Panta Rei: Everything Flows
On Lunar Gardening, Knowledge & Stella Natura
“Heraclitus taught that the whole outer world is in ceaseless flux between opposites like day and night, hot and cold, or life and death. But he also taught that the unity and inner harmony of the world — the Logos of the world — could only be found through true self knowledge that becomes world knowledge.”
— Malcolm Gardner, “A Biodynamic Perspective on the Flow of Life” in the Stella Natura Calendar
Is gardening by the moon a tradition? A science? Something in between? What is important is to create an informed practice. Versions of astrological gardening have been used all over the world for centuries. The version I am familiar with comes from Germanic regions of Europe and the people who immigrated and settled in Appalachia in the United States where it is known as “planting in the signs” versus “planting in the dirt”. That is what non believers do. My introduction was the work of 20th century garden writer Louise Riotte, whose works follow this tradition, but I know it goes back much further than that.
What is useful in the practical present is that gardeners and their gardens benefit from following a repeating pattern of activities on a set schedule such as the moon moving through its phases, or on a more detailed level the astrological signs. It may not be an exact science but it is a pretty good way of having a plan.
In 2025 I interviewed soil scientist Sarah L Hall who visited and interviewed dozens of Appalachian gardeners for her book, Sown in the Stars. I asked her about scientific proof because I get asked this pretty often, and she is trained as a scientist. In short she explained that to create control groups of garden plots using scientific method is nearly impossible because the comparison is time itself, and many variables that cannot be controlled happen over the course of a month. Imagine starting a barrel of potatoes each time the moon passed into a new astrological sign, just for a month, and comparing the results. That would be 13 barrels of potatoes, not counting for the lengthening days of the sun right now, the cool days of spring when potatoes should be planted. Shall we move the project indoors under timed lights and controlled irrigation?
Astrological gardening has persisted over time because its practitioners, like you and I, believe there is something to it, from both our shared and personal experience.
I invite anyone to experiment with it because it is a useful time management tool that and can be as simple as looking at the moon or following a decent calendar or your choice. You will never forget to weed, water, make compost, start seeds, because following the moon suggests the favored time to do each activity in a cyclical manner and no task will be forgotten. Or as is often the case when there is everything to do all at once, it is comforting to narrow it down. To know for the next few days it is good to weed but not to plant. I can plant in a few days when the moon is on my side. Whew, what a relief!
Paid subscribers can read my entire interview with Sarah L. Hall .
To elaborate further on why scientific method may or may not be relevant to our work, if astrology is part of your life, there is an extra humanistic layer to all of this: symbolism, Jungian ideas of the psyche, myth and tarot, herbalism and most of all the elements inform the images associated with the signs and carry extra meanings. There are astrologers who are absolutely scholarly in literature and mythology. But my felt sense of the elements, earth, air, fire and water, their corresponding zodiac signs and parts of the body associated with them, I learned long ago while practicing and receiving the healing of qualities of Polarity Therapy, the work of Randolph Stone. Perhaps giving attention to the moon and its place in the sky and knowing it is exerting its force on water in all forms throughout its cycle of waxing and waning is enough to bring us all to the same conclusion.
As gardeners we are working in both seen and unseen realms, forces beyond our control, but forces we can energize with our attention.
Sometimes when I feel that synchronous flow in the garden, when my work is aligned with the heavens, I know the earth is supporting elemental magic and its alchemy through the work of my own hands.
With origins in Germanic agricultural traditions, biodynamics (Rudolf Steiner), polarity therapy (Randolf Stone) and Astrological Gardening (Louise Riotte) all use a variation of the phrase “As Above So Below”: that the celestial and terrestrial mirror each other, and this, with telescopes and microscopes, science does back up that there is something special going on here. These three esteemed 20th century believers explore the realms where science meets spirit.
I have recently acquired the Stella Natura Biodynamic Planting Calendar: Working with Cosmic Rhythms, 2026. It is my first time working with it and is is as described full of “Inspiration and Practical Advice for Gardeners and Professional Growers.” The front cover painting shows the deep red veins of beet tops, a very “as above, so below” image, as it made me more aware of my own veins right below my own skin.
Biodynamics, the work of Steiner, began about 100 years ago, and has taken on a cultlike reputation. But the spirit of this work is still quite appealing even if I am not to follow it in its unadulterated form. The calendar has an essay for each month that ask questions like, “What comes with this seasonal moment of the year’s in-breath?” (I love that idea!) It explains work of Maria Thun, who spent her life experimenting with seeds and the moon and documenting the results, the closest thing to a scientific method this tradition has. More recently Sherry Wildfluer a practitioner of biodynamic farming at one of the Camphill villages, (another part of Steiner’s vsion) created this version of the calendar. I was pleased to learn about it through the Josephine Porter Institute’s Substack newsletter. I recommend it.
