Goddess IconsSpirit Banners of the Divine Feminine

25th A

nniver

sary C

elebrat

ion

International Society

of Hildegard Von Bingen Studies

Chestnut Hill College

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

May 29-June 1, 2009

www.lydiaruyle.com

DIE GÖTTIN AUS

DEUTSCHLAND

August 31-September 10, 1998FrauenMuseum

WiesbadenGermany

900th Birthday ofHILDEGARD OF BINGEN

1098-1179

LYDIA RUYLEAmerican Artist / Scholar

In 1998, I was invited to have an exhibition of my Goddess Icon Spirit Banners of the Divine Feminine at the FrauenMuseum in Wiesbaden, Germany. Since it was her 900th Birthday, I dedicated the exhibition to Hildegard of Bingen and created six banners of the images from her visions.

The Museum hung my Matrioshka Banner at the entrance and other banners flew four stories high. They created a grove of trees on one floor inside surrounded by banners.

I have a long term relationship with the Ancient Mothers of the Rhineland as my ancestors left there in 1764 to emigrate to the Volga Region of Russia with Catherine the Great who was German. In 1905, they emigrated to the United States.

Hildegard of Bingen was born in 1098 at Bermersheim bei Alzey, the tenth child of noble parents. At the age of eight her parents dedicated her to God as a tithe and Hildegard entered a hermitage near the flourishing monastery of St. Disibod to study and be raised by the highborn anchoress Jutta of Sponheim. Jutta taught her the Psalter in Latin, practical leadership by example and encouraged her mystical nature. Further education was entrusted to the monk Volmar who would become her lifelong friend, confidant, and secretary.

In her teens, c. 1112-1115, Hildegard made her profession of virginity and received the veil from Otto, bishop of Bamberg. Meanwhile the hermitage had grown into a full-fledged monastery observing the Benedictine Rule. When Jutta died in 1136, the nuns elected Hildegard as her successor. Five years later, the

abbess received her prophetic call and began to compose the Scivias. In her self portrait, she is illumined by the fire of inspiration which she transcribes on wax tablets while Volmar witnesses.

Hildegard sought confirmation of her divine revelation from the Church. She wrote to St. Bernard of Clairveaux, whom she greatly admired, to request his prayers and counsel. The abbot endorsed her gift. In 1148, Kuno the abbot of St. Disibod reported her visions to archbishop Heinrich of Mainz and the synod of Trier presided over by Pope Eugenius III who read from her writings impressing the council. From this point on her fame and circle of correspondents grew steadily until her death.

Once Hildegard became a celebrity, her convent at Disibodenberg began to attract so many postulants that the monastery could not house them. She decided to move and found a new community at Rupertsberg opposite Bingen which was revealed to her in a vision. The monks opposed the plan as they didn’t want to lose their new source of prestige and revenue. She fought them with passive resistance, taking to her bed with a paralyzing sickness which finally won the abbot’s assent. She immediately rose from her sickbed, the property was built and in 1150 Hildegard and eighteen of her nuns moved to the new convent. The bishop of Mainz, through her family’s connections, granted the convent his protection and regulated the temporal and spiritual relations between Disibodenberg and the Rupertsberg nuns. Fifteen years later Rupertsberg was so prosperous, Hildegard was able to found a daughter house across the Rhine at Eibingen. This convent, the Abtei St. Hildegard is still in existence and now housed in a 19th Century structure amid lush vineyards. Both Disibodenberg, now a pilgrimage destination for Hildegard, and Rupertsberg are ruins.

While founding her communities, Hildegard continued her literary activities and gradually became a public figure. She wrote six books, Scivias, the Ways of the Lord, Physica, Book of Simple Medicine, Causes & Cures, a book of songs titled Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations, Book of Life’s Merits and Book of Divine Works. Her correspondence spaned three decades and ranged over all sectors of society from popes, emperors, abbots, abbesses, monks and laypeople. In the mid-1150’s Emperor Frederick Barbarossa invited her to meet with him at his palace in Ingelheim after which Frederick granted Rupertsberg an edict of imperial protection in perpetuity. Hildegard scolded him strongly for his wicked behavior over the next ten years, but his letter kept her convent safe during factional warfares within the Church. Between 1158-1161 she took four extended preaching journeys up and down the Rhine.

