Physica by Hildegard von Bingen

pp. 137-156 Liber IV : Stones

p.

4:

mineral

time

trait

138

:1

emerald

smaragdus

"sunrise"

[p. 139] with "broad beans"; cure where "someone is being eaten by worms" {cf. stellar Wormwood (Apok. of Ioan. 8:11)}

139

:2

jacinth

jacinctus

1st h. of day

[p. 140] with "rye"; "make the sign of the cross" over one's heart

140

:3

onyx

onychinus

3rd h. of day

[p. 141] with "hens' eggs"; against pestilence in cattle

141

:4

beryl

beryllus

3rd h. to midd.

hold it in one's hand

"

:5

sardonyx

sardonix

6th to 9th h.

[p. 142] furnisheth strength to the 5 senses; as setting of ring on finger

142

:6

sapphire

sapphirus

"after noontime"

[p. 143] a fool ought lick it in order to "receive good understanding"; suspend it from one's neck in leathern sack in order to cause wicked spirit to fall from glory {cf. He^lel/Lucifer "fallen from heaven"}

144

:7

sard

sardius

after midd. in autumn

in hat on top of head; cure jaundice; assist childbirth (open door and open gates)

"

:8

topaz

topazius

just before 9th h.

[p. 145] with "oat" and "violets" to cure leprosy; as angels "look at God in a mirror"

146

:9

chrysolite

chrysolithus

9th h. of day

fortifieth offspring of animal at birth; place this stone over one's heart

"

:10

jasper

jaspis

after 9th h.

[p. 147] "thunder and lightning appear in dreams"; "the ancient serpent stretches out toward ... the infant as it emerges from its mother's vulva ... trying to ensnare the child as well as the mother." (cf. Apok. of Ioan. 12:4)

147

:11

prasine

prasius

"eventide"

with "rye" over one's umbilicus"

"

:12

chalcedony

calcedonius

"past eventide"

[p. 148] to become "able to speak firmly to people"

148

:13

chrysoprase

chrysoprasus

moon "not yet full"

treat epilepsy

149

:14

carbuncle

carbunculus

"eclipse of the moon"

"resuscitate that which had died"

"

:15

amethyst

amethystus

solar halo

[p. 150] cure a spider-bite

150

:16

agate

achates

[p. 151] waning moon

obstruct nocturnal house-thieves (burglars)

151

:17

diamond

adamas


[p. 152] cure jaundice

152

:18

magnet

magnet


dispelleth phantasms

153

:19

ligure

ligurius


from lynx; with milk relieveth difficult urination

"

:20

crystal

crystallus


[p. 154] cure scrofula

154

:21

pearl

margarita


alleviate fever; cure headache

"

:22

mother-of-pearl berlin



[Physica 4:1] http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1611_Revelation-8-11/

[Physica 4:7] Atop head to open gates and to open doors : "Lift up your heads O! ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors." (Thilli^m 24:7)

[Physica 4:10] Apokalupsis of Ioannes 12:4 "the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born." http://biblehub.com/revelation/12-4.htm The context is B-Re>s^it 21 : the woman is Hagar and the child is Yis^ma<e>l. They were supernaturally rescued because she "addressed her supplications to the idols of her youth." (Louis Ginzberg : Legends of the Bible. p. 123) The man-child's "rod of iron" (Apok. of Ioan. 12:5) is comparable with the "bars of iron" (>iyo^b 40:18) which are the gristles of Bhemo^t; while the "seven crowns" (Apok. of Ioan. 12:3) of the dragon are comparable with the "seven circles" of the Ophite cosmology. ("L&B -- Among the Gnostics" http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9841-leviathan-and-behemoth#anchor6 ). An association of "lightning ... in dreams" with Liwyatan of devouring "jaws" (Legends of the Bible. p. 14) may be paralleled by infant An~janeya's being struck in his "jaw" by a "lightning bolt" when he sought to devour the sun (Alanna Kaivalya & Arjuna van der Kooij : Myths of the Asanas. Mandala Publ, San Rafael (CA), 2010. p. 78) -- the brilliancy of the sun being perhaps comparable with the luminance of the Liwyatan's pelt, such that "the whole world will be illuminated by its brightness" ("L&B -- In the Messianic Times" http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9841-leviathan-and-behemoth#anchor3 ).

[Physica 4:22] /Berl-/ may be English /BURL/ 'knot of a tree' where a limb was lopped, as in pruning by god Priepos, whose beast is the ass (to make an ass of one's self = laughing-stock, hence /BURLesque/). With the pruning-hook of Priepos, cf. the sacred scimitar said by some Nus.ayri to represent to sun; the sun containing mother-of-pearl "abalone shell" according to the Hopi (Margot Edmonds & Ella Clark : Voices of the Winds. 1989. p. 75).


the 12 foundations of Hierosolume Nea (Apok. of Ioan. 21:19-20)

Apok. of Ioan. 21:

fndn.

mineral

Physica 4:

:19

1st

jasper

:10


2nd

sapphire

:6


3rd

chalcedony

:12


4th

emerald

:1

:20

5th

sardonyx

:5


6th

sardius

:7


7th

chrysolite

:9


8th

beryl

:4


9th

topaz

:8


10th

chrysoprasus

:13


11th

jacinth

:2


12th

amethyst

:15

{not included in these 12 are 4:3, :11, :14}

pp. 205-227 Liber VII -- Beasts

p.

