Hildegard von Bingen's Fasting Calendar: When and How to Fast

Hildegard von Bingen – abbess, mystic, and one of the most important healers of the Middle Ages – left us knowledge that continues to fascinate and inspire today. Her understanding of fasting was much more than mere abstinence from food: it was a rhythmic, holistic concept based on the seasons, the church calendar, and the natural balance of the human body. Anyone interested in naturopathy and traditional healing knowledge today inevitably comes across her writings – and discovers a fasting calendar that surprisingly feels modern.

What Hildegard von Bingen Understood by Fasting

For Hildegard von Bingen, fasting was neither an end in itself nor a punishment for the body. In her main work "Physica" as well as in "Causae et Curae," she described fasting as a form of inner order – a conscious turn toward moderation and clarity. She understood humans as a unity of body, mind, and soul, and fasting was meant to address all three levels. Those who fasted should emerge from this time not exhausted but renewed.

Particularly remarkable is Hildegard’s differentiation between various forms of fasting. She distinguished between the church’s obligatory fasting – such as during Lent before Easter or on Ember Days – and voluntary, moderate fasting, which she recommended as personal purification. She always emphasized: those who are sick, weakened, or very young should not fast or at least proceed very cautiously. For her, fasting was a means of strengthening, not weakening.

In the monastic tradition from which Hildegard came, fasting was deeply rooted in daily life. Benedictine rules precisely determined fasting days and meal times. Hildegard adopted this framework but supplemented it with her profound knowledge of herbs, spices, and foods. This resulted in fasting recommendations that had not only spiritual but also very practical and naturopathic dimensions – and which still serve as a model in Hildegard von Bingen products healing today.

"Whoever fasts should do so with reason, for a weak person who exhausts themselves through too harsh fasting harms their soul more than they benefit it." – Hildegard von Bingen, Causae et Curae (loosely translated)

The Hildegard Fasting Calendar: The Most Important Fasting Periods of the Year

Hildegard von Bingen aligned her fasting calendar closely with the liturgical year of the medieval church. She identified four special fasting periods that coincided with the so-called Ember Days: one fasting week each in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. This four-part rhythm corresponded in her view to the natural change of the seasons and the balance of the four humors in the body – a concept she adopted from ancient humoral pathology and developed independently.

Hildegard recommended four fasting periods per year – each aligned with the seasons and the church calendar. This rhythm is considered one of the oldest documented concepts of seasonal fasting in European healing traditions.

Spring fasting traditionally took place during Lent before Easter and was considered especially important by Hildegard. The winter had burdened the body; heavy foods and warmth had taken their toll – spring fasting was meant to restore this balance. Summer fasting, usually less strict, occurred around the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul. Autumn fasting was aligned with the Exaltation of the Cross days in September, and winter fasting took place during Advent.

Besides these four main periods, Hildegard also referred to weekly fasting days – Wednesday and Friday were traditionally fasting days in monastic practice. She recommended not observing these days by total abstinence from food but through conscious restriction: less meat, less indulgence, and instead more silence and simple, nourishing herbal dishes. The fasting products in Hildegard’s sense thus formed a year-round, living rhythm – not an isolated event.

The Four Hildegard Fasting Periods at a Glance:

🌱 Spring Fasting: Ash Wednesday to Easter – the best-known and most intensive fasting period, traditionally 40 days.

☀️ Summer Fasting: Around June 29 (Peter and Paul) – lighter, cleansing fasting at mid-year.

🍂 Autumn Fasting: Around September 14 (Exaltation of the Cross) – preparation for the dark season.

❄️ Winter Fasting: Advent – contemplative fasting for inner reflection before Christmas.

Hildegard’s Herbs and Foods During Fasting: What Was Allowed and What Was Not

Hildegard von Bingen was a passionate herbalist. Her writings contain detailed descriptions of over 230 plants and their traditional uses. Herbal knowledge played a special role during fasting: certain plants were considered particularly suitable to strengthen the fasting body and make the time of abstinence more pleasant and bearable. Her recommendations were always marked by a deep understanding of the plants’ properties.

Spelt was the grain Hildegard valued above all others – especially during fasting. Spelt soups, spelt crackers (known in the Hildegard tradition as "spelt flatbreads"), and light spelt porridge dishes formed the basis of the fasting diet plan. Fresh herbs were added: fennel, which Hildegard described as particularly warming and beneficial, as well as bertram (Anacyclus pyrethrum), a widely used spice plant in the Middle Ages and one of Hildegard’s favorite plants. Also, BitterKraft Original bitter-rich herbs were used in the form of herbal teas and simple seasoning broths.

Forbidden or at least strictly limited during fasting according to Hildegard’s tradition were: meat (especially heavy red meat), large amounts of fat, raw foods (Hildegard generally viewed raw vegetables skeptically), and what she called "bad foods" – including strawberries, peaches, and certain fish. These restrictions may sound unusual to modern ears but were based on medieval humoral theory and Hildegard’s own observations.

These Hildegard Herbs Were Traditionally Valued During Fasting:

• Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare): Hildegard called fennel one of her most important plants. It has been traditionally used for centuries as a soothing culinary and medicinal herb and was highly valued in the monastery kitchen during fasting meals.
• Bertram (Anacyclus pyrethrum): This widely used medieval spice plant was considered especially valuable by Hildegard. Historically, bertram was used as a warming seasoning herb in fasting soups and porridges.
• Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia): In monastic medicine, lavender was traditionally used not only externally but also as a mild tea during fasting periods – for inner calm and contemplation.
• Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium): Wormwood is one of the best-known BitterKraft Original herbs of European naturopathy and was historically valued in monastic medicine as part of fasting cures.
• Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca): In Hildegard’s writings and medieval monastic healing, motherwort was known as a traditional medicinal herb used as tea during calm fasting times.
• Galangal Root (Alpinia officinarum): Galangal was one of Hildegard’s favorite plants. As a spicy root, it was historically used to season fasting broths and soups and is closely associated with the Hildegard tradition.

