Page "Hildegard of Bingen" Paragraph 7

Hildegard says that she first saw " The Shade of the Living Light " at the age of three, and by the age of five she began to understand that she was experiencing visions.

She used the term ' visio ' to this feature of her experience, and recognized that it was a gift that she could not explain to others.

Hildegard explained that she saw all things in the light of God through the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.

Hildegard was hesitant to share her visions, confiding only to Jutta, who in turn told Volmar, Hildegard's tutor and, later, secretary.

Throughout her life, she continued to have many visions, and in 1141, at the age of 42, Hildegard received a vision she believed to be an instruction from God, to " write down that which you see and hear.

" Still hesitant to record her visions, Hildegard became physically ill.

The illustrations recorded in the book of Scivias were visions that Hildegard experienced, causing her great suffering and tribulations.

In her first theological text, Scivias (" Know the Ways "), Hildegard describes her struggle within: