Who is Hildegard of Bingen?

Hildegard of Bingen · 1141-1179

Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – September 17, 1179) was a German Benedictine abbess, mystic, composer, naturalist, and physician. From early childhood she experienced visions, which she described as seeing the 'Living Light' (Lux vivens), and recorded these experiences in several major works.

In 1141, Hildegard received a divine command to begin writing her masterwork Scivias ('Know the Ways'), which took ten years to complete. She later wrote Liber Vitae Meritorum ('Book of Life's Merits') and Liber Divinorum Operum ('Book of Divine Works'). These works contain profound visions concerning cosmic order, the fate of the Church, and the end of days.

In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI named Hildegard a Doctor of the Church, making her one of only four women to hold this title in Catholic history. Her prophecies are presented in symbolic visionary language, addressing Church corruption and purification, the coming of the Antichrist, the Last Judgment, and the ultimate order of the cosmos. This site compiles her most representative prophetic visions.

Core Message

"In those days, justice will rise up, and the light of faith will shine upon the world anew."

Key Timeline

1098 — Born into a noble family near the Rhine in Bermersheim
1141 — Received divine command to begin writing Scivias
1151 — Scivias completed, approved by Pope Eugene III
1163 — Began writing Liber Divinorum Operum (Book of Divine Works)
1179 — Died on September 17 at Rupertsberg monastery near Bingen
2012 — Named Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI

Data Sources

Prophecies drawn from Hildegard's three major visionary works: Scivias, Liber Vitae Meritorum, and Liber Divinorum Operum (Wikipedia)
Latin texts referenced from Patrologia Latina vol. 197 (Documenta Catholica Omnia)
Verification based on historical records and Church history scholarship
Editorial opinions do not represent academic consensus
Site icon: flame symbol — Hildegard's visions were often depicted as divine fire descending from heaven, making the flame the most recognizable visual element in her illuminated manuscripts

Hildegard of Bingen Prophecies All Prophecies40 Q&A entries in total

#1 Politics 未确定

Prophecy of the Great Church Schism

Hildegard of Bingen: The Church shall be split into two parts: one holding fast to the truth, the other following false shepherds. This division will bring great suffering and confusion, until God Himself intervenes to restore unity.

#2 Religion 未确定

Hildegard on her visionary experience

Hildegard of Bingen: "I do not see these visions with my physical eyes, nor in sleep, nor in ecstasy. I see them while fully awake and clear, with the eyes of the soul." This unique mode of vision distinguished her from other medieval mystics.

#3 Religion 未确定

Scivias — Prophecy of the Five Beasts of the End Times

Hildegard of Bingen: Five eras will descend before the end, each symbolized by a beast: a fiery dog, a tawny lion, a pale horse, a black pig, and a grey wolf. Each beast represents a stage of humanity's moral decline.

#4 Religion 未确定

Hildegard on the Age of the Fiery Dog

Hildegard of Bingen: The first era will be the age of the fiery dog. People will be driven by passionate fervor, constantly fighting one another. Wars and strife will fill this age, but the flame of faith still burns in a few hearts.

#5 Religion 未确定

Hildegard on the Age of the Tawny Lion

Hildegard of Bingen: The second era will witness the rise of military might. Rulers will conquer nations by force, but beneath the glory of victory lies decay. The tawny lion, though powerful, is already old and sick.

#6 Religion 未确定

Hildegard on the Age of the Pale Horse

Hildegard of Bingen: People of the third era will become apathetic and numb. They will be neither fervent nor opposed to faith, merely indifferent. The pale horse symbolizes spiritual pallor and weakness — an apathy more terrible than rebellion.

#7 Religion 未确定

Hildegard on the Age of the Black Pig

Hildegard of Bingen: The fourth era will witness complete corruption within the Church. The black pig symbolizes the greed and depravity of Church leaders. They will openly pursue power and wealth, defile holy offices, and cause believers to lose faith.

