Biodynamics: A Deeper Dive

Rooted in Crisis: The Spiritual Emergency of 1924

Rudolf Steiner's Agriculture Course, given in June 1924 at Koberwitz (now Kobierzyce, Poland), was not just a lecture series. It was a spiritual and cultural response to a profound crisis. The soil was deteriorating. Seeds no longer carried vitality. Farmers felt helpless. In Steiner’s own words:

The land is dying. That is why you have come to me.
– Rudolf Steiner, quoted in Peter Selg, The Agriculture Course: Koberwitz, Whitsun 1924 (Great Barrington, MA: SteinerBooks, 2010), 29.

At the request of Count Carl von Keyserlingk, Steiner addressed a group of 111 farmers, scientists, and estate owners. For eight days, he gave eight lectures—what would become known as Geisteswissenschaftliche Grundlagen zum Gedeihen der Landwirtschaft (Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture).

We were utterly astonished. Nothing in our academic training had prepared us for this.
– Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, personal journal, June 1924, quoted in Peter Selg, The Agriculture Course, 63.

The course unfolded not as instruction but as revelation. It drew from anthroposophy, Goethean science, and alchemical traditions. Steiner spoke of “etheric forces,” the importance of planetary influences, and the spiritual individuality of each farm.

What we call agriculture today is a corpse. We must begin to work with the living.
– Rudolf Steiner, Agriculture Course, Lecture 1, GA 327.

The Koberwitz Community

The lectures were part of a broader experience—meals, discussions, biodynamic experiments, and late-night conversations. According to participants’ journals, the atmosphere was one of both reverence and urgency.

He spoke as if from the stars themselves. We had the sense that behind his words stood a vast spiritual world.
– Count Carl von Keyserlingk, diary entry, June 10, 1924, cited in Peter Selg, The Agriculture Course, 54.

Steiner was already ill, yet he showed great strength during the course. Pfeiffer later wrote:

This was the last time we saw him in full command of his mission. The power of his presence was unforgettable.
– Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, From Crops to Cuisine (Spring Valley, NY: Biodynamic Association, 1947), 12.

Key Themes That Emerged

The Agriculture Course was not a manual but a spiritual framework. Participants were urged to think holistically, to observe, to perceive life inwardly as well as outwardly. Some themes only hinted at in the beginner guide take full shape here:

• The Farm Individuality:

Every farm should approximate a self-contained individuality.
– Rudolf Steiner, Agriculture Course, Lecture 2, GA 327.

• The Role of the Cow:

The cow is the true digestive organ of the farm.
– Ibid.

• Preparations as Spiritual Instruments:

The preparations are not physical substances; they are carriers of cosmic forces.
– Rudolf Steiner, Agriculture Course, Lecture 4, GA 327.

• Human Beings as Mediators:

The human being must bring the spiritual into the practical.
– Rudolf Steiner, Agriculture Course, Lecture 6, GA 327.

Every compost heap is a mystery site.
– Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, Soil Fertility: Renewal and Preservation (London: Faber & Faber, 1938), 84.

Advanced Indications and Practical Application

The Agriculture Course includes practical recommendations for implementing the spiritual science of biodynamics. While not always systematic, the clues are deep and potent. Below is a refined chart for advanced students and practitioners:

The moment of stirring, the way it is done, and the mood of the person matter greatly.
– Rudolf Steiner, Agriculture Course, Lecture 6, GA 327.

Aftermath and Spread of the Work

Following the course, Steiner fell seriously ill and passed away the next spring (1925). But the impulse he had given bore fruit. Pfeiffer was tasked with developing practical applications.

You must go out and carry this impulse into the world.
– Rudolf Steiner to Pfeiffer, quoted in Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, From Crops to Cuisine (Spring Valley, NY: Biodynamic Association, 1947), 13.

In 1928, Demeter certification was established. By the 1930s, Pfeiffer was teaching in the U.S. and publishing the results of field trials. Meanwhile, Maria Thun, the Koliskos, and others began decades-long research into sowing rhythms and preparations.

Why This Moment Still Matters

The Koberwitz course is not merely a historical event—it marks the beginning of a new way of thinking. In the face of today’s ecological collapse, Steiner’s message resonates ever more deeply.

We are called to develop a new kind of perception—one that recognizes the spiritual realities at work in every seed, every root, every star.
– Peter Selg, The Agriculture Course, 9.

We need to find the courage to let the invisible speak again.
– Count Carl von Keyserlingk, quoted in Peter Selg, The Agriculture Course, 65.

This deeper dive is not a technique or toolkit—it is a call to spiritual responsibility, born from crisis, and pointing toward renewal.

Want to Go Even Further?

If this deeper dive into the foundations of biodynamics has stirred your curiosity, you're invited to continue the journey. The next canvas will explore the esoteric and cosmic dimensions of biodynamic agriculture—where etheric forces, planetary rhythms, elemental beings, and astrological influences meet the farm and garden.

➡️ Continue to: Biodynamics and the Cosmos

➡️ Go to Biodynamic Books

➡️ Go to Biodynamic Preparations

Further Reading

• Rudolf Steiner, Agriculture Course, GA 327 (Koberwitz, 1924).

• Peter Selg, The Agriculture Course: Koberwitz, Whitsun 1924 (SteinerBooks, 2010).

• Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, From Crops to Cuisine (Biodynamic Association, 1947).

• Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, Soil Fertility: Renewal and Preservation (Faber & Faber, 1938).

• Carl von Keyserlingk, diary excerpts quoted in Selg, The Agriculture Course.

• Lili Kolisko and Eugen Kolisko, Agriculture of Tomorrow (1945).