Some might find this an odd blog post given the growing trend in vegan food, gluten tolerance being discovered in children and adults and the gradual movement away from carbs and grains. The need for grains to be a regular feature in children’s nutrition, played an important part of Steiner’s philosophy. According to him, they were connected to our nervous system, and therefore also to our consciousness and wisdom. Eating grains created inner warmth nourishing both the metabolic and rhythmic system strengthening our heart and lungs. But the most important insight he shared was that grains contained all the food groups – protein, carbohydrate, fat and minerals. We must eat our grains warm, ie we must cook our grains well. When cooked, our body has to work less to convert them into sugar.
A plant’s life cycle begins with the imbedding of the seed in the earth, the emergence of a germinating sprout, then the leaf, the flower, the fruit and then finally the seeds within it. As such the seed is the source of new life in the next plant. The seed is the beginning and the end of a plant’s life. It carries within it all the forces of the cosmos (earth, air, water, heat, the influence of the planets) and is a very rich source of energy. All grains are seeds (of course all seeds of plants are not grains). Drawing from this philosophy, Anthroposophy also proposes a simple weekly calendar of grains.
It all begins with the legend of Atlantis, the prosperous continent of ancient times that enjoyed an abundance of natural resources, and a people highly intellectual and wise. Socrates writes about the legend of Atlantis. With time people became greedy and morally bankrupt and the gods became angry and sent thunderstorms and floods to destroy Atlantis (Steiner suggests the biblical story of Noah’s Ark and the floods as a parallel to this legend, and across the world there are parallel stories of floods and lost worlds. In India there is the legend of Lord Krishna’s departure from the city of Dwarka submerging it into the Arabian Sea). What has all this to do with grains? The legends of Atlantis talk of some of the Atlantean people departing before the floods and going to the different parts of the world. They carried with them the seven main grains of nourishment that are still important to human nourishment today. Corn to America, millets to Africa, oats to Scandinavia, rice to India and the East, Rye to Eastern Europe/Russia, and barley and wheat to the rest of Europe.
Just like the Seven days of the week are connected to the seven planets, so are the seven grains. It is believed that eating the specific grain of its planetary day on the day itself enables the body to draw maximum nourishment from that grain.
SUNDAY – Sun – Wheat
MONDAY – Moon – Rice
TUESDAY – Mars – Barley
WEDNESDAY – Mercury – Millets
THURSDAY – Jupiter – Rye
FRIDAY – Venus – Oats
SATURDAY – Saturn – Corn
Eg: the Grain for Sunday is Wheat, and is connected to the Sun hence Sunday. As per my limited understanding of Anthroposophy, the human being is a sun being, our Ego/ our “I” draws its forces from the Sun. Wheat needs the sun to ripen, it grows in the summer and the more sun it absorbs, the higher its gluten content. The warmth of the sun is essential for the human being to survive, none of our life processes can function without it. Our Earth and the rest of the planets in our solar system are drawn to the sun and its energy. Hence the central role of the Sun in the growth of wheat, in the life processes of the human being, and by extension also the survival of the earth as a planet. Eating wheat on Sunday, allows our bodies to draw maximum nourishment from what asa against other days of the week. That being said the importance is to include all the grains in our diet and strive to be day specific only if it is workable. It doesn’t mean that if we don’t eat wheat on Sunday and instead on another day of the week we will not receive the forces of the Sun…just may a little less than on Sundays.
Water and the movement of the tides is dependent on the Moon. Similarly Rice a water grown grain is influenced by the Moon (Mondays) and is connected to the phlegmatic temperament…. Oats is the grain of love associated with Goddess Venus (Friday). Rich it fat content it provides the necessary heat to our bodies especially during the winter. Eating my porridge every morning always gives me a nice warm fuzzy feeling. Tuesday is the day of Mars. He was the god of war in Greek mythology, and represents activity and vigour. Mars rules not only power but also speech. Barley connected with Tuesday and considered a choleric grain, is a good source of heat (fire). It strengthens our muscular system and helps address inflammation especially in the digestive organs… Growing up I remember always eating barley soup or having barley squash when I had an upset tummy….And so it goes for the rest of the week too.
If you’d like to know more write to me in the comments section. You can also check out an earlier blogpost about Nutrition in general from an anthroposophical perspective I wrote some time last year (https://magicplayhouse.in/nutrition-in-light-of-anthroposophy/)
We have the unique privilege in India to have a wide range of grains to include in our daily nutrition intake. We have 7 grains in the millet family that make the most tasty idlis, upmas, cakes, and khichris. We all incorporate these grains in different ways into our weekly diets across the country and if we choose to share there are a ton of recipes that our children can benefit from.
Have you made something your kids love with the grains in this article. Share them in the comments section for other mums to benefit from.
Image is a photo taken by me of the print of Vangogh’s painting of the Wheat field with Crows, that hangs in my house (purchased at the Vangogh Museum, Amsterdam).