#8 Religion 未确定

Hildegard on the Age of the Grey Wolf

Hildegard of Bingen: The fifth and final era is the age of the grey wolf. In this era, heresy will run rampant and faith will nearly perish. The grey wolf will tear apart the flock, until the trumpet of final judgment sounds.

#9 Religion 1517

Hildegard predicted a great reformer

Hildegard of Bingen: In the Church's darkest period, a reformer filled with the Holy Spirit will appear. He will come from a lowly, unregarded place and will cleanse the Church's filth with pure faith and fiery preaching.

#10 Religion 未确定

Hildegard on the coming of the Antichrist

Hildegard of Bingen: In the final age, the Antichrist will be born in Babylon. He will deceive the multitudes with false miracles and sweet words. He will proclaim himself God and enthrone himself in Jerusalem. But his reign will not last — he will ultimately be destroyed by angelic power.

#11 Religion 未确定

Hildegard predicted the final great peace

Hildegard of Bingen: After the Antichrist is destroyed, a brief but glorious period of peace will appear on earth. During this time, true faith will spread throughout the world. All nations will unite, acknowledging the one God. This will be the last glory before the Final Judgment.

#12 Religion 未确定

Hildegard on the Final Judgment

Hildegard of Bingen: In the last days, all the dead will rise. Every soul will be judged according to its deeds in the world. The righteous will enter eternal light, the wicked will be cast into eternal darkness. The earth will be purified by fire, and a new creation will replace the old world.

#13 Climate 未确定

Hildegard predicted nature's retribution

Hildegard of Bingen: When humans excessively destroy nature, the earth will respond with catastrophe. Storms will grow more violent, floods will inundate towns, and the earth will tremble and groan under humanity's greed.

#14 Technology 未确定

Hildegard on medicine and the divine order of herbs

Hildegard of Bingen: Every plant and stone has been endowed with the power to heal specific diseases. This healing power comes from God's creative order. Future physicians who understand this order will find cures for all diseases.

#15 War 1291

Hildegard predicted the fate of the Crusades

Hildegard of Bingen: Christians will reclaim the Holy Land by the sword, but their victory will not endure. Because their faith is not pure enough and their conquest is built on violence rather than spirituality, the Holy Land will ultimately be lost again.

#16 Climate 2000

Hildegard on seasons falling out of order

Hildegard of Bingen: "The seasons will become confused. Winters will be warm, summers will be abnormally hot. Rain will not fall when it should and will pour down when it shouldn't."

#17 Religion 未确定

Hildegard on the relationship between music and the soul

Hildegard of Bingen: Music is the language of the soul. Through harmonious melody, the human soul can realign with heavenly order. When music is abused and distorted, the soul falls with it. Forbidding church music is a crime against the soul.

#18 Technology 未确定

Hildegard on green life force (Viriditas)

Hildegard of Bingen: All things are filled with a divine green life force — Viriditas. This force makes plants grow, wounds heal, and souls awaken. Without this green life force, humans wither spiritually.

#19 War 1806

Hildegard predicted the decline of the Germanic Empire

Hildegard of Bingen: "The empire of the Germans will disintegrate. Princes will each rule independently, and unified authority will cease to exist. This once-mighty empire will be reduced to mutually warring fragments."

#20 Religion 未确定

Hildegard on women's role in the Church

Hildegard of Bingen: Though women cannot hold clerical office, they are equal to or even more perceptive than men in spiritual life. Women's intuition and sensitivity make them more receptive to divine revelation. The Church should not ignore women's spiritual contributions.

#21 Society 未确定

Hildegard on monastic reform

Hildegard of Bingen: Monasteries have strayed from the spirit of the Benedictine Rule. Monks and nuns pursue comfort and power instead of poverty and prayer. True monastic life must return to strict asceticism and contemplation.

#22 Society 1347

Hildegard predicted great plagues

Hildegard of Bingen: "A deadly plague will sweep across the earth. The dead will be too many to bury one by one. Cities will become graveyards, and the air will be filled with the stench of death."

