posted
I have been wanting to find out, if the Egyptians use mind altering substances? I remember seeing a documentary, I believe on History Channel, I'm not sure, but they said, & showed, the Egyptians soaking the lotus flower in wine, for it gave the wine a mind altering component. Could this be why the lotus flower has such importance to them ? I have even heard that they used perfumes (oils)that had psychotropic effects when inhaled ? I do know that they (Egyptians)were renowned for their incense & perfumes, so this does sound plausible to me. Also did they smoke hemp ? I would like to get some clarity around this subject.
Nebsen Member # 13728
posted
I hope this topic is not tabo for the forum, for i see no post in respose. I did find this information about the blue lotus, it states, "The blue lotus was sacred to the ancient Egyptians, who valued it not only for it's rich perfume, but for it's narcotic ability to produce heightened awareness & tranquility".
Mystery Solver Member # 9033
posted
quote:Originally posted by Nebsen:
I hope this topic is not tabo for the forum, for i see no post in respose.
Take no offense in the lack of reply; simply means that little is known about the subject matter you raised and/or little interest in it. General interest here, it seems from the majority of the threads, to be on trivial issues like that of begging some attention-seeking poster to stay, that of some partial regular posters nominating themselves for a moderating position supposedly to prevent the discussion board from going 'down under', that of the many skin color issues about Moors and Egyptians, that of over-fascination with 'prehistoric Europeans', that of posters coming out of nowhere and taking gratuitous profanity jabs at people [who are not even discussing with them and getting away with it] and in the process, building a pointless thread on it, and such regular out of topic issues; yeap, the board has been getting better with the addition of each new so-called unbiased moderator, at least one of whom is open enough to say that he/she has gone by several different monikers, but not open enough to tell us what these supposedly were, presumably because someone might just think he/she is prejudiced.
For my part, I'll be frank with you, I've traditionally been little motivated to venture into the issue you've raised here, otherwise I would have of course given you my direct 2c on it right here. But apparently we need more vigorous discussions on these type of questions raised, rather than on redundant questions by long-standing members, whom one would think would learn over the years on matters that have been incessantly discussed here, as opposed to the legitimate and potentially interesting issues, such as the one you brought forth.
Quetzalcoatl Member # 12742
posted
Here are some resources:
Emboden, William A. 1979. "The Sacred Narcotic Lily of the Nile: Nymphaea Caerulea". Economic Botany, 32(4): 395-407.
This article can be read in its entirety on-line (minus accompanying illustrations): www.iamshaman.com
Emboden, William A. 1981. "Transcultural Use of Narcotic Water Lilies in Ancient Egyptian and Maya Drug Ritual". Journal of Ethnopharmacology], 3: 39
Emboden, William A. 1982. "The Water Lily and the Maya Scribe: An Ethnobotanical Interpretation". New Scholar: An Americanist Review, 8: 103-127.
Harer, Jr., W. Benson. 1985. "Pharmacological and Biological Properties of the Egyptian Lotus". Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 22: 49-54.
Emboden, William. 1989. "The Sacred Journey in Dynastic Egypt: Shamanistic Trance in the Context of the Narcotic Water Lily and the Mandrake". Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 21(1): 61-75.
VanillaBullshit Member # 10873
posted
I don't know about the ancient egyptians, but the Aztecs were the first to use the psilocybin mushroom, Teonanacatl was the name they gave it, meaning "divine flesh" or "flesh of the gods".
Mushroom statues have been found dating as far back as 1000 BC.
Check out "The Essential Psychedilc Guide" by D.M. Turner.
Nebsen Member # 13728
posted
Thanks to those that responded to my query . I just knew with all the wealth of collective knowledge on this forum, I would get some answers! I have always been fascinated by the fact, that the Egyptian priest/physician, had amassed thousands of years of knowledge on the natural world, including the plant world; with magic being at the center of their worldview , it stands to reason, in my mind, that they would use plants for healing, as well for spiritual awarness, & pleasure. They did the same with semi-precious stones. I know most Egyptologist of the past were mute on the subject of the ancients, & Egyptians in particular, using psychoactive plants/substances.I've always sensed the ancient Egyptians being a highly spiritual people, like most African people are, but at the same time, being very much connected to Mother Earth, along with her sensuous side of life. My feelings are that Egyptologist of the past wanted to overlay a western moral rigid world viwe on to the Egyptians which I'm sure would have been very foreign to them, as well as abhorrent, to their sensibilities, so again, thanks to ALL !