The last year’s of Hildegard’s life were marred by two controversies. In 1773, Volmar died and the monks of St. Disibod refused to replace him. She appealed to Pope Alexander III who sent a secretary who also died. Eventually a Walloon monk from the low countries, Guibert of Gembloux, became her secretary in 1177 until her death. In 1178 an interdict was laid on her community by the Bishop of

Mainz for burying an excommunicated nobleman in the Rupertsberg churchyard. The canons of Mainz demanded that the bones be dug up but Hildegard refused, instead blessing the grave with her abbatial staff. Eventually the archbishop of Koln interceded on Hildegard’s behalf and the ban was lifted six months before her death on September 17, 1179.

The modern world new little of Hildegard until the 1970’s when Judy Chicago dedicated one of the place settings to Hildegard of Bingen in her Dinner Party. Veneration of Hildegard as a saint began at once but the process was never officially concluded. However her local traditions remained strong. Since 1940, her commemoration on September 17 has been observed as a double feast in all Catholic dioceses of Germany.

On her 900th Birthday, the Rhineland honored her birth with many conferences, festivals and exhibitions and a year long tribute was celebrated around the world.

Summary from Barbara Newman’s Sister of Wisdom, St. Hildegard’s Theology of the Feminine.

Hildegard of Bingen Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party

Hildegard’s Visions / Words

Hildegard’s Awakening

“Not in stubbornness but in humility, I refused to write for so long that I felt pressed down …into a bed of sickness…because of doubt and erroneous thinking and because of controversial advice from men…

Beaten down by many kinds of illnesses, I put my hand to writing. Once I did this, a deep and profound exposition of books came over me. I received the strength to rise up from my sick bed, and under that power I

continued to carry out the work to the end, using all of ten years to do it.”

From my early childhood, before my bones, nerves and veins were fully strengthened, I have always seen this vision in my soul, even to the present time, when I am more than seventy years old.

A great flash of light from heaven pierced my brain, and made my heart and my whole breast glow without burning them, as the sun warms the object that it envelops with its rays. In that instant my mind was imbued with the meaning of the sacred books, the Psalter, the Gospel, and the other books of the Old and New Testament.

The light that I see thus is not spatial, but it is far, far brighter than a cloud that carries the sun…I call it the reflection of the living Light. And as the sun, the moon , and the stars appear in water, so writing sermons, virtues and certain human actions take form for me and gleam within it.

…because of the constant sickness that I suffer, I sometimes get tired of writing the words and visions that are revealed to me but when my soul tastes and sees them, I am so transformed that I forget all pain and trouble. And when I see and hear things in vision, my soul drinks them in as from a fountain which yet remains full and unexhausted.

O viridissima virgaHail, branch most verdant,

Born in the spirited blast of the questOf the saints.

When the time cameFor your boughs to blossom—

O hail, hail to you !—The warm sun distilled in you

A perfume like balsam.

For in you bloomed the air flowerThat made all the spices fragrant,

Dry though they were,And they all burst into verdure.

So the heavens rained dew upon the grassAnd the whole earth exulted,

For her womb brought forth wheat,For the birds of heaven made their nests in it.

Then a meal was made ready,Great joy for the keepers of the feast.

So in you, sweet maid,No gladness is lacking.

! ! ! ***And I saw one like a lovely maiden, her face gleaming with such radiant splendor that I could not perfectly behold her. Whiter than snow was her mantle and more shining than the stars, and her shoes were of the finest gold. In her right hand she held the sun and moon and tenderly embraced them. And on her breast was an ivory tablet in which there appeared the form of a man, the color of sapphire; and all creation called this maiden Lady. Now she spoke to the form that appeared in her bosom, saying “With you is the beginning in the day…in the splendor of the holy ones; I bore you from the womb before the morning star.

