Bloodletting for non-medical reasons: what about safety and quality?

The article comments on the practice of spiritual bloodletting in certain European countries. Topics covered include the views of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, author of "Sermon on the Spiritual Bloodlettings," and theologian Saint Hildegaard von Bingen on the practice, the proposal by Doctor Gottfried Hertzka as to the use of bloodletting to ease the purification of the body and the soul, and the potential harm caused by bloodletting to donors and patients.