Upcoming Events

Biodynamic Ashing Mini-Workshop on Insect Pest Control

With Mark Eisen, MD

Friday, May 18, 2007

1:00 PM to 5:00 PM (promptly!)

Dear Friends!

I am offering this second mini-workshop on ashing of insect pests as a method of pest control in garden and home. In 1923 at the first lecture cycle on Biodynamic Agriculture, Rudolf Steiner introduced this method and it was put into practical use. Basically it involves the ashing of the pest followed by a first step towards the homeopathic potentizing of the ashes. If we arrive on time and work in a focused way, we can do this in about 4 hours. Everyone will have hands on experience from this workshop. Last year we had a great time working together and there was a wonderful atmosphere of devotion to the process and the the idea of creating a remedy!

Several friends and I have diligently collected cockroaches and other chitinous insects for the past year or so and they will be the object of the ashing. With help from my good friend, Hugh Courtney, Founder of the Josephine Porter Institute for Biodynamic Research, the above date was determined to be appropriate for the ashing. The dates are very specific for the type of insect or animal being ashed. In this case, both sun and moon are in Taurus. The Friday mentioned is the only reasonable time and I will be available to conduct the workshop. (We may have a later workshop in June for the grain/clothing moths I have been collecting this past year. There is a greater window of time for this moth group).

The workshop will be fully practical—we need to get the ashing completed and then we will do a first potentization by hand, which incorporates the insect ash with the wood ash. This is the first step to becoming a useful remedy. Rather than have a lecture, I will try to explain as we go along just what we are doing.

If things go as hoped, we will have two groups; those who participated last year and newcomers. The newcomers will work on the steps outlined above. The experienced members will work on the first two potentizations of the insects from last year (cockroaches and millipedes).

	If you have mortars and pestles at home, preferably of stone and six or more inches across, please bring what you have. Please clean and rinse them thoroughly.
	If it is rainy we can still do this but we will need to set up a few canopies to work under—please contact me if you have one of the newer, quick set up canopies available to lend us.
	I will have water and herb teas to share.
	Consider bringing a light snack with enough to share if we have time for a break

We will have a few copies left over of the Kimberton Hills Biodynamic Planting Calendar, “Stella Natura”. They are on sale and are available at the Jubilee Store at my practice. I believe we have about six copies left.

All are invited but…..last year we had about a dozen participants. This was just comfortable and we can try to fit in a few more this year. So please call my office ASAP to register (919-967-9452). I look forward to seeing you there.

Yours, Mark Eisen

Location: 1900 South Lakeshore Dr., Chapel Hill, NC, 27514 (my home)

Fee: None

Call: 919-967-9452 for registration

Mark J. Eisen, MD • 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Suite A • Chapel Hill, NC 27514 • (919) 967-9452