viriditas

Virid­itas is a guiding theme, used constantly in Hildegard’s works. It has been trans­lated in various ways, such as greening, fresh­ness, vitality, fruit­ful­ness, life-force, or growth.
It is a metaphor for spir­i­tual and phys­ical health.

Viriditas (Latin, literally "greenness," formerly translated as "viridity") is a word meaning vitality, fecundity, lushness, verdure, or growth. It is particularly associated with abbess Hildegard von Bingen, who used it to refer to or symbolize spiritual and physical health, often as a reflection of the divine word or as an aspect of the divine nature.

Health and Wellness

The manu­script image showing the Human Universals described by Hildegard of Bingen predates Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man by 350 years.

Her medical writ­ings are still consulted by alter­na­tive health prac­ti­tioners, and involve the cura­tive powers of natural objects, including plants, animals, trees and gem stones. 
Even though she appar­ently suffered from chronic ill health, including migraines, she lived far longer and more vigor­ously than most women of her time — the embod­i­ment of Viriditas.

Below are a few connec­tions relating to Viriditas.
We welcome your contributions!

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Like blood, virid­itas moves through human veins and without it, humans become weak and tired anfeverf10-ld they lack spir­i­tu­ality. It is restored only through eating; fortu­nately, she spells out which foods are harmful or useful. For example, feverfew has good virid­itas and thus creates clear under­standing, augments good blood,and aids digestion.”

from

You Are What You Eat:
Hildegard of Bingen’s Viriditas

O most honored Greening Force,
You who roots in the Sun;
You who lights up, in shining serenity, within a wheel
that earthly excel­lence fails to comprehend.
You are enfolded in the weaving of divine mysteries.
You redden like the dawn
and you burn: flame of the Sun.”

from Healthy Hildegard

from Healthy Hildegard (click to read more)

–  Hildegard von Bingen, Viriditas

Look at the pattern this seashell makes. The dappled whorl, curving inward to infinity. That’s the shape of the universe itself. There’s a constant pres­sure, pushing toward pattern. A tendency in matter to evolve into ever more complex forms. It’s a kind of pattern gravity, a holy greening power we call virid­itas, and it is the driving force in the cosmos. Life, you see.” — science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson

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Gregory the Great

Our Gregory the Great Anachron

Gregory the Great was instru­mental in promoting and preserving Art and Music within the Church, despite great criticism.

Jeannette Jones: “A Theological Interpretation of ‘Viriditas’ in Hildegard of Bingen and Gregory the Great.

Please see Pope Gregory’s page at Saints Preserved. His feast day is also in September.

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