#23 Religion 未确定

Hildegard on the unity of body and soul

Hildegard of Bingen: The body is not the prison of the soul but its instrument. The soul plays divine melodies in the world through the body. To despise the body is to despise God's creation. Physical health and spiritual health are inseparable.

#24 Religion 未确定

Hildegard on human free will

Hildegard of Bingen: God endowed humanity with free will, enabling people to choose between good and evil. Angels lack this capacity for choice, as do animals. It is precisely this free will that enables humans to reach angelic heights or descend to bestial depths.

#25 Religion 未确定

De Operatione Dei — The Cosmic Human and Body as Microcosm

Hildegard of Bingen: The human is a microcosm of the universe. The head corresponds to the firmament, the chest to the air, the abdomen to the earth. Storms move through the atmosphere as blood flows through the body. Understanding the body is understanding the universe.

#26 Religion 未确定

Scivias, Book I — The Structure of the Universe

Hildegard of Bingen: I saw a great object, like an egg, surrounded by bright fire, beneath which was a dark skin. Within that fire was a red burning globe so great that the whole egg-shaped object was illuminated by it. Above it three stars were arranged in order, keeping the globe from falling by its burning.

#27 Religion 未确定

Scivias, Book III — Prophecy of Church Corruption

Hildegard of Bingen: Justice will be pulled from her seat, and faith will totter in every corner of the world. The clergy shall be stripped of their dignity and shall scatter like sheep without a shepherd. The Church shall be torn asunder, because these men pursue worldly riches rather than the salvation of souls.

#28 Religion 未确定

Scivias, Book III — The Five Beasts of the Ages

Hildegard of Bingen: I saw five beasts standing facing the north. The first was a fiery dog that did not burn; the second a yellow lion; the third a pale horse; the fourth a black pig; the fifth a grey wolf. Each represented the tyrannical rule of a different age.

#29 Religion 未确定

Scivias, Book III — The Coming of the Antichrist

Hildegard of Bingen: In the last age, the son of Satan shall be born. He shall be born of an accursed woman, steeped in all wicked arts from his youth. He shall claim to be God, perform false miracles, and deceive many. But his reign shall not last long, for the Most High shall strike him down.

#30 Society 未确定

Prophecy of a Future Reformer

Hildegard of Bingen: After those dark days, a great reformer shall arise. He will cut away the rot with the sword of God and restore the Church to its glory. Many monks shall return to the path of poverty and humility, and faith shall take root again in places that had fallen.

#31 Religion 未确定

Liber Divinorum Operum — Vision of the Cosmic Wheel

Hildegard of Bingen: I saw a great wheel, radiating with light. Man was placed at the center of this wheel, his head touching the firmament, his feet upon the abyss. The winds of east, west, south, and north revolved around him. This is the unity of cosmos and man — man is the center and microcosm of creation.

#32 Climate 未确定

Prophecy of Nature in Disorder

Hildegard of Bingen: The elements of the earth shall fall into disorder. Winds shall not blow in their proper seasons, rain shall fall at wrong times, and the air shall become impure. Because man has sinned against the earth, the earth shall demand its debt. Seasons shall become confused, crops shall grow at the wrong time, or not grow at all.

#33 War 未确定

Prophecy of Great War and Peace

Hildegard of Bingen: In that age, nations shall attack one another, and the earth shall be stained red with blood. But after this great war, an age of peace shall descend. People shall lay down their weapons, till their fields, and justice shall rise from the ruins.

#34 Religion 未确定

Vision of the Last Judgment

Hildegard of Bingen: In the last days, the sun shall grow dark, the moon shall give no light, and the stars shall fall from the sky. The earth shall quake violently, and the seas shall roar and surge. Then the Eternal Judge shall descend, and the living and the dead shall be judged before Him. The righteous shall be taken into the light, and the wicked cast into darkness.

