This blog post is courtesy of Tania from Howling Baubo and Dark Goddess Collective Sovereign!
I lit the flame of my BSC and prepared for the energy of Hestia while I slowly sipped from my cup of Synchronici-TEA. I pondered how my experience of Hestia would manifest. How would She present Herself?
Starting a fire by hand requires a lot of work. You must produce enough friction for a spark, secure the proper amount of kindling, gently build its appetite with twigs, gradually moving up in scale until a roaring fire is crackling before you.
Hestia required me to work for my fire. If I wanted to decode her messages, I had to sweat a little actively following the sparks that would lead me to the threads meant for me, all while paying attention to the subtle voice of the Divine (and let’s just say it, that voice can be frustrating). I laid down expectation and disbelief and allowed the sparks to reveal the threads to me as they were.
The fire of Hestia brought me back to my ongoing interactions with Osiris. Right before Hestia arrived at DGC, Osiris gifted me the Green Flame in meditation. I’m familiar with the Violet Flame, I use it frequently. I’ve never given thought to a different Flame.
Hestia stepped in to remind me that I can expand and experiment with ALL the flames. Stay open and curious. They are all connected; after all they originate from the same Source.
The Green Fire of Viriditas & Saint Hildegard
In my research on the Green Flame, I discovered its healing power and the power it possesses to bring you back to self and connect with the Divine. Connecting and understanding ourselves IS the way to connect and understand the Divine; we hold that same Divinity within ourselves. This spark led me to the thread of Viriditas. This thread is brightly engulfed in green flames to ensure I don’t miss it.
Viriditas is the discovery of a 12th century German Abbess by the name of Hildegard von Bingen. Let me tell you, she was a rebel bad-ass. I have so much to say about my newfound fascination with Hildegard, but I’ll save that for another day. She was not your typical Abbess.
Hildegard wore more than a nun’s headpiece, she was a skilled herbalist, dietician, doctor, author of many books, poet, musician, composer, artist, prophetess, seer, mystic. She had visions from a young age, she entered cloistered life at 8 years old and took her vows by 14; yet she became one of the most sought-after sages of her time. Hildegard was known as the Sybil of the Rhine as her advice was sought by everyone from the poor to the nobility. Bishops and high-ranking clergy often consulted her. Best part: she wasn’t averse to calling out the bullshit of the men around her…especially men in power.
She lived to be 80 in the 12th century! Despite being chronically ill and suffering from migraines, she was the epitome of the life force she describes as Viriditas.
Viriditas is tricky to translate from the original Latin because of its nuance. It’s translated as The Greening, but it’s deeper than that.
This is the Green that is the source of life, the energy present in all living things that allows the connection between the divine trinity (humans, nature and the Divine) to thrive and grow.
Hildegard described it as the sap that connects us to the Creator, without the flow of Viriditas we dry up; physically and spiritually.
The Fire of The Divine Feminine
Hildegard was clear in that she perceived Viriditas as the feminine form of God, it is the life energy that is present in all things. She had lived experience and personal gnosis of this force she named Viriditas, it presented as a bright green fire woman; green is the source of all life.
Hildegard first entered my life a few years ago through Mirabai Starr’s book Wild Mercy, which is a wonderful read full of female mystics and the wisdom they share. Then she went to the backburner.
Through the flames of Hestia, the Green Flame of Viriditas and Hildegard herself have reignited their fires in my personal hearth. This is the fire that Hestia chose for me to tend.
Remember, everything is connected and the threads will always lead you where you need to be.
Much love as you tend to your flames.
~ Tania