7:

beast

trait

206

:1

elephant

elephans

by smelling odor of the "water of paradise ... it seeks to mingle in coitus"

"

:2

camel

camelus

hath in its 3 humps strength of lion, panther, and horse, and in residue of its body "the nature of an ass"

207

:3

lion

leo

lioness at parturition abandoneth her cubs until lion roareth over them in order to "waken the cubs"

208

:4

bear

ursus

[p. 209] it is lascivious that "a male bear run to a woman, a female bear to a man -- and mix with them in coitus"

210

:5

unicorn

unicornus

"could be captured by girls"; "has beneath its horn something ... as if ... a mirror"

211

:6

tigre

tigris

"the nature of an ibex"; "pustules come out of it, like gum, which ... have a sweet odor" {civet?}

"

:7

panther

panthera

"it freely imitates all animals"

"

:8

horse

equus

"has ... a great strength that it does not know it has"

212

:9

ass

asinus

"its nature nears that of the human."

213

:10

deer

cervus

at onset of its old age it rejuvenateth itself by inducing a "basilisk" to crawl through its body into mouth out from anus

"

:11

roe-deer

rech

[p. 214] "add ... the oil from the fruit of an elm, or beech tree, ... the oil from the elm is better than rue"

214

:12

ibex

steynbock

"From its horn, make a knife handle. Always keep this with you"

"

:13

bison

wisant

"has the habits of a deer"

"

:14

ox

bos

"Where there is an ox, airy spirits do not make enmity for a human being"

215

:15

sheep

ovis

"they carry no pride ... . Whence, God gave Adam sheepskin clothing."

"

:16

goat

hircus

[p. 216] "The she-goat has the same nature as the male, except the male is stronger."

216

:17

pig

porcus

"it has wolflike habits, since it tears other animals apart; ... it willingly lives with humans, just as a dog does."

"

:18

hare

lepus

"the female sometimes emits something ... like an intestine, from near her umbilicus"

217

:19

wolf

lupus

"The airy spirits ... are often delighted by it, and accompany it. ... . When a wolf first sees a person, the airy spirits accompanying it weaken the person's powers"

"

:20

hound

canis

[p. 218] "The dog sometimes has a foreboding of happy or sad events to come in the future or already present."

218

:21

fox

vulpus

"It has ... the ways of a panther and ... the understanding of a lion."

219

:22

beaver

biber

"it has air from water in it. ... Its hair grows from water".

"

:23

otter

otther

"has a clean nature"

"

:24

monkey

simea

"it watches a person and what he does. ... Because it is similar to a human, it has monthly cycles"

"

:25

meerkat

merkacza

"has a certain poison in it, ... which it spits"

220

:26

cat

cattus

"it licks toads ... . From their moisture the cat ... is refreshed. Otherwise it would be unable to live ... . ... When it carries its young within [gestation], its heat stirs up lust in a person"

"

:27

lynx

luchs

"Since it follows its own will, its eyes shine like the night's stars."

[Physica 7:27] "Translator's note : Here "ligure" refers to ... the lynx's urine. See Ligure ... on p. 153 [3:19]." {"According to an observation by Humboldt (Kosmos), certain South American Indian tribes call the meteors "urine of the stars."" (http://www.naderlibrary.com/lit.jungpsychologyunconscous.2.7.htm#sthash.4kWlT6le.dpuf ) According to certain tropical-forest South American Indians "meteors are "stars' urine."" (Waldo Frank : Birth of a World. Houghton Mifflin Co, Boston, 1951. https://archive.org/stream/birthofaworld006686mbp/birthofaworld006686mbp_djvu.txt )}

{As for the statement that by means of the power of the "its own will, its eyes shine like the night's stars" : cf. the European folk-lore motif of a wish made upon a star; and the motif of stars figured as as the night's eyen.}

animal-sequences (Tamil, Aiguptos, Aztec A&ACS, p. 173)

Physica 7

Tamil

Hellenistic Aiguptos

Aztec

Chinese (ChMM, p. 249)

17 pig

porcus


7 pig



hare

lepus



8 rabbit


wolf

lupus





hound

canis

19 bitch


10 hound


fox

vulpus




3 fox

beaver

biber




5 beaver

otter

otther





monkey

simea

20 monkey

15 baboon

11 monkey


meerkat ("HMZ", p. 44)

merkacza

21 civet




cat

cattus


16. cat



27 lynx

luchs

22-3 lioness & lion

17 lion

14 ocelot

9 tigre

A&ACS = A. Hugh Moran & David H. Kelley : The Alphabet and the Ancient Calendar Signs. 2nd edn, 1970.

ChMM = Michel Strickmann (ed. by Bernard Faure) : Chinese Magical Medicine. Stanford U Pr, 2002.

"HMZ" = Kenneth F. Kitchell & Irven M. Resnick : "Hildegard as a Medieval "Zoologist"". In :- Maud Burnett McInerney (ed.) : Hildegard of Bingen: A Book of Essays. GARLAND MEDIEVAL CASEBOOKS, vol. 20. 1998. http://books.google.com/books?id=tel_AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44&dq= pp. 25-52.

Hildegard (transl from the Latin by Priscilla Throop) : Physica. Healing Arts Pr (a division of Inner Traditions Internat), Rochester (VT), 1998.