Each year for the past 11 on January 6, Barbara Shinn and David Page walk the perimeter of their 20-acres of vineyard while tossing a combination of rainwater, gold, frankincense and myrrh into the air as an offering of thanks to the four elements that make their farm possible: earth, air, fire and water. It’s a ritual that’s part of their system of biodynamic farming, but it’s different from the rest of the preps they apply during the rest of the year. Those are 500-508 in the procedure developed by Rudolf Steiner in the 1920s, and they aid in farming. The Three Kings preparation, says Shinn, looks outward. “Basically as farmers were always taking something from our land and asking a lot from our farm and the eco system. This is a way to give back after a long hard season, and every year is a long hard season.”
Preparation starts on New Year’s Eve at 11:30 p.m. Using a porcelain mortar and pestle Shinn mixes the gold — Aurum metallicum — and the resins, frankincense and myrrh, for one hour. On Jan. 6, also known as the Feast of the Epiphany or Three Kings Day, he starts at 1:30 p.m. and dilutes the paste with warm rainwater in a nonmetallic container and starts stirring for one hour. The instructions that come with the ingredients from the Josephine Porter Institute state: “It is particularly important in the case of the Three Kings Preparation that the person stirring be fully conscious of and focused on the purpose to be accomplished through use of this preparation.”
All over Facebook, people are vowing to spend the year paying it forward to the first five people who say “I’m in.” Studies, like this one from the University of Pennsylvania, are frequently referenced in blog posts about how acts of gratitude make you happier.
“Myrrh is many times made into a anointing oil used during funerals,” says Shinn, “to help the dead pass over to the next realm. Frankincense is used more as an offer to the cosmos, like any kind of incense. And gold, gold is really beautiful because it’s a precious metal. It’s a very human gift to give. It’s a gift of brightening and clarity.”
While the ritual — and its intent to honor the elements — may sound religious to some, Shinn says it’s not. “It’s farming. It’s in addition to regular farming practices. “We’re part of the universe. We’re in outer space. We’re out there with everyone else. I can’t be so myopic to think my 20 acres is a stand alone unit.”
All over Facebook, people are vowing to spend the year paying it forward to the first five people who say “I’m in.” Studies, like this one from the University of Pennsylvania, are frequently referenced in blog posts about how acts of gratitude make you happier. “This is one small gesture for me to be able to give back,” says Shinn. “During the year, the preps I put down are to bring nutrients and thus a better crop and better wine. This a gift; it makes our vineyard a safe haven for the earth, air, fire and water.”
Other Edible stories about biodynamics are here and here.
