Today is the day Sophia Institute Press releases the beautiful St. Hildegard’s Garden. I wanted to pop in and tell you a bit about it.
I wrote the Foreword for it, an essay about how to approach this unique and admirable saint, whose approach to life and faith transcends our modern categories.
We, chronological snobs, tend towards a certain unexamined sense of superiority towards especially medieval figures, or else we assume that they, in their undeniable excellence, pursued the goals we pursue (such as women’s liberation, the most thought-stopping of all our silly preconceptions). St. Hildegard, Doctor of the Church, deserves better!
The book itself is lovely and perfect for the well curated coffee table. A good part of it consists of beautiful old prints of the plants and herbs St. Hildegard used in her apothecary, and she was a renowned healer in addition to her other, manifold virtues.
If you are interested in expanding your knowledge of the uses of plants in medicine, this book is a pleasurable way to proceed. The author, Paul Ferris, offers her commentary, along with a section on her remedies and recipes. It’s not the only book you’ll end up needing and wanting, but it is in many ways an important one.
St. Hildegard’s understanding of the order of creation, of man’s place in it, and of the providence of God the Creator, offers the hierarchical vision we really need to organize our thoughts about health and healing.
Something I have noticed over the years I’ve delved into the realm of healing plants is how many of them — the ones I turn to most — are regarded simply as weeds! They grow freely and I don’t have to plant them intentionally. In fact, in the past, I pulled them out in my ignorance and discarded them. Not so any more. The more I have pondered God’s care for us in every little aspect, the more attentive I have become to the natural world around me.
My favorites are the goldenrod blooming in late summer, the mullein popping up by the stable, the plantain growing in the lawn, and the marshmallow root that I did plant but now reseeds itself abundantly, living up to my naming it a weed! But a good one.
Collecting the roots, leaves, and flowers is a pleasure; it’s quite easy to dry them for teas. Even making tinctures seems daunting but ends up being much easier than lots of other preservation methods.
So I heartily recommend this book to you! Enjoy!
PS: Sophia is offering 20% off almost all products on the site! Use the code Hildegard20! (It will come up at checkout as well.)
Just ordered after reading your review – this book will be a perfect birthday gift for my oldest daughter! Thank you!!
Wonderful!
It’s my eldest daughter’s birthday gift as well! She’s turning thirteen and has checked out just about every herb book our library carries. I would like to learn more too, and am not really sure how to get started with all the other things I had to learn from nothing as a housewife. I am very ignorant of this subject too, having gone to nursing school. Somehow making medicine from weeds seems scarier than leaving it to faceless corporations married to the abortion industry. Hmm…
Hmmm indeed!
Check out the School of Natural Healing founded by Dr John R Christopher! He was a Naturopathic Doctor who practiced herbal medicine back in the 40s-60s before it was banned/suppressed by the FDA and other gov agencies. He didn’t use drugs or surgery-every case (and I mean EVERY case, even the serious stuff like cancer) was treated with herbs and natural methodologies. What sets his program apart is his clinical experience: he teaches you which herbs actually work vs which ones are just old wives tales. I did his Master Herbalist program back in 2014 and am so grateful I did! We live in Texas with a current measles outbreak and my daughter is unvaccinated. Thanks to Dr Christopher, I know what to do to treat my child at home to prevent complications if the outbreak comes to our area and she catches it. This means I don’t have to panic like the media is trying to get us all to do. Your daughter would be learning from an actual herbal doctor (he is deceased now but it’s an online program) and I think she’d really enjoy it!
Oh and Leila, I am not trying to step on any toes! The book in the post looks lovely and St Hildegard is a fantastic introduction to herbal medicine-I have her Physica book and it’s a fascinating read! My intention (and SNH recommendation) is more for those who want to delve deeper and go past the introductory stuff. Hope that was clear! (I’m a huge herbal medicine nerd and sometimes I get a little too enthusiastic….please bear with me 😅😅)
No worries! Thanks for the reference.
What I love about the Hildegard book, which is by no means systematic or comprehensive, is the connection to faith and a glimpse into her approach to God and to the world He made, that is ordered to His mind.
I think that’s the most important thing. I see so many herbalists go a bit or a lot off the rails in not understanding the proper order of things in creation. They end up being a bit pantheistic.
That said, delving into a proper inquiry into plants and their uses is exciting to me!
Agreed-the herbalism/alternative health movement is unfortunately very tainted with a lot of new agey wacko ideas, so St Hildegard is a welcome change, that’s for sure!
I’ve also learned a lot (and need to delve deeper) from Doc Jones from the Homegrown Herbalist and the school of traditional skills. Originally a vet and recognized how effective herbs were with animals and started using them for his family (and now others) as well. His wife, I think, is a midwife so they know quite a bit about herbalist in pregnancy and lactation as well. He’s a Christian and credits God for healing etc. not like some of the very new age-y herbalists that seem more like witch doctors.
The promo code for the discount didn’t work. Is it offered now?
A Sophia person confirmed for me that it works. It might be a problem if you have certain things in your cart: “Subscription products and items in the FSSP and Regina Caeli are not eligible for discounts”
You would likely have to put those in a separate order.
Thanks for sharing about this book. I just ordered (with the handy discount!) for a loved one who just mentioned she’d like to start using more natural remedies for things, and this looks perfect!