The Viriditas – The Green Power
“...I, the highest and fiery power, have ignited every spark of life... The air lives in greenness and bloom... without the beauty of life-green fields - without the blessing of God - will lie fallow... because God and is the human being from whom all green life force flows..."
Hildegard von Bingen describes the green power in everything that creation produces. The green power is in the food, the plants, the gemstones, but also in a positive attitude to life. For Hildegard, viriditas is life in general, the life energy that can only come from God. According to Hildegard, a person who lacks a connection to the creator of this power or who has lost faith has no personal viriditas and green power. He “dries up,” he falls ill, and his soul atrophies through grief and discontent. According to Hildegard, people can be saved if they reflect and find their way back to their faith in Christ.
The subtlety
"...is warm, and that warmth has the right mix..."
“Good food for a healthy person...” “...is not good for a sick and weak person to eat...”
The term subtlety is used primarily in Hildegard's nutritional theory. By this Hildegard means the relationship, the purpose that God placed in natural things and which are hidden for us in plants, animals and stones. If we eat foods that lack subtlety, such as preserved or long-lasting foods or foods modified by irradiation, they may fill us up, but they lack the viriditas, the greenness and freshness, to properly nourish our bodies feed.
Discretio – moderation
“... the soul loves discreet measure in all things. Whenever the human body eats and drinks without discretion or does anything else of this kind, the powers of the soul are injured..."
An important virtue in Hildegard is “discretio”, moderation. According to Hildegard, people should impose the right measure on themselves in all things.