St. Hildegard of Bingen

an introduction

Some of you might know that I am currently working towards my Master Herbalist certificate, via the Green Wisdom School of Natural & Botanical Wisdom out of Wisconsin with Master Herbalist, Gigi Stafne, ND. For this program, we have a capstone thesis and I chose to do mine on St. Hildegard of Bingen, renowned abbess, composer, visionary, and most importantly to me, herbalist. As I am nearing the end of the program and starting to tie up my thesis paper, I would like to share some snippets with you here. To read the full excerpts I am publishing, please consider becoming a paid subscriber (which will ultimately help me to continue this research beyond the completion of my program).

Today, I give you an introduction to Hildegard and my passion about this amazing woman…

St. Hildegard of Bingen has been a long-held interest of mine, since I first started down the rabbit hole of herbalism. My German minor in college also contributed to my interest, alongside a few trips to Germany, in which I was able to see her modern influence on products and apothecaries in the modern realm. I have always wanted to do deeper research on Hildegard, particularly related to her herbal and wellness contributions. While there is a decent amount of work published on Hildegard, I feel that the herbal side of her studies are lacking compared to her art and music. Although we know that there were many women doing the same work as her throughout history, I think its meaningful to pay homage to a woman that was able to document her findings and spread her knowledge without secrecy; highlighting a point in time, or a single woman perhaps, in which a woman was able to openly seek and share healing wisdom. I claim no particular religion myself, rather treating nature Herself as my chapel, but it seems as if the fates truly aligned for Hildegard and her life’s work. A couple hundred years in either direction, and she likely would have been burned as a witch or forced to keep quiet her studies and insights. Hildegard of Bingen was an influential woman in art, spirituality, and healing, with long-lasting contributions still felt in the modern era and is still providing teachings for us in navigating modern herbalism and wellness.