
“Each person sees nature differently, according to his own personal attunement. A person going for a walk takes pleasure in the beauty of the landscape. The botanist discovers plants everywhere, and the artist finds motives for his work. What we experience in the world depends on the perspective from which we see it.”

“A conscious receptivity in our thinking to the pictorial side of the world and the experience of our own soul activity in this process leads us onto a path upon which we can experience etheric thought activity at once in ourselves and in the world. The context of phenomena, which constitutes the context of momentary sense perceptions, reveals itself as the essence of light. This context or periphery can be different at each time and place. The plant is shaped in accordance with the respective context of phenomena whtin which it lives. The four elements in its surroundings – earth, water, air and warmth – prepare the plant’s receptivity to stimuli from the periphery. It can receive these stimuli in particular ways. Thus the plant can become an image of the activity of light in its habitat.”

“The bio-dynamic method of agriculture, developed by Rudolf Steiner in 1924, endeavors to encourage the natural tendencies of intrinsic activity in the building up of form and substance in plant, soil and animal. For healthy plant growth it is necessary to apply different methods of management not directly to the plant, but to its surroundings. When carrying out his special endeavor, the more the farmer can bear in mind the totality of his farm – fields, meadows, forests, livestock, crop rotation, etc. – the more it can begin to take shape as an organism, with its individual place in the landscape. In this way the life processes in agriculture are intensified by comparison to those in nature. They support the plant in its intrinsic activity.”

This is a Board and staff favorite: "Very valuable from a plant observation point of view." (Steffen Schneider)

"A must read for any biodynamic practitioner." (Jean-Paul Courtens)

Author: Jochen Bockemuhl
Editors: Heinz Grotzke, Anne E. Marshall, and Horace Cartter
Paperback: 84 pages
Illustrations: Black and white illustrations
Publisher: Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association (1981)
Dimensions: 12.25 x 9.25 inches