Special emphasis is given to galangal root: in the Hildegard kitchen, galangal was an indispensable seasoning base. Hildegard is said to have called it the "spice of the heart" – a phrase that underlines both its culinary and symbolic significance in monastic tradition. Anyone trying the Hildegard von Bingen products kitchen today will encounter this unusual spice repeatedly.

Hildegard Fasting Today: How to Live the Tradition in a Modern Way

Hildegard von Bingen’s knowledge has experienced a renaissance since the 1970s – triggered in part by the German doctor Gottfried Hertzka, who made Hildegard’s writings accessible to a broader public. Since then, a lively community of practitioners has developed who live Hildegard fasting as a fixed part of their annual rhythm. The good news: the basic principles can be integrated into modern everyday life even without deep specialist knowledge.

Hildegard fasting is not a rigid set of rules but a living rhythm – those who interpret it in a modern way can start with simple means: one fasting day per week, a spelt soup week in autumn, or a conscious herbal tea ritual in the morning.

A good first step could be the Friday fasting day – a concept deeply rooted in the Hildegard tradition. On this day, heavy meals are replaced by light spelt dishes, vegetable broths, and herbal teas. Those who maintain this rhythm over several weeks often report growing awareness of nutrition and body sensation. The four-part annual fasting can also be adapted: consciously eating lighter for a weekend in March, June, September, and December without sacrificing completeness corresponds to the spirit of the Hildegard tradition.

What matters is the attitude: Hildegard fasting is not a diet program. It is not about counting calories or quick weight changes. It is about awareness, rhythm, and connection with the natural annual cycle. This also includes small rituals: a morning tea made from BitterKraft Original herbs, a warm spelt soup with galangal and fennel at midday, a quiet hour without screens in the evening. Fasting in Hildegard’s sense is thus also an invitation to slow down – something that may be more important than ever in today’s world.

Gottfried Hertzka and Wighard Strehlow, the best-known modern mediators of Hildegard medicine, describe Hildegard fasting in their works as "biological fasting" – a form of dietary change that traditionally nourishes the body instead of burdening it. Their recipe collections and fasting programs closely follow Hildegard’s original writings and remain popular introductory works to the Hildegard kitchen.

Accompanying Rituals and Herbal Applications for the Fasting Period

Fasting was never just a matter of the stomach for Hildegard von Bingen. She described it as a state of the whole person – body, soul, and spirit should enter a kind of silence together. Therefore, her fasting recommendations also included practices we would today call accompanying rituals: prayer and meditation, conscious silence, walks in nature, and writing – Hildegard herself was a prolific writer and saw recording thoughts and visions as a spiritual practice.

Herbal applications played an important complementary role. Hildegard recommended, for example, herbal baths as a supportive measure during fasting – warm baths with lavender or lemon balm were considered soothing for the mind. Herbal sachets placed under the pillow were also mentioned. These external applications complemented the internal fasting and created an atmosphere of care and mindfulness. Those who today understand sleep and relaxation products and regeneration as part of their fasting period are very much in line with Hildegard’s approach.

Hildegard saw sleep and rest as an inseparable part of fasting – those who fast should also sleep more, work less, and consciously seek silence. This holistic view fundamentally distinguishes Hildegard fasting from modern diet concepts.

For women, Hildegard fasting has an additional special dimension: Hildegard herself was a woman in a male-dominated world and wrote with remarkable sensitivity about female health and body rhythms. She recommended that women align fasting periods with their individual cycle and switch to milder fasting during weaker phases rather than strict rules. This approach is reflected in modern women’s health products concepts that also emphasize cyclical nutritional rhythms.

Accompanying Herbs and Natural Remedies for the Hildegard Fasting Period:

• Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis): Historically cultivated in monastery gardens and traditionally used as a calming tea during fasting periods. In the Hildegard tradition, lemon balm is associated with inner calm and contemplation.
• Yarrow (Achillea millefolium): Known for centuries in European monastic medicine. As a tea during fasting periods, yarrow was traditionally a common companion plant in Hildegard practice.
• Vervain (Verbena officinalis): Frequently mentioned in medieval herbal books. Historically used as tea and in herbal baths during fasting periods.
• Galangal (Alpinia officinarum): Hildegard’s universal spice – as seasoning in fasting broths and soups, galangal belongs to the Hildegard kitchen like hardly any other ingredient. Available today as powder in specialty shops.
• Parsley (Petroselinum crispum): Hildegard valued parsley as a culinary and medicinal herb. In the fasting kitchen, it was traditionally used to season soups and broths.

Those who want to experience Hildegard fasting as a holistic practice are well advised to first engage with the original sources – or with modern adaptations by experienced Hildegard practitioners. The combination of nutritional awareness, herbal knowledge, silence, and rhythm creates a concept that impresses to this day in its depth and differentiation. More information about products and knowledge around the Hildegard tradition can be found at Hildegard von Bingen products.

In conclusion, it can be said: Hildegard von Bingen did not leave us a rigid fasting program but an attitude. An attitude of mindfulness toward one’s own body, the annual rhythm, and nature as healer. Her fasting calendar is less a set of rules than an invitation – the invitation to pause, listen, and trust the natural rhythm of life a little more. In a time when hectic pace and excess are omnipresent, this invitation may be more valuable than ever.