St Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)
– The First Published Female Nature Cure ‘Doctor’  

©sebastian liew, 2009

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) born at a country estate in Bermersheim near Alzey in Rheinhessan (Germany) was a great woman of the Middle Ages and a remarkable Benedictine Christian mystic who produced major works of medicine, physiology, poetry, music, theology, psychotherapy and heavenly visions.

In 1979 the late Pope John Paul II in celebration of the 800th anniversary of Hildegard’s death, referred to her ‘an outstanding spirit,’ a ‘light to her people and her time shines more brightly today.’

“During her time, women’s works were not well regarded, yet she was constantly consulted by Popes, Bishops, Abbots, Kings and people from all levels of society, both in Germany and abroad. She was a poet, prophet, physician, a mystic and also a political moralist.   

She used the healing powers of natural objects for the cure of many diseases - plants, animals, trees and stones. And more importantly, her medicine is to help us achieve a fullness of life, as we age. Her musical plays were performed all over Europe. She was the first woman to write books, preach in public, composes music and even published working knowledge of the human body and natural medicine.  She was so popular that she was ‘canonized’ by her own people, and is frequently referred to as St. Hildegard. Interest in this extraordinary woman of the Middle Ages was revived and initiated by musicologists, historians of science and religion and more recently by physicians and scientists. She is known in the history of Western herbal medicine as ‘one of the pillars of medicine in the Middle Ages.’ ” 

Today, Hildegard medicine is practiced and used by both physicians and laymen in many parts of Europe and clinically found to be effective to treat and prevent many diseases.

With guidance from Dr Wighard Strehlow, Hildegard medicine and the spelt diet were first introduced to Asia/Singapore in 2006 by Medical Herbalist Sebastian Liew. 

Her Early Years and Works

Hildegard was born to a noble family in 1098. She was dedicated to God as their tithe from a young age. The family entrusted their 8 year-old child to the Benedictine sister, Mother Jutta, at the Disibodenberg cloister near Kreuznach. Even as a child, Hildegard was given extraordinary gifts and saw things which other people could not see.

When Hildegard was 16, she became a nun at the convent. After Mother Jutta’s death, she was chosen to be the Abbess of a Benedictine convent and for the first 35 years of her life, lived silently in the isolation of the daily life of a monastery.

In 1141, Hildegard was flooded and inflamed with an intense light from above, thus receiving her commission as a prophet. She saw a heavenly screen in front of her, like a shimmering cloud of light containing words and pictures. She heard wonders and explanations coming from it and God told her to write down all she experienced and seen. Her poor health improved after she agreed to record her visions in writing. 

She began to write her first theological work, Scivias (Know the Ways). This is the most complete documentation in which the secrets of God are described in words, images and music. Pope Eugene III endorsed her works later.  

At the same time, she composed her works in medicine, cosmology, poetry, art, music and theology. Amongst them were:

- Physica: A handbook on medicine and nature
- Liber Compositae Medicinae: Causes and cures
- Liber Vitae Meritorum: The book of life merits, which describes the 35 layers of our subconscious
- Liber Divinorum Operum: The book of Divine Works, which describes humanity in the centre of the cosmos and also the exact biochemical processes of the human body

It is interesting to note that Hildegard had no prior knowledge of medicine and revealed the true author of her works in the following quote.

‘Everywhere in creation, trees, plants, animals and gems, there are mysterious healing forces, which no person can know, unless they are revealed to him by God’

After her death, her works were forgotten for over 800 years until Dr Gottfried Hertzka, MD, rediscovered her medical knowledge, treated thousands of patients with fabulous results and made them available for our generation – an age of chemical pollution, environmental damage and increasingly sick society both physically and spiritually. 

Hildegard medicine was introduced to Singapore and Asia in 2006 by Medical Herbalist/Naturopath Sebastian Liew. He works closely with Dr Strehlow of Hildegard Clinic in Konstanz, Germany to teach the complete Hildegard medicine to all people who need it. On February 4, 2009, Dr Wighard Strehlow gave his first lecture in Singapore and was interviewed on live FM 93.8. The response was amazing.

In the same year, Sebastian Liew set up the St Hildegard Community to continue the work of promoting Hildegard medicine to all people in Singapore and Asia. 

Hildegard Medicine and Spirituality

Hildegard medicine is the only medicine based on Christian principles, which are universal values common to most religions. Her teachings are for everyone – the cosmos, regardless of race, culture and religion.

