The Blue Lotus: A Narcotic Lily That Mesmerized Historical Egypt

A water lily from the genus Nymphaea, this plant grew to become generally known as the ‘Blue Lotus’, or the ‘Egyptian Lotus’. This aquatic plant isn’t just a factor of magnificence, it has a secret too, and the traditional Egyptians had been very conscious of it. A logo of life and immortality, the blue lotus was believed to offer a non secular connection into the afterlife and provide communication with the divine, as was talked about even within the well-known ‘Egyptian Ebook of the Useless’.

Entheogens and the Psychoactive Therapeutic Properties of the Blue Lotus Flower

The Nymphaea Caerulea was thought-about an emblem of life and immortality in historic Egypt, which used its entheogenic qualities to speak with the divine. Entheogens are mind-altering substances that alter notion, habits, and cognition of a person. They’re used typically by non secular and non secular teams the world over, throughout cultures, to attach with a better divinity. For instance, the hallucinogen ayahuasca is utilized by indigenous peoples of the Amazon, in addition to the mestizo (combined race) shamans and members of Brazilian church buildings.

What labored within the flower’s favor was the roots with the ability to flourish in nutrient-deficient mud that lacks oxygen. The blue flowering species is small and spherical, and floats on high of lakes or our bodies of water. Its flower buds rise to the floor over a two-to-three-day interval, then open at round 9:30am and shut within the early afternoon at 3:00pm after they attain maturity.

It has a storied historical past stretching hundreds of years, throughout cultures as various as Egypt, Maya, Syrian, Thai, to call a number of, and is famend for its intoxicating scent and inebriating results. Originating within the Nile, variants of the blue lotus are grown in lots of nations at present. It is usually famend for its medicinal qualities , which vary from aphrodisia to ache alleviation, treating melancholy and nervousness, and even settling upset stomachs. It is usually used to deal with insomnia.

It accommodates two alkaloids – apomorphine and nuciferine. Apomorphine, a non-selective dopamine agonist, is primarily utilized in treating Parkinson’s illness because it boosts dopamine receptors and improves motor perform. Over the past 2 many years, it has emerged that apomorphine is a superb treater of erectile dysfunction as effectively. Then again, nuciferine is thought to dam dopamine receptors.

A tomb portray representing Nebamun fishing and looking. A bunch of lotuses hangs over his arm and one other spray is held by his spouse. The heads of the flowers are roughly triangular in form, proven in profile with white petals framed by inexperienced and gray sepals. (© The Trustees of the British Museum/ CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 )

Historical Egypt: Magic and Supernaturalism within the On a regular basis World

In historic Egypt, faith, magic, and drugs had been intertwined because of the perception that every one facets of life had been influenced by the supernatural. To simplify life, a complete corpus of texts was written that mixed magic, drugs, and faith, together with the well-known “Egyptian Ebook of the Useless .”

The Ebook of the Useless of Hunefer. ( Public Domain )

In truth, The Egyptian Ebook of the Useless is without doubt one of the main sources to check this plant, together with some papyri – the Ebers papyrus from 1500 BC specifically. The Ebers papyrus accommodates a mammoth 800 medical recipes and coverings, showcasing the huge information Egyptians had of vegetation and medicines.

The Turin Papyrus reveals the presence of sexually themed cults – secret temple gatherings of elite society, who shared sacred wines imbued with the blue lotus extract, a transparent reference to its aphrodisiac qualities.

This non secular scripture aimed to information the deceased by way of the afterlife and obtain everlasting life. The papyri contained data on varied vegetation, cures, spells, and therapeutic strategies accompanied by magical rituals equivalent to incantations and invoking gods or goddesses.

Within the case of the blue lotus, which was ‘the flower that resembled the Solar’, the Egyptians had been enthralled for hundreds of years. The fascinating scent of the flower is depicted in varied artwork kinds, with individuals proven holding the flower to their noses to inhale its aroma. Moreover, chalices, typically proven in tomb scenes and different artworks, counsel the usage of the flower in libation rituals or different festivities.

The lotus symbolism current on this interval reveals an ideal deal in regards to the flower’s utilization within the non secular lifetime of historic Egypt. Its depiction in varied artwork kinds and literature highlights the importance of the blue lotus in Egyptian tradition and the affect it had on their beliefs and practices.

The Cult-Like Social Group Across the Blue Lotus: A Protect of the Elite?

The Egyptian Ebook of the Useless mentions and portrays the nymphaea plant in a number of chapters, at all times in relation to magical and non secular rituals. In these depictions, the hallucinogenic plant mandragora, which has anticholinergic neurotransmitter blocker) properties, is commonly proven alongside the nymphaea. This highlights the information the traditional Egyptians possessed in regards to the results of varied vegetation, regardless of their lack of know-how to clarify it.

Tutankhamun’s tomb , for instance, contained a gold-plated shrine adorned with a bas-relief of a pharaoh holding an enormous nymphaeum and two mandragoras in his left hand. This means the significance of those vegetation within the lives of the pharaohs and the elites of historic Egypt.

Frescoes from the tomb of Nebamun, now positioned within the British Museum, provide one other glimpse into the usage of nymphaea in historic Egypt. These frescoes depict a ritualistic funeral dance with two male dancers accompanied by three girls garlanded with blue lotus petals. The ladies are providing vases with golden emanations, as in the event that they include a magical fluid. This ritualistic dance is a testomony to the significance of the Nymphaea plant within the non secular and cultural practices of historic Egypt.

Element from a fresco from the tomb of Nebamun. Thebes, Egypt, Dynasty XVIII. Within the assortment of the British Museum, London. ( Public Domain )

The Nymphaea species are additionally depicted in erotic cartoons and papyri (just like the aforementioned Turin Papyrus), additional emphasizing their cultural significance in historic Egypt. Nonetheless, the truth that temple drawings solely present their use by increased castes equivalent to clergymen and royalty, means that these vegetation and their results weren’t accessible to widespread individuals. That is unsurprising given {that a} majority of historic finds don’t depict the lives of on a regular basis individuals.

The broader image that the blue lotus story serves is a testomony to the intensive information of plant-based substances possessed by the traditional Egyptians. Regardless of the dearth of know-how to clarify the results of those substances, the Nymphaea plant was held in excessive esteem and performed a big position of their non secular and cultural practices.

Prime picture: Water lily Nymphaea, generally known as ‘blue lotus’. Supply: Public Domain

By Sahir Pandey