Visions of Sister Hadewijch

...strong and had large broad leaves. And the angel spoke to me: "O Mighty and Strong one, you who have won for yourself the mighty and strong God in His beginningless Beginning original: "anfanglosen Anbeginn." This phrase refers to the eternal nature of God that exists before and outside of time, a common concept in Rhineland and Flemish mysticism., and who shall enjoy the Eternal with Him for eternity, read and understand." And I read and understood. In every leaf it was written: I am the power of the Perfect Will; no thing is able to escape me.

And beside this stood a tree with many mighty branches, which had stretched all its branches through the other tree. And the angel said to me: "O Wise one, advised by Reason—yes, by the Reason of the Almighty—read and understand the wise and sensible teaching which results from this intertwining." And I saw and understood what was to be read on every leaf: I am the Discerning Judgment discerning judgment: (German: Urteilskraft) the spiritual faculty of discernment, allowing the soul to distinguish between divine truth and worldly illusion.; without me, one can accomplish nothing.

After this, he led me further to a most beautiful tree, which had three kinds of branches; and on each branch sat three twigs, of which three grew upwards, three in the middle, and three downwards. Immediately the angel spoke to me: "O you who worry about the fate of your future; o you who sigh over the human errors that are willed by God in His love and which drive people away from Him, so that they should lose themselves somewhere; o you who die with your body the death He died—understand first these three lowest branches; for by means of