In the city of simple herbs, with Hildegard and Avicenna

In Medieval Latin the word “medicamentum simplex” was a single herb used as a medicament while several herbs used together were called a “medicamentum compositum. “

From this  Medieval abbeys gardens and later universities gardens where herbs were cultivated for study and medical use were called “Hortus Simplicium“, gardens of simple (medicaments).

Hildegard of Bingen, Moon and the horoscope of conception

A couple of weeks ago I attended a lecture about Tithi organized by our Italian Astrological Association. I’m absolutely new to Vedic astrology, so I will take the definition from Wikipedia, I don’t know more than this in fact. A Tithi is “a lunar day, or the time it takes for the longitudinal angle between the moon and the sun to increase by 12°“: obviously every Moon day has its Moon Goddess who implies a particular aspect of activity and a particular fate.

Some days after the lecture for some strange coincidence I stumbled upon a book written by the Medieval philosopher, theologian, herbalist, composer, visionary Hildegard of Bingen and I found exactly the same method of calculating lunar days, a Tithi coming from our Medieval astrological tradition .

Born in 1098, the Prioress of the Benedictine convent of Disibodenberg in Germany is famous for being a great expert of natural secrets as of celestial truths. She knew the secrets of herbs, of bodies, of music as well of God things. Soon after her death, all her works left the Convent for Rome in order to start the process of Sanctification, let alone the ones for which she is famous and that are more connected to her fame as herborist and doctor, Physica and Causae et curae.

In the last pages of Causae et Curae, Hildegard wrote a detailed horoscope for all the 30 lunar days of conception. The following text is the translation of her pages; calculations, examples and mistakes come obviously from me.

Western “Tithi” is very easy to calculate . Let’ s see how.

EXAMPLE I

Let’s take the chart of Elisabeth II as first example. She was born on 21st April 1926 in London.

Solar Fire gives as conception date – according the natural method of Trutine of Hermes (Centiloquium, aphorism n.51) the 6^th of July 1925.