Viriditas : Greening Power

Greening love hastens to the aid of all.With the passion of heavenly yearning,

People who breathe this dewproduce rich fruit…

I am the breeze that nurtures all things green.

I encourage blossoms to flourish withripening fruits.

I am the rain coming from the dewThat causes the grasses to laugh

With the joy of life.

Sophia

I am the supreme and fiery force who kindled every living spark… I circle the whirling sphere with my upper wings of wisdom… I am the fiery life of the essence of God: I flame above the beauty of the fields; I shine in the waters; I burn in the sun, the moon and the stars. And with the airy wind, I quicken all things vitally by an unseen, all sustaining life. For the air is alive in the verdure and the flower; the waters flow as if they lived; the sun too lives in its light; and when the moon wanes it is rekindled by the light of the sun, as if it lived anew. Even the stars glisten as if alive.

I also am Reason. Mine is the blast of the resounding Word through which all creation came to be, and I quickened all things with my breath…for I am Life. I am Life, whole and undivided—not hewn from any stone, or budded from branches, or rooted in virile strength, but all that lives has it root in me. For Reason is the root whose blossom is the resounding Word. So because God is rational, how could it be possible for him not to work ?…every work of his blossoms through man…

THEOTOKOSMOTHER OF GOD

Alleluia ! LightBurst from your untouched

Womb like a flowerOn the farther side

Of death. The world-treeIs blossoming. Two realms

become one.

O vita, quae surrexisti

O form of woman, sister of Wisdom,How great is your

glory:For in you there

rose a life unquenchable

That death shall never stifle.Wisdom exalted you to make

All creatures fairer in your beautyThan they were when the world was born.

Ecclesia

O boundless Ecclesia,Girded with the arms of God

And arrayed in hyacinth,You are the fragrance

Of the wounds of nations,The City of Knowledge!

Amid lofty musicYou have been anointed,

O glistening gem !

I saw the image of a woman as tall as a great city, radiant from heaven to earth; her head was crowned with a marvelous diadem, and her arms were draped with splendor as with sleeves…Standing before the altar in the sight of God, she embraced it with outspread arms; and her eyes pierced keenly throughout all heaven. But I could not perceive any of her garments, except that she was all aglow with luminous brightness, and clothed in great splendor. In her breast appeared the dawn.

And then I saw a great round tower consisting wholly of a single white stone, with three windows in its summit. From them shone a light so intense that even the roof of this tower, which was raied in the form of a cone, could be plainly seen in the brightness of this lilght. These windows were decorated with beautiful emeralds. And the tower was set in the middle of Ecclesia’s back, like a tower in a city wall, so that because of its strength the woman could by no means fall. And I saw those children who had passed thourhg the woman’s womb…shining with great brightness.

And where (the splendor of the Church) glowed like the dawn, its brightness rose up to the hidden mysteries of heaven. In this splendor there appeared the image of a beautiful girl, bareheaded, with dark hair, wearing a red tunic that flowed down about her feet. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “this is the flower that blooms in the Zion above; mother and rose and lily of the valley…and around this girl I saw standing a great throng of people shining brighter than the sun, who were all wonderfully arrayed in gold and jewels…and again I hear the voice saying “These are the daughters of Zion, and with them are minstrels making music on the lyre and every kind of instrument, and the voice of all mirth, and the joy of joys.

SynogogaMother of Ecclesia

I was the image of a certain woman, pale from the head down to the navel and black from the navel to the feet, which were bloody. Around her feet was a pure and shining white cloud. But she had no eyes. With her hands folded beneath her armpits, she stood by the altar in the light of God but did not touch it. And in her heart stood Abraham, and in her breast Moses, and in her womb the rest of the prophets, all displaying their signs and admiring the beauty of Ecclesia. The woman was as tall as a tower of some city; and around her head was a circlet like the dawn.