All of her writings were a reflection of one fact – that God is the source of all life. According to Hildegard, the source of our inner conflict is a result of human beings severing ties with nature and the Creator. As a result, black bile is produced, the cause of all diseases. When we stay away from nature and God, we forget who we are and how our human body is connected – body and soul and how our body is influenced by the environment. Our human obedience to God’s laws and nature leads us to salvation and health.

Therefore the Creator out of love for mankind did not leave us alone but gave us remedies in plants, herbs, animals, stones and nature to heal us so that we can be His co-creators for the regeneration of our earth and the universe. When we forget this fact and try to be like ‘God’, eating unnatural foods and medicine, we will get sick. 

As a result of this connection, we need to be steward of our environment, taking care not to damage it. Otherwise, our health –physical, mental and spiritual will be affected.

On the other hand, Hildegard taught that the human person is a unique creation of the Divine – the image of God. Though he or she may be small in stature, but the human body is powerful in its influence on the environment. This is reflected in her Mandala – The Cosmic Christ.

The human being is not just another creature in nature. The human being, being the image of the Divine, is a co-creator with the Creator. He or she has the power and the will to influence his or her life through his or her lifestyle.
Thus, the human person can live a full life by changing his lifestyle – whether through diet, sleep, rest or habits.     

Many people have turned to Eastern medicine as they found the energetic system of herbal medicine useful in the usage and understanding of nature, particularly herbs. Yet, the energetic system of herbs does exist in European or Western herbal medicine. St Hildegard, the 12th century mystic uses the 4 element system and 4 humor (though slight variations) system, which dates back to the ancient Greeks. 

Like Hippocrates, Hildegard taught that all diseases arise from an imbalance of the 4 humors – blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm. ‘If black bile is stronger than the others … the person will tend to become angry, and illness and melancholy will set in’ as mentioned in her book – Causes and Cures. Nearly all the food and herbs proposed by Hildegard are used to eliminate black bile – fennel, spelt and fleaseed etc. True to her Benedictine tradition, Hildegard is a proponent of the motto, Ora Et labora – Pray and Work. Moderation is the key to health. Practice moderation in eating, sleeping, resting, play and sex etc. In Hildegard medicine, there is no complete raw food or cold food (which can weaken digestion) or too much meat or some extreme diet therapy proposed by some natural food proponents. It is easy to follow and yet remain relevant for our times.

Hildegard medicine can be summarized into the following:

• Pray and Work (Benedictine Rule). A life of balance and moderation in all things
• Natural Foods and Medicine
• Elimination of spiritual risk factors. There are 35 virtues we need to practice to gain wellness in life. This is explained in detail in Dr Wighard Strehlow’s book – Spiritual Remedies of Hildegard of Bingen. Crystals are also used in Hildegard medicine, not as origins of power but expression of God’s power.  

The unique aspects of Hildegard medicine include:

- It is divinely inspired. ‘Everything I ever wrote came wholly from the source of my heavenly vision’ Pitra, 333

- Unique medicine not found in any ancient traditions. I am fascinated by Hildegard unique remedies for many ailments which are not found in any ancient traditions. For example the herb Galangal is commonly used in Asian medicine (TCM or Ayurveda) as a digestive and warming agent, yet only Hildegard taught that it is a good medicine for the prevention of heart pain and attacks. This is clinically used successfully in Germany for many years. The herb Fennel is the best digestive medicine in Indian medicine but only Hildegard proposed that it is good for the blood (alkalizing?). The author has used this herb successfully for chronic sinusitis, poor digestion and aging skin.  

- No extreme foods; neither all raw foods, strict vegetarian nor overly cooked foods and meat. This is more in line with current scientific thinking. 

- Emphasis on whole foods. Many of Hildegard medicine require use of whole herbs and foods (not synthetic vitamins and mineral supplements) and some cooking preparation – putting responsibility of health into one’s hands and not just on professionals. 

- Clinically used and tested on more than 20,000 patients by Dr Hertzka MD and Dr Wighard Strehlow of Konstanz, Hildegard Clinic. 

- Physical, Emotional and Spiritual medicine. Hildegard medicine is truly holistic. In fact, you can’t really practice Hildegard medicine without adopting her philosophy and spirituality.

Author: Sebastian Liew, Naturopath, Clinical Herbalist, ND, www.slnaturopath.com