I promised in yesterday’s DM that Hildegard was offering us good news along with the bad as she paints her picture of Evil and Satan at work in the world.
The good news is this: In the same painting in which Hildegard paints Satan with his “poisonous arrows in his mouth,” she also paints him bound up in chains and being kept down by good people “trampling the same serpent strongly under foot” who are “not affected by “his flames or by his poison.” In fact, they are sitting on him and keeping him down.
She calls these people, “people of God,” and addresses them in the second person, “good people, most royal greening verdancy, rooted in the sun, you shine with radiant light.” They “shine in faith through their good works.” People of virtue and strength, “they are strong enough to resist being befouled by the devil’s attack.…Living justly, they grasp holiness.”
They put up a good fight. A golden mountain supports them and even more–they are “the anointed mountain of God.” They become other Christs, other anointed mountains of God. The Kingdom of Heaven is very, very near. We are the holy mountain which she paints as gold or doxa, containing the divine radiance of the Cosmic Christ. Hildegard urges us to meditate on that.
Those who succumb to evil “have no happiness in God or in men,” but good people overcome weakness and dryness “by attending to the celestial light” and are ruled by “good things and just thinking.” She urges us to “rise up from your sleep to justice.” Injustice can lead us to “wake up to justice.”
Hildegard warns us that the fires, poisons and plagues of the demonic one find a special place in the marketplace. There, “corruptible riches and vain glory” are for sale along with “deceitful mockery.” Everything is for sale “because the devil deceitfully offers his crafts to the people. And those who desire them, purchase them.”
How? If they are sellers “they relinquish their good conscience.” If buyers, they “consume the deadly wounds of their souls.”
How different this is, Hildegard shouts, to those who “receive the wages of good working.” These are the ones who are strong in resisting evil. Such people “do no business. For they, knowing God, carry the treasure of good will and the aroma of virtues and it is these things that they consume.”
I am struck by how vividly and loudly Hildegard paints and preaches the power of Evil in history.
In contrast, the modern era, so eager to throw out angels and demons, has often been out of touch with naming the Sacred, and often unbelievably out of touch with naming Evil for what it is. This, even though we engage in wars against Mother Earth, hatred against one another, and threats of nuclear catastrophe.
See Matthew Fox, Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen, pp. 132-135. And plate 20.
See Matthew Fox and Rupert Sheldrake, The Physics of Angels: Exploring the Realm Where Science and Spirit Meet.
See Fox, Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ.
And Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society.
And Fox, The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved.
And Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine.
And Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the World.
Banner image: A 3D reproduction of a statue of the devil, found in both the crypt and on the roof of St. Bavo Cathedral, Haarlem, The Netherlands. Image by Rob Oo on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
Do you find yourself carrying and consuming “the treasure of good will and the aroma of virtues” while standing up and resisting Evil in its many forms? Do you try your best to “live justly, grasp holiness” and recognize yourself as another Christ and another “anointed mountain of God” working to tame evil along with others?
Recommended Reading
Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen
An introduction to the life and work of Hildegard of Bingen, Illuminations reveals the life and teachings of one of the greatest female artists and intellectuals of the Western Mystical Tradition. At the age of 42, she began to have visions; these were captured as 36 illuminations–24 of which are recorded in this book along with her commentaries on them.
“If one person deserves credit for the great Hildegard renaissance in our time, it is Matthew Fox.” – Dr Mary Ford-Grabowsky, author of Sacred Voices.
The Physics of Angels: Exploring the Realm Where Science & Spirit Meet
By Matthew Fox and Rupert Sheldrake
When was the last time a scientist and a theologian discussed angels together? What are angels? Many people believe in angels, but few can define these enigmatic spirits. Now visionary theologian Matthew Fox and acclaimed biologist Rupert Sheldrake—pioneers in modern religious thinking and scientific theory—launch a groundbreaking exploration into the ancient concept of the angel and restore dignity, meaning, and joy to our time-honored belief in these heavenly beings.
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved
The Pope’s War offers a provocative look at three decades of corruption in the Catholic Church, focusing on Josef Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI. The final section in the book focuses on birthing a truly catholic Christianity.
“This book should be read by everybody, not only for its ferocious courage, but also for its vision for what needs to be saved from the destructive forces that threaten authentic Christianity.” ~ Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope.
“In the gripping The Pope’s War, Matthew Fox takes an unwavering look at the layers of corruption in the Catholic Church, holding moral truth against power.” — Jason Berry, author of Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Fox’s spirituality weds the healing and liberation found in North American Creation Spirituality and in South American Liberation Theology. Creation Spirituality challenges readers of every religious and political persuasion to unite in a new vision through which we learn to honor the earth and the people who inhabit it as the gift of a good and just Creator.