HILDEGARD’S MEDICINE

Hildegard’s medicine is a psychological, spiritual medicine with practical applications. Her book on psychotherapy, Liber Vitae Meritorum, described common everyday aspects of psychological or spiritual functioning and how they affect the body. She compiled a list of 35 avoidable risk factors from nerve wracking anger and lust to weariness coming from a greed for possessions. Lack of faith is the cause of evil for Hildegard and faith increases the success of every cure.

A few of her words about the body & healing

SICKNESSWhoever is wounded in the inside of the body, whether it came through a knife or an inner injury, should powder yarrow and drink it in warm water. When better, the person should keep on drinking the powder in warm wine until healed.

EYESPowerful is the expression of the soul in the eyes…when the eyes are clear and shining, because the soul is energetically living in the body, so that it can accomplish many works within. The eyes are the windows of the soul.

EARSThe two ears are like two wings, which lead all the voices and tones in and out, just like wings carry the birds into the air.

TEETHThose who desire strong, healthy teeth, should rinse the mouth with fresh, clean water immediately upon arising in the morning. Brush your teeth often, and after dinner daily. You teeth and gums will become strengthened. Those who have healthy teeth maintain this procedure for a vital and health smile.

DIGESTIONIf a person has not yet breakfasted, the first thing he or she eats should be a food which is prepared from the fruits of the field and from flour, a dry food that delivers a healthy strength. In addition, he or she should eat something warm so that it heats the gastrointestinal system…

STOMACH ACHEWhoever has a stomach ache should boil chestnuts in water and then mash them. Then mix some breadcrumbs in a bowl with water and add to this licorice powder and a bit of the powder of female fern and cook it once more with the chestnuts, preparing a soup. Then eat of it and it will clean the stomach, making it warm and strong.

HILDEGARD OF BINGENSOPHIA / WISDOM BIBLIOGRAPHY

Artress, Dr. Lauren! Walking A Sacred Path The Labyrinth

Begg, Ian ! ! The Cult of the Black Virgin Arkana. 1996

Bolin, Jean Shinoda Crossing to Avalon. A Woman's Midlife Pilgrimage. ! ! ! Harper San Francisco. 1994

Fox, Matthew ! Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen. Bear & Co. Sante Fe.1985

Green, Miranda ! Celtic Goddesses. Warriors, Virgins and Mothers ! ! ! British Museum Press 1995

Groth-Marnat, Barbara! A Pilgrimage to the Black Madonna. ! ! ! Red Rose Publications. Santa Barbara. 1990

Gustafson, Fred! The Black Madonna. Sigo Press. Boston. 1990

Long, Asphodel! In A Chariot Drawn by Lions. Crossings Press. Freedom, CA.1992

Matthews, Caitlin! Sophia Goddess of Wisdom. The Divine Feminine from ! ! ! Black Goddess to World Soul. Harper Collins. London. 1991

Newman, Barbara! Sister of Wisdom. Hildegard of Bingen

Rufus, Anneli & Lawson, Kristan! Goddess Sites: Europe Harper & Row 1991

Schaup, Susanne! Sophia. Aspects of the Divine Feminine. Nicolas-Hays. 1997

Schipflinger, Thomas Sophia-Maria A Holistic Vision of Creation. ! ! ! Samuel Weiser. York Beach ME. 1998

Frauen Museum Wiesbaden, Germany

Since 1998, the Hildegard Goddess Icon Banners have been featured at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Iliff School of Theology in Denver, University of Missouri Museum Jesse Rotunda in Columbia, St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in St. Louis, Missouri and Hildegard and the Arts Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Hildegard of Bingen was a visionary Rhineland

abbess, mystic, healer,

artist, and composer.

She told Herstory in

art, music, morality

plays, opera, writing,

theology and herbs.

Creation is feminine for

St. Hildegard. Sitting in

her abbey, she receives

her wake-up vision as

red fire energy and tells

her faithful secretary

Volmar about it. The

modern world knew

little of Hildegard until

Judy Chicago dedicated

one of place settings

in her Dinner Party to

Hildegard of Bingen.

