Articles

Star-rhythm in mistletoe shape

Nicholas Kollerstrom
Elemente der Naturwissenschaft 94, 2011, P. 119-124 | DOI: 10.18756/edn.94.119
Colloquium | Language: English | €6.00
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Abstract:

The mistletoe lambda-value analysis by Baumgartner and Flückiger published in your Journal (1) is of interest (I read the English translation published in Archetype (2)). The authors detected a sidereal-element Moon-rhythm in a berry, instead of the fortnightly lunar-month rhythms that had normally been found in buds, using the same lambda-value maths (changing bud shape) developed by Lawrence Edwards (3). The Moon-rhythm they found was therefore of 9.1 day periodicity (27.3 / 3 days), not the 14 – 15 day periodicities hitherto reported (4). While they displayed their results by the twelve unequal constellation-divisions along the lunar ecliptic path (the horizontal line along the middle of their graph shows where they reckon these boundaries should be), I would advocate use of a best-fit third-harmonic waveform over 120° of sidereal space as a more scientific approach. The authors were not prepared to part with their data but allowed me a high-resolution graph (5), inviting me to extract lunar longitudes and mean deviations of their lambda values there from. I did this (using the ‘Autograph’ math package to read off the co-ordinates) and have used these; an error of a degree or so is likely as resulting from my data extraction. [...]

References
  • Baumgartner Stephan, Flückiger Heidi (2002): Formveränderung reifender Mistelbeeren. Elemente der N. 77, pp. 2–15. This was followed by their 2003 article Baumgartner Stephan, Flückiger Heidi and Ramm Hartmut (2003): Formveränderung reifender Mistelbeeren. Elemente der N. 79, pp.2–21.
  • English translations: Baumgartner et. al.: Shape changes of ripening mistletoe berries. Archetype No. 9 (Science Group of the anthroposophical Society in Great Britain, Ed. David Heaf), September 2003; followed by: Baumgartner et al.: Mistletoe berry shapes and the zodiac,’ Archetype No. 10, September 2004. (This journal is now defunct.)
  • Edwards, Lawrence (1993): The Vortex of Life: Nature’s Patterns in Space and Time. Edinburgh.
  • Kollerstrom, Nicholas: The fortnightly tree bud rhythms of Lawrence Edwards. Archetype No. 11 (September 2005). The fortnightly cherry bud rhythm I found to have half of 29.6 days, the synodic period (His cherry lambda-data was made daily over Nov. 10, 1983–March 4 1984, without a break: it had peaks in step with Moon-Venus conjunctions and oppositions), while the beech-bud rhythm I found to oscillate at half of 27.0, closer to the lunar sidereal month (using his ‘Dornach beech’ Oct 14 – Dec 26 1994, possibly in step with Moon-Saturn conjunctions and oppositions).
  • Stephan Baumgartner kindly sent me this diagram (Fig 7, 2003, here Fig 1).
  • Powell, Robert (2007): The History of the Zodiac. Sophia Academic Press, CA. My work is alluded to on pp 7 & 81–82. Powell’s The Astrological Revolution (Lindisfarne books, 2010) has an Appendix 4 ‘Planting by the Moon,’ which gives my argument for an equal-interval zodiac framework for use with growing crops. His graph may be compared with that of the Authors in their 2002 article, Figure 4a. The Authors may detract from their argument by citing a one in a million level of significance (2002, 2003 in Archetype, p.11). It is in the nature of a significance test, that there is only one correct method of doing it.
  • Smith, Richard Thornton (2009): Cosmos, Earth and Nutrition, The Biodynamic Approach to Agriculture. Sophia Books: pp.150–151 for preferred use of equal-interval zodiac.
  • http://www.biodynamic.org.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/Documents/Evidence_for_ Lunar_Sideral__Rhythms_in_Crop_Yield_An_overview.pdf