“A watershed theological work that offers a common ground for religious seekers and activists of all stripes.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice.
“I am reading Liberating Gifts for the People of the Earth by Matt Fox. He is one that fills my heart and mind for new life in spite of so much that is violent in our world.” ~ Sister Dorothy Stang.
5 thoughts on “The Good News in Hildegard’s Paintings of Evil”
Leave ‘The Battle’ of Duality between ‘Good and Bad’, ‘True and False Self’ and Just Be”
When we ‘walk towards God’ we enhance our state of being and never undermine ourselves, never undermine our ego. We are ‘one’ now, never ‘two’.
When we walk towards love, love greets us. If we pause our walk or even step back, love is always there for us waiting to eagerly embrace us.
Duality creates ‘the battle’ between ‘good and bad’, ‘false self and true self’. We need not get ‘sucked into’ this way of thinking or existing or being.
It is our state of being, the level and depth of our Christ consciousness, our soul consciousness that takes us where we need to go. We are travelers, not through time, rather though consciousness and awareness.
To surrender then, is to leave ‘the battle’ of duality between ‘good and bad’, ‘true and false self’ and just be.
‘Just be’ is our embrace. To ‘just be’ is to embrace all and savour all the oneness our consciousness allows us to. To desire Christ consciousness then is a desire to fall deeper in love and deeper into love’s embrace.
The ‘battle is over’, the one that only exists in our illusionary minds. We are love right now in all of its glory. See it, hear it, taste it, savour it, embrace it, fall deeper into it, just be it with all that is within its realm. — BB 10 14 22.
So I think this counsel to “leave the battle” of good vs evil is complete nonsense. So when you witness one of your neighbours being dragged away by the Trump regime, you are just going to stay peacefully silent and “just be”? You are just going embrace “being” in the face of the relentless barrage of cruel, malicious attacks on people, animals and the earth that is causing so much suffering both now and in the future? The betrayal of allies and human rights, and in its place the required worship of a fetid, bloated, orange emperor of lies and cruelty, and his court of billionaires and grovelling sycophant supporters? No thanks, I will take Matthew’s view of both delight in the creator, and clear-eyed stand against evil.
Bill–
Yes, it’s surprising that Matthew now embraces a dualistic (at least on the surface) framing of contemporary challenges, after trashing Neoplatonism as “Roman/Platonic dualism” for decades, and never acknowledging that “Christ Consciousness” and Biblical Mysticism ARE Neoplatonic Mysticism, and that it actually teaches NON-dualism.
People are complex.
Your framing of non-dualism, however, is problematic because it seems to disregard both the universal Mystical Path of “orientation-within-Creation in God’s Oneness” of eternally flowing TOWARD GREATER Love/Community/Interbeing (God’s “kingdom on earth”) AND the universal Mystical imperative of ACTION NOW_ IN_ the flowing WITH GOD/LOVE INTO communion/community.
EVERY Neoplatonic mystic speaks of ACTION (in various forms) AS AN EXPRESSION OF THIS MYSTICISM. And every mystic teaches that if you see a “beloved lamb” (person) in danger, you go out of your way to help that lamb, even if it means leaving your “safe flock” for a while.
One can learn to stay “calmly in the flow of loving action” without being roiled by emotions or succumbing to hatred, but the action does not violate the non-dualism/love within the Mystical Life. On the other hand, NON–action in the face of witnessing others suffering WOULD violate the (Neoplatonic/Biblical) Mystical Teachings.
Thank you Matthew for always reminding us of the Goodness, Truth, Healing, Beauty, Joy, Creativity, and Strength that are always Present within and among us, as exemplified by our mystical ancestors, through the SPIRIT of LOVE~LIGHT~LIFE of Our Source~Co-Creator with-in Our Eternal Souls in the Sacred Process of the Eternal Present Moment of Our LOVING Evolving Diverse ONENESS — COSMIC CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS….
The question is always “How to stay honest, constructive, caring, peaceful, and just as you work for change when faced with deceitful, pernicious, abusive, aggressive, and unjust opponents?” The truth is just putting on its shoes as lies make it halfway ‘round the world. This relates to our system of government too. The Dems and Biden Administration thought we were still operating under the Constitution and system of law. Was that their (and our) failure? I don’t know. But these excerpts from Hildegard help. Here’s a way to answer question. Once evil has had its day, there must be a remnant of good to take its place. If we all become deceitful, pernicious, abusive, aggressive, and unjust—convincing ourselves that it’s the only way to oppose an evil regime—then there’s no good to return to. We must resist evil, and we must do it while remaining good ourselves. “For they, knowing God, carry the treasure of good will and the aroma of virtues and it is these things that they consume.”