Painting, Scivias, Hildegard of Bingen, c.1165 CE, Rupertsberg

www.lydiaruyle.com©, Lydia Ruyle

Goddess IconsSpirit Banners of the Divine Feminine

Sophia Wisdom /Mother Church holds

her flock in her wings of the

spirit. She is crowned and

wears a net skirt. She stands

in a golden mandorla of

cosmic energy under the sun,

moon and stars. Hildegard, a

medieval mystic, envisioned

the universe as egg shaped.

Abtei St. Hildegard is still in

existence and now housed in

a 19th Century structure amid

lush vineyards at Eibingen on

the Rhine. The Benedictine

sisters welcome visitors.

Painting, Scivias, Hildegard of Bingen, c. 1165 CE, Rupertsberg

www.lydiaruyle.com©, Lydia Ruyle

Goddess IconsSpirit Banners of the Divine Feminine

Divine Creatrix of the Cosmic Wheel is the great creative force of “Love appearing in a

human form, full of exquisite

beauty, marvelous in its mysterious

gifts”, in the words of Hildegard

of Bingen, a visionary Rhineland

abbess. The human figure in the

center is the mystic center of the

cosmos, the world axis tree of life,

contained within the womb of the

Creatrix. Each of us experiences

the cosmos from our own center.

Heads of animals breathe on

the human figure and stand

for the powers of virtue. Seven

planets, and sixteen major stars

fill the circles of air. Hildegard’s

pantheistic vision shows each of

us encircled by the arms of the

mystery of the Great Goddess/God.

Source: Painting, Scivias, Hildegard of Bingen,

c. 1165CE, Rupertsberg

www.lydiaruyle.com©, Lydia Ruyle

Goddess IconsSpirit Banners of the Divine Feminine

Caritas, charity or compassion, is sitting

in a mandala, robed

and bejeweled. Her red

face connects her to

Sophia wisdom. She lifts

her hand in a teaching

gesture and holds her

book of knowledge and

compassion. The mandala

depicts the four elements

of earth, air, fire and water.

Like Sophia, Hildegard

taught and preached up

and down the Rhine. She

founded three communities

of women and wrote six

books.

Painting, Scivias, Hildegard of Bingen,

c.1165 CE, Rupertsberg

www.lydiaruyle.com©, Lydia Ruyle

Goddess IconsSpirit Banners of the Divine Feminine

Sophia Battling the Anti-Christ depicts the animal instinct of brute

self survival which must

be tempered with wisdom,

discipline and courage

throughout life. Sophia

stands on an angry monster.

Her lower body is another

monster and her upper body

is transformed by her heart,

hands and head.

Painting, Scivias, Hildegard of Bingen,c. 1165 CE, Rupertsberg

www.lydiaruyle.com©, Lydia Ruyle

Goddess IconsSpirit Banners of the Divine Feminine

Red Winged Sophia

is the paradox of opposites,

masculine/feminine, left/right,

linear/intuitive. Standing on the

serpent of earth wisdom and

crowned with a wise gray haired

masculine head, Sophia holds the

Christ lamb spirit of new birth over

her heart from which her teaching

and writing manifests. Sophia’s six

elaborate seraph wings protect her

with avian and feline energies.

Painting, Liber Divinorum Operum, Rheinland, Hildegard of Bingen, c.1220/30 CE, Lucca

Biblioteca Statale, Italy

www.lydiaruyle.com©, Lydia Ruyle

Goddess IconsSpirit Banners of the Divine Feminine

The International Society of Hildegard von Bingen Studies holds conferences on Hildegard in the U.S. and Germany. The Society celebrated its 25th Birthday in 2008.

c/o K. Christian McGuire787 Iowa Avenue West

St. Paul, MN 55117 USA

www.hildegard-society.org

In 1998, WorldWide Web had 4,000 Hildegard of Bingen entries.

In 2012 Google has over 1,000,000 entries including:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildegard_of_Bingen