Fire of the Holy Spirit
In 1141, when Hidegard of Bingen was 42, she described a fiery light that came from a cloudless sky, blazing into her spirit—as she illustrated in the image we have on our front cover—and giving her understanding of the scriptures.
She heard a voice from God:
Speak the things you see and hear; and write them not according to yourself or any other person, but according to the will of the One who knows, sees, and disposes all things in the hidden places of his mysteries ...
Speak these wonderful things and write and say them in the manner they were taught.
Hildegard recorded her visions and inspirations in her great work, Scivias, which took her ten years to complete. In its pages, many of the visions are transcribed into paintings and illuminations.
She saw that as God created all life, then all life must be permeated with God's divine spirit:
Oh fire of the Holy Spirit,life of the life of every creature,
holy are you in giving life to forms …
Oh, boldest path,
penetrating into all places,
in the heights, on earth,
and in every abyss,
you bring and bind all together.
From you clouds flow, air flies,
Rocks have their humours,
Rivers spring forth from the waters
And earth wears her green vigour.