#35 Religion 未确定

Scivias, Book II — The Relationship of Soul and Body

Hildegard of Bingen: The soul in the body is like wind in organ pipes: when the wind blows through the pipes, they produce sound. Likewise, the soul moves and gives sensation to all the limbs of the body, as if breathing the breath of life into a vessel made of clay. Without the soul, the body is mere dust.

#36 Religion 未确定

Prophecy of Church Purification and Renewal

Hildegard of Bingen: After the greatest tribulations, the Church shall undergo a thorough purification. She shall be as white as a lily washed by the storm. Then a holy Pope shall appear, who will rebuild the temple of faith upon the ruins and guide all peoples back to the path of truth.

#37 Technology 未确定

Prophecy on Medicine and Natural Healing

Hildegard of Bingen: God has given humanity the powers of herbs, stones, and animals for the healing of diseases. But in future ages, people shall forget these natural remedies and pursue man-made medicines. When they rediscover the power of nature, many illnesses shall be healed without artificial drugs.

#38 Society 未确定

Prophecy on the Status of Women

Hildegard of Bingen: In a future age, women shall no longer be silent. They shall raise their voices in the Church and in the world, participating in governance and teaching. This is not against God's order, but a restoration of God's original intent in creating man and woman as equals.

#39 Religion 未确定

Liber Vitae Meritorum — Dialogue of Virtues and Vices

Hildegard of Bingen: I saw a high mountain, upon which stood thirty-five virtues of the soul, clothed in garments of light. At the foot of the mountain were thirty-five vices, each ugly in appearance, debating with their corresponding virtue. Humility said to Pride: 'You fell from heaven, while I raise humanity to heaven.'

#40 Religion 未确定

Liber Divinorum Operum — The Ultimate Harmony

Hildegard of Bingen: At the end of all things, God shall make all things new. Heaven and earth shall be purified, and death shall exist no more. Creation shall return to its original harmony — as I saw in my vision, the burning cosmic egg shall at last become eternal light, and humanity shall dwell in that light forever.

Prophecy VerificationEvaluating predictions against reality for expired time points

#1 Verified undefined: 未确定

Prophecy of the Great Church Schism

Hildegard of Bingen: The Church shall be split into two parts: one holding fast to the truth, the other following false shepherds. This division will bring great suffering and confusion, until God Himself intervenes to restore unity.

The East-West Schism of 1054 had already occurred. The Western Schism of 1378-1417 (Avignon papacy vs. Rome) more directly matches this prophecy. Rival popes led to 39 years of chaos, resolved only by the Council of Constance.

#15 Verified undefined: 1291

Hildegard predicted the fate of the Crusades

Hildegard of Bingen: Christians will reclaim the Holy Land by the sword, but their victory will not endure. Because their faith is not pure enough and their conquest is built on violence rather than spirituality, the Holy Land will ultimately be lost again.

The First Crusade (1099) captured Jerusalem and established Crusader states. But as Hildegard predicted, these victories did not last. Saladin recaptured Jerusalem in 1187, and the fall of Acre in 1291 marked the end of the Crusader states.

#22 Verified undefined: 1347

Hildegard predicted great plagues

Hildegard of Bingen: "A deadly plague will sweep across the earth. The dead will be too many to bury one by one. Cities will become graveyards, and the air will be filled with the stench of death."

The Black Death swept through Europe from 1347-1351, killing an estimated 75-200 million people, 30-60% of Europe's population. Many cities could not bury all the dead and resorted to mass graves. Hildegard's description closely matches the devastation of the Black Death.

#9 Partial undefined: 1517

Hildegard predicted a great reformer

Hildegard of Bingen: In the Church's darkest period, a reformer filled with the Holy Spirit will appear. He will come from a lowly, unregarded place and will cleanse the Church's filth with pure faith and fiery preaching.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) came from a humble background and launched the Reformation in 1517, fiercely criticizing Church corruption. His preaching did 'cleanse the Church's filth.' But Luther's reform led to Church schism rather than purification, not fully matching Hildegard's ideal.

