Viriditas: The Living Green Energy in Ancestral Nutrition

In our modern world of processed foods and disconnected eating habits, we often forget that nutrition was once understood not merely as fuel, but as a sacred connection to the living energy of the earth. This life energy is what the remarkable 12th-century healer and mystic Hildegard of Bingen called "viriditas". It represents a profound framework for understanding how ancestral foods nourish not just our body, but our mind and spirit as well. 

The Wisdom of Hildegard: Understanding Viriditas

Hildegard of Bingen, a Benedictine abbess, visionary, composer, and one of history's earliest documented female physicians, introduced the concept of viriditas—literally "greenness" in Latin—as a cornerstone of her medical and spiritual teachings. For Hildegard, viriditas was far more than color; it embodied the divine animating energy flowing through all living things.

In her medical writings, Hildegard described viriditas as "the greening power of the Divine," a vital energy that manifested as physical vigor, spiritual vitality, fertility, and healing potential. She believed this energy could be depleted through illness, poor nutrition, and spiritual disconnection—and, crucially, restored through proper eating, herbal remedies, and reconnection with the divine presence in nature.

The Cosmic Dimensions of Viriditas

Hildegard conceived of viriditas as a cosmic principle embodying the unified energies of sun, moon, and earth. In her worldview, these celestial bodies worked in harmony to infuse the world with life-giving power. The sun provided warmth and light, the moon governed moisture and growth cycles, and the earth served as the vessel in which this divine energy manifested as tangible life.

For Hildegard, viriditas represented four interconnected dimensions:

1. The Divine Life Energy in Nature: Viriditas was the invisible yet palpable power that causes seeds to germinate, plants to grow toward the sun, and living things to flourish. Hildegard saw this energy as directly connected to nature's creative energy, continually renewing and sustaining the natural world. In her words, it was "the greening finger of nature’s spirit" at work in creation.

2. Spiritual and Physical Vitality: Hildegard did not separate physical health from spiritual well-being. Viriditas represented the proper flow of life energy through body, mind, and spirit. When this flow was unimpeded, the result was robust health, mental clarity, and spiritual connection. Disease and unwellness represented a diminishment of viriditas that required restoration through various healing modalities.

3. The Living Bridge Between Worlds: Uniquely, Hildegard understood viriditas as the connective principle between the divine realm, the natural world, and human creativity. When humans engaged with plants possessing strong viriditas—through cultivation, medicine-making, or mindful consumption—they participated in this cosmic energy exchange. For Hildegard, human creative expression itself (including her own music and art) emerged from this same viriditas flowing through the person.

4. The Essential Moisture of Life: Perhaps most concretely, Hildegard associated viriditas with a certain "moistness" or "juiciness" she considered essential to health. Dryness represented a dangerous depletion of this life energy, while proper hydration and succulence in plants and bodies indicated the presence of viriditas. This understanding led her to recommend specific foods, herbs, and practices to maintain this vital moistness in the body's tissues and humors.

Viriditas in Our Ancestral Diet

When we examine traditional indigenous diets through the lens of viriditas, we discover our ancestors intuitively recognized this living energy. They didn't simply consume calories—they cultivated relationship with foods that transferred life energy from earth to body:

• Wild-harvested plants harvested at peak vitality, containing maximum phytonutrients

• Freshly gathered foods eaten close to harvesting, preserving their life-giving properties

• Seasonal eating patterns that aligned human consumption with natural cycles

• Fermentation practices that enhanced rather than diminished life energy

• Food preparation methods that preserved the "moistness" Hildegard associated with vitality

Our ancestors observed that vibrant green foods—spring greens, herbs, wild vegetables—carried particular healing properties and revitalizing effects. Modern nutritional science confirms these foods contain chlorophyll, antioxidants, and micronutrients essential for human health.

Celtic Wisdom: Viriditas in Another Tradition

Celtic culture, with its deep reverence for the natural world, offers striking parallels to Hildegard's concept of viriditas. The Celts recognized a similar life energy pulsing through the natural world, particularly evident in their veneration of sacred trees and plants.

In Celtic tradition, certain plants were considered repositories of extraordinary power. The rowan, oak, hazel, and especially mistletoe were seen as conduits of vital energy. Celtic healers, particularly the Druids, harvested medicinal plants according to precise lunar and seasonal cycles to maximize their potency—an intuitive recognition of life energy at work.

The Celtic concept of "neart"—a word denoting vigor, might, and potency—shares much with Hildegard's viriditas. Both traditions recognized that this power could be transferred through proper engagement with plants as food and medicine. The Celts understood that consuming foods at their peak vitality transferred this life energy to the recipient.