Yes this calendar puts forth layers of complexity that I have not yet tried. For example biodynamics uses the real time variation of the moon moving through the zodiac. Biodynamics takes into account the variations, while more conventional calendars such as the one at the end of this newsletter divide the calendar into a uniform 30 degrees.
The degrees of the constellations measured in 30 degree units versus where they actually are. From the Stella Natura Biodynamic Calendar.
For this reason this calendar does not in line up exactly with the one I rely on and follow the most. That is another reason why Sarah L. Hall suggests just choosing one calendar and sticking to it. Stella Natura suggests doing the activity when it is most centered in the sign to be most sure of the moon’s influence, in the sweet spot where all calendars overlap.
I now have yet another resource in my growing library of resources on gardening by the moon. Though I may not be able to be an orthodox biodynamic gardener, I am inspired by these devotees and their elegant philosophical work here.
Last spring at this time I was compelled open a book by Louise Riotte that I had not really read before, Raising Animals by the Moon, (Storey, 1999), published one year after her death at age 90. I wondered what advice she could offer on raising chicks. But what is most exciting is the way she articulated the basics of an astrological approach to homesteading after a lifetime of practice, versus her earlier books on the subject written 20 years prior. In her old age she became even more assertive and convinced. She writes:
“Astrology is the science concerning the influence on earthly affairs of cosmic forces emanating from celestial bodies. And please let me stress my belief that knowledge of the celestial forces that govern the terrestrial sphere is true science, and the validity of astrology has never been disproved.
Furthermore, science today is finding ample evidence to confirm many of the ancient beliefs and so-called superstitions. Astrology is not astromancy, which is fortune-telling. Do not ever confuse the two.”
In answer to my chick brooding question… Riotte reaffirms in her section on weaning foals that it should be ok to move the chicks outside very soon: during days traditionally used for weaning and change, when the moon is waning and the signs are going “out of the body” away from all vital organs in the image of the Zodiac Man. From my personal experience last spring, I can attest that I had an emotional preparedness and readiness for follow through during fiery archer Sagittarius moon, versus the watery Scorpio moon when I was weepy and worried and the last few snowflakes fell. The chicks having a few extra days to feather out probably helped too.
It is Easter and I did grow up Catholic. The one prayer of the mass I have always been truly moved by is this, and while I am not a practicing catholic, right at this moment it seems like an appropriate incantation:
Lamb of God you take away the Sins of the World, have Mercy on us.
Lamb of God you take away the Sins of the World, have Mercy on us.
Lamb of God you take away the Sins of the World, grant us Peace.
Peace and Blessings.
Astrological Gardening This Week:
April 3, 8:11am-April 5 7:32pm EDT: Third quarter waning moon in Scorpio, “the secrets” is a fertile water sign. As the moon wanes its energy shifts to the root. Plant root vegetables such as scallions, radishes, carrots and beets, which thrive when direct sown. Soak beet seeds overnight. Plant or transplant biennials and perennials. Maybe it is warm enough for dahlias or other summer bulbs where you are.
April 5 7:32pm- April 8, 8:04am: Third quarter waning fire sign Sagittarius is good for making changes, like weaning animals, changing the quarters of fowl, and killing weeds and pests. This good period for making changes extends until April 15. Crops harvested crops now should keep longer.
April 8, 8:04am -April 10, 7:55pm. Moon moves into its last phase while in semi-fertile earth sign Capricorn, a good time for planting roots and tubers. Consider planting some potatoes, one of the easiest and most nutritious crops, especially since when grown commercially chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides are heavily used. Right now I am attempting to coax a single organic sweet potato into an active growth state, to enjoy the decorative vines and maybe even harvest a few tubers in fall. I have it set into a shallow glass pan with some water in the bottom. Capricorn also grounds us to make do with what we actually have!
April 10, 7:55pm - April 13, 4:55am. Moon moves into its last phase while in barren air sign Aquarius. This is the best time to kill weeds and pests. Remove as many invasives as you can right now before they take hold for the growing season.
April 13, 4:55am- April 15, 10:04am: Fourth quarter moon in fertile water sign Pisces should be treated like Capricorn: a good time for things that grow underground.
April 15, 10:04am- April 17, 11:58am: A new moon in fire sign Aries arrives at 7:52am EDT on April . Up to the new moon it is a good time for controlling weeds and pests. Avoid planting in Aries. The waxing moon in earth sign Taurus beginning on April 17, 11:58am is much better for starting seeds.
Until next time, happy gardening! If you have read this far please click the heart, share, repost and consider becoming a paid subscriber.