#19 Verified undefined: 1806

Hildegard predicted the decline of the Germanic Empire

Hildegard of Bingen: "The empire of the Germans will disintegrate. Princes will each rule independently, and unified authority will cease to exist. This once-mighty empire will be reduced to mutually warring fragments."

The Holy Roman Empire gradually fragmented into hundreds of independent states from the 13th century, with imperial authority becoming nominal. After the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, princes were effectively independent. In 1806, Napoleon forced the last emperor Francis II to abdicate, formally ending the empire.

#16 Verified undefined: 2000

Hildegard on seasons falling out of order

Hildegard of Bingen: "The seasons will become confused. Winters will be warm, summers will be abnormally hot. Rain will not fall when it should and will pour down when it shouldn't."

21st-century climate change has caused frequent extreme weather. Europe experienced record warm winters and heat waves. Global average temperature first exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in 2024. Extreme alternation between drought and flooding has worsened.

#26 Pending undefined: 未确定

Scivias, Book I — The Structure of the Universe

Hildegard of Bingen: I saw a great object, like an egg, surrounded by bright fire, beneath which was a dark skin. Within that fire was a red burning globe so great that the whole egg-shaped object was illuminated by it. Above it three stars were arranged in order, keeping the globe from falling by its burning.

#27 Partial undefined: 未确定

Scivias, Book III — Prophecy of Church Corruption

Hildegard of Bingen: Justice will be pulled from her seat, and faith will totter in every corner of the world. The clergy shall be stripped of their dignity and shall scatter like sheep without a shepherd. The Church shall be torn asunder, because these men pursue worldly riches rather than the salvation of souls.

The late medieval Church did experience severe corruption, including simony and clerical worldliness. The Western Schism beginning in 1378 split the Church into rival papal factions. However, Hildegard's description is symbolic and difficult to map precisely to a specific period.

#28 Partial undefined: 未确定

Scivias, Book III — The Five Beasts of the Ages

Hildegard of Bingen: I saw five beasts standing facing the north. The first was a fiery dog that did not burn; the second a yellow lion; the third a pale horse; the fourth a black pig; the fifth a grey wolf. Each represented the tyrannical rule of a different age.

Hildegard used five beasts to symbolize five ages of Church corruption. Catholic theologians interpret them as: the fiery dog symbolizing greedy clergy, the yellow lion representing wartime, the pale horse for tepid faith, the black pig for rampant heresy, and the grey wolf for end-times chaos. These symbols loosely correspond to various Church crises, but the exact periodization remains debated.

#29 Pending undefined: 未确定

Scivias, Book III — The Coming of the Antichrist

Hildegard of Bingen: In the last age, the son of Satan shall be born. He shall be born of an accursed woman, steeped in all wicked arts from his youth. He shall claim to be God, perform false miracles, and deceive many. But his reign shall not last long, for the Most High shall strike him down.

#30 Partial undefined: 未确定

Prophecy of a Future Reformer

Hildegard of Bingen: After those dark days, a great reformer shall arise. He will cut away the rot with the sword of God and restore the Church to its glory. Many monks shall return to the path of poverty and humility, and faith shall take root again in places that had fallen.

The 16th-century Counter-Reformation (Council of Trent, 1545-1563) partly corresponds to this prophecy. Newly founded orders like the Jesuits did return to ideals of poverty and humility. However, some scholars argue the foretold reform has not yet fully materialized.

#31 Pending undefined: 未确定

Liber Divinorum Operum — Vision of the Cosmic Wheel

Hildegard of Bingen: I saw a great wheel, radiating with light. Man was placed at the center of this wheel, his head touching the firmament, his feet upon the abyss. The winds of east, west, south, and north revolved around him. This is the unity of cosmos and man — man is the center and microcosm of creation.

#32 Partial undefined: 未确定

Prophecy of Nature in Disorder

Hildegard of Bingen: The elements of the earth shall fall into disorder. Winds shall not blow in their proper seasons, rain shall fall at wrong times, and the air shall become impure. Because man has sinned against the earth, the earth shall demand its debt. Seasons shall become confused, crops shall grow at the wrong time, or not grow at all.