This connection finds expression in Celtic mythology through figures like the Green Man, who embodies "the interconnectedness of all living beings and the ecosystems they inhabit" (Celtic Mythology Worldwide). Similar to Hildegard's understanding of viriditas as "the greening power of the Divine" (International Society of Hildegard von Bingen Studies), the Green Man in Celtic traditions represents the vital energy that flows through nature, symbolizing growth, renewal, and the intimate relationship between humans and their environment.

Reclaiming Viriditas in Modern Nutrition

How might we reclaim this ancestral wisdom in our approach to nutrition today? Consider these practical applications of viriditas-centered eating:

1. Prioritize living foods. Fresh, raw, sprouted, and fermented foods maintain their life energy in ways processed foods cannot. The vitality in a just-picked garden vegetable is palpable compared to its shipped, stored counterpart.

2. Observe seasonal rhythms. Our bodies evolved in harmony with seasonal food availability. Spring greens help detoxify after winter; summer fruits cool and hydrate; autumn root vegetables ground us for winter.

3. Harvest mindfully. Whether from garden, forest, or market, approach food gathering with awareness of the life energy being transferred. Hildegard would recommend harvesting at optimal times—many plants reach peak medicinal potency just before flowering.

4. Prepare with intention. Cooking methods matter. Gentle steaming or quick sautéing preserves more life energy than prolonged high-heat methods that degrade nutrients and vital energy.

5. Cultivate relationship. Perhaps most importantly, recognize food as a relationship, not consumption. Our ancestors knew the plants and animals that nourished them—their habitats, growth patterns, and properties.

Viriditas as Preventative Medicine

Hildegard's medical approach was fundamentally preventative. She understood that maintaining viriditas through proper nutrition prevented the imbalances leading to disease. Her concept of "discretio"—the discretion to understand proper balance and moderation in all things, complements viriditas as a framework for health. As noted in her medical work Causae et Curae, Hildegard established "the vital connection between the 'green' health of the natural world and the holistic health of the human person".  

In her medical texts, Hildegard prescribed specific foods to address imbalances and restore viriditas:

• Spelt, which she considered more nourishing than other grains

• Chestnuts for mental clarity and vigor

• Fennel to maintain digestive fire

• Beets to purify the blood and restore vitality

• Apples to balance bodily humors

These recommendations often align remarkably well with modern nutritional research on anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense foods that support overall health. Global Sisters Report highlights that in Hildegard's understanding, "viriditas also implies holistic health" and advises "discretio or moderation in asceticism," reflecting her balanced approach to wellness.

The Living Table: Practical Steps

To bring viriditas to your table:

• Grow something edible, even if just windowsill herbs

• Shop at farmers' markets, connecting with those who grow your food

• Incorporate wild foods when safely available—dandelion, nettles, berries

• Preserve seasonal abundance through fermentation, which adds rather than diminishes life energy

• Prepare meals with consciousness of the life energy being transferred

• Express gratitude for the viriditas in your food before eating

Our ancestors understood what modern science is rediscovering: the vital connection between soil health, plant vitality, and human wellness. The microbiome of healthy soil influences the nutrient density of plants, which in turn shapes our own internal microbiome.

Conclusion: The Green Thread

Viriditas offers a profound alternative to our mechanistic view of nutrition. Rather than seeing food as merely molecular fuel, we might recognize it as a carrier of the same life energy that flows through all living things. This perspective transforms eating from consumption to communion, from nutrition to relationship.

In reclaiming the ancestral wisdom of viriditas—whether through Hildegard's medieval German context or Celtic traditional knowledge—we weave ourselves back into the living fabric of nature. We recognize that our health is inseparable from the health of our food, which is inseparable from the health of our earth.

The greenness that Hildegard celebrated continues to flow through our world, waiting to be recognized, honored, and incorporated into our daily practices of nourishment. In this recognition lies not just physical health, but spiritual vitality—a wholeness our ancestors understood and that we, in our separation, deeply crave.

As Almut Furchert observes in her work on Hildegard, "Pondering viriditas helps us understand how much Hildegard's spirituality is embedded in her philosophy of human nature and its fundamental connectedness to “mother earth'" (Cloister Seminars). This connection between viriditas and ecological awareness resonates deeply with contemporary environmental movements that draw inspiration from ancient wisdom traditions like those found in both Hildegardian and Celtic spirituality.

Julie Wardwell, CAP, LMT

Holistic Health Care Practitioner