Viriditas, the Greening Power of the Divine
In the northern hemisphere, spring has sent her messengers to announce her arrival. A blade of grass shining its green brilliance, a bird chirping brightly, snowdrops starting to weave beautiful spring carpets. Nature gently comes out from its hibernation—and so do our souls.
Why is spring so fascinating? So magical, so beautiful, and so vibrantly alive? It is because all life is celebrating the return of sunshine, the touch of the Sun bestowing its light and heat most directly. It is because of the light that the joy of life bursts out in the spring.
The birds hop, sing, and play, moved by the thrill of joy. Primroses, snowdrops, daffodils, and tulips bloom their beauty, moved by the thrill of joy. The leaves and buds of trees, moved by the thrill of joy, cannot stop their green laughter. People moved by the thrill of joy gather for the equinox, maybe at Stonehenge or maybe in Mexico among the Mayan ruins of Chichén Itzá, or maybe just in a forest or a beautiful park. But all are moved by the thrill of joy.
As Hafiz said,
“How did the rose
Ever open its heart
And give to this world
All its beauty?
It felt the encouragement of light
Against its being.
Otherwise, we all remain
Too Frightened.”
So do our hearts, drawn towards the Divine, receive the encouragement of light and thus bloom like a hyacinth in the spring, blessing the world with its divine fragrance. Keep your heart in spring, dear fellows. Keep your heart in spring.
Rumi said, “The absolute unknowable appears as spring, and disappears in fall.” How insightfully Rumi expresses the divine play, the hide-and-seek love game between the created and the Creator, the playfulness of the Beloved who reveals and conceals.
And not only Rumi sees the spring with all its fresh green through the eye of the Heart. Saint Hildegard von Bingen speaks about Viriditas, the greening power of the Divine. The Latin word viriditas means “greenness,” “lushness,” “freshness,” and “vitality.” St. Hildegard used this word as a symbol of both spiritual and physical health.
For Hildegard, this “greenness” was an expression of heaven, the creative power of life, which can be seen in the gardens, forests, parks, and farmland all around us. And like those lands, she saw viriditas as something to be cultivated in both our bodies and our souls.
She said:
“O most honored Greening Force,
You who roots in the Sun;
You who lights up, in shining serenity, within a wheel
that earthly excellence fails to comprehend.
You are enfolded
in the weaving of divine mysteries.
You redden like the dawn
and you burn: flame of the Sun.”
What a beautiful invitation to see spring through the eye of the Heart. For this, keep your heart in spring, letting the doors of your heart open to the breeze of love every day. Walk the path of love with bravery and humbleness, not turning your back on the hardships of love, serving the world, and bathing your heart in the ocean of compassion.
Sufi wisdom says, “He who walks with love can carry the world. He who walks without love carries a corpse as a body.” May we never carry a corpse as a body! May we always keep our hearts in spring! May we always be filled with viriditas!
Antoaneta is a Hridaya Yoga teacher and contributor to our blog.