Modern climate change causing extreme weather events — seasonal anomalies, air pollution, crop failures — bears notable resemblance to this 12th-century prophecy. However, Hildegard's description operates within a medieval theological framework of sin and punishment, differing from modern scientific causation.

#33 Partial undefined: 未确定

Prophecy of Great War and Peace

Hildegard of Bingen: In that age, nations shall attack one another, and the earth shall be stained red with blood. But after this great war, an age of peace shall descend. People shall lay down their weapons, till their fields, and justice shall rise from the ruins.

The two World Wars (1914-1918, 1939-1945) and the subsequent relatively peaceful European order could be seen as partial correspondence. Post-WWII Europe has indeed experienced unprecedented lasting peace, though wars and conflicts have not ceased globally.

#34 Pending undefined: 未确定

Vision of the Last Judgment

Hildegard of Bingen: In the last days, the sun shall grow dark, the moon shall give no light, and the stars shall fall from the sky. The earth shall quake violently, and the seas shall roar and surge. Then the Eternal Judge shall descend, and the living and the dead shall be judged before Him. The righteous shall be taken into the light, and the wicked cast into darkness.

#35 Pending undefined: 未确定

Scivias, Book II — The Relationship of Soul and Body

Hildegard of Bingen: The soul in the body is like wind in organ pipes: when the wind blows through the pipes, they produce sound. Likewise, the soul moves and gives sensation to all the limbs of the body, as if breathing the breath of life into a vessel made of clay. Without the soul, the body is mere dust.

#36 Pending undefined: 未确定

Prophecy of Church Purification and Renewal

Hildegard of Bingen: After the greatest tribulations, the Church shall undergo a thorough purification. She shall be as white as a lily washed by the storm. Then a holy Pope shall appear, who will rebuild the temple of faith upon the ruins and guide all peoples back to the path of truth.

#37 Partial undefined: 未确定

Prophecy on Medicine and Natural Healing

Hildegard of Bingen: God has given humanity the powers of herbs, stones, and animals for the healing of diseases. But in future ages, people shall forget these natural remedies and pursue man-made medicines. When they rediscover the power of nature, many illnesses shall be healed without artificial drugs.

Modern society has indeed been dominated by synthetic pharmaceuticals. However, since the late 20th century, herbal medicine and natural remedies have seen significant revival (e.g., WHO recognition of Traditional Chinese Medicine). Tu Youyou's 2015 Nobel Prize for extracting artemisinin from sweet wormwood is a prime example of 'rediscovering the power of nature'.

#38 Partial undefined: 未确定

Prophecy on the Status of Women

Hildegard of Bingen: In a future age, women shall no longer be silent. They shall raise their voices in the Church and in the world, participating in governance and teaching. This is not against God's order, but a restoration of God's original intent in creating man and woman as equals.

Since the 20th century, women have made significant progress across all sectors of society. In the Catholic Church, while women still cannot be ordained, their participation in theological scholarship and parish administration has increased substantially. Hildegard herself, as a highly influential 12th-century woman, was a pioneering embodiment of this prophecy.

#39 Pending undefined: 未确定

Liber Vitae Meritorum — Dialogue of Virtues and Vices

Hildegard of Bingen: I saw a high mountain, upon which stood thirty-five virtues of the soul, clothed in garments of light. At the foot of the mountain were thirty-five vices, each ugly in appearance, debating with their corresponding virtue. Humility said to Pride: 'You fell from heaven, while I raise humanity to heaven.'

#40 Pending undefined: 未确定

Liber Divinorum Operum — The Ultimate Harmony

Hildegard of Bingen: At the end of all things, God shall make all things new. Heaven and earth shall be purified, and death shall exist no more. Creation shall return to its original harmony — as I saw in my vision, the burning cosmic egg shall at last become eternal light, and humanity shall dwell in that light forever.