Hi folks, saw this thread from a google search so joined to add my two pennies.
Regarding the cow horn "buisness". I have my own theory as to some of the reasoning put into it. I've not heard any biodynamic enthsiasts refer to it in this way. Firstly, I read a fair bit of Steiner and couldn't agree with or appreciate much of it. I do get along well with his ideas on farming and his 1920s warning about the bees and how they should be looked after.
Steiner saw the top 5 cms of soil as being very important and called it "nature's hymen". It could be argued that the horn represents what happens above ground, flowering, fruiting, growing etc whilst the manure represents what happens beneath it; roots, worms, microbes, and the two combined aids the growth between those two parameters. Considering that a teaspoon of this is used to treat an acre or so of land (that's an approx guess), it would seem likely that the action is not purely a physical one. One poster mentioned homeopathy and I'd agree that it's closer to that than merely supplementing the soil with microbes or silica. Over an acre, how's a teaspoon gonna do much there? I'd call it Alchemy. I do not know alot about alchemy and make no claims for it but I believe that is part of the methodology. The Tabula Smaragdina supposedly reads, in part:
'Mix the substances of the Heavens and the Earth in a natural way, then you will remain healthy and content all your life'.
The horn represents the "Heavens" and the manure represents the "Earth". The spiritualisation of matter and the materialisation of spirit. The Heavens could also be said to be the mental realm, the Earth is the physdical realm and the plants, humans and everything exist and grow between the two- the Earth's emotional/emote realm. So, this might be said to increase and improve the nature and qualities of "etheric" energies on the earth's surface, between the lower and the higher. If a human's body is taking food (earthly) and meditating (heavenly), say, in accordance with nature then he will be happy and healthy.
Obviously, I don't recommend doing this but there is another way to find out if it has any energetic affect and that's to eat a small bit. I did and it was very powerful. But putting manure in a horn and burying it is not the only thing that is done to it before it hits the ground, in less than trace amounts. It is also added to water (the emotion element to combine the heavenly mental with the physical earthly.) which is spiralled by hand for an hour and then sprayed onto the soil. Spiralled water is said to gather in "universal energy". Apparently, it makes for a black soil rich in carbon. Likely it increases worm cast production to achieve this. If I made any conclusive statements then insert a maybe here and there. My two pennies
