Lily - The Egyptian 'Lotus'
Nymphaea Caerulea, the Blue Water Lily
Part 1

   Called a 'lotus', the depictions of the floral symbol of Upper Egypt is actually known as a Nymphaea caerulea which is actually known today to be a water lily. This flower, along with the papyrus flower, was shown throughout Egypt in tombs and temples to symbolize the union of Upper and Lower Egypt, but the blue water lily had a much deeper significance to the Egyptian people.

 In the beginning were the waters of chaos ... Darkness covered the waters until ... the Primeval Water Lily rose from the abyss. Slowly the blue water lily opened its petals to reveal a young god sitting in its golden heart. A sweet perfume drifted across the waters and light streamed from the body of this Divine Child to banish universal darkness. This child was the Creator, the Sun God, the source of all life.

So the Primeval Water Lily closed its petals at the end of each day... Chaos reigned through the night until the god within the water lily returned....

... the Creator ... knew that he was alone. This solitude became unbearable and he longed for other beings to share the new world with him. The thoughts of the Creator became the gods and everything else which exists. When his thoughts had shaped them, his tongue gave them life by naming them. Thoughts and words were the power behind creation.

-- The Waters of Chaos, Ancient Society

The Egyptians saw that the blue water lily opened up each morning, seeing the intense golden center set against the blue petals, seemingly an imitation of the sky that would greet the sun, releasing sweet perfume. Each afternoon, they would close again only to open again each day. The flower was therefor firmly linked with the rising and the setting of the sun, and thus to the sun god and the story of creation. The religious significance of the flower was great - many columns of the Egyptian temples had water lily capitals crowning them.

I am he who rises and lights up wall after wall, each thing in succession. There will not be a day that lacks its owed illumination. Pass on, O creatures, pass on, O world! Listen! I have ordered you to! I am the cosmic water lily that rose shining from Nun's black primordial waters, and my mother is Nut, the night sky. O you who made me, I have arrived, I am the great ruler of Yesterday, the power of command is in my hand.

-- Spell 42, The Book of the Dead

The god of the blue water lily was Nefertem, a god not just linked to the sun but to beautification and healing. It was he who brought a water lily to the sun god Ra, to help ease the suffering of his aging body. The perfume of this flower was not only pleasing to the Egyptians, but they saw it as healing as well. Scenes show women holding the water lily and people being offered the flower at parties, smelling its divine fragrance. Some people today believe that the Egyptians used this plant as a narcotic both for its healing qualities and as a recreational drug when soaked in wine, though this is a hotly debated topic.

Contemporary reference to the role of water lilies and mandrakes (Nymphaea and Mandragora, respectively) in ancient Egyptian healing ... suggest the possible importance of these plants as adjuncts to shamanistic healing in dynastic Egypt. Although the usual interpretation of the water lily and the mandrake has been that of a part of ritual mourning ... it is argued that the dynastic Egyptians had developed a form of shamanistic trance induced by these two plants and used it in medicine as well as healing rituals. Analysis of the ritual and sacred iconography of dynastic Egypt, as seen on stelae, in magical papyri, and on vessels, indicates that these people possessed a profound knowledge of plant lore and altered states of consciousness. The abundant data indicate that the shamanistic priest, who was highly placed in the stratified society, guided the souls of the living and dead, provided for the transmutation of souls into other bodies and the personification of plants as possessed by human spirits, as well as performing other shamanistic activities.

-- The Sacred Journey in Dynastic Egypt: Shamanistic Trance in the Context of the Narcotic Water Lily and the Mandrake, Dr William Emboden

A test was carried out to see if there were any narcotic effects of the blue water lily. There were no known psychotropic substance found in the flower itself. In The Mystery of the Cocaine Mummies Rosalie David ('Keeper of Egyptology, Manchester Museum') says that "we see many scenes of individuals holding a cup and dropping a water lily flower into the cup which contained wine". The assertion by Dr Andrew Sherratt, based on these depictions, is that he believes that when the flower was infused with wine, that the chemical content might change and become the ancient Egyptian party drug or a shamanistic aid.

The lilies were flown from Cairo to England, and nineteen of them opened after the sun came out. The flowers were soaked in the wine, and after a few days, two volunteers - who claimed to know nothing about ancient Egypt - drank the lily-wine:

On August 24th 1998, on British TV, the last of a 4-part series called "Sacred Weeds" was broadcast ... This last program investigated the blue water lily (Nymphaea caerulea) which had never before been scientifically tested for psychoactive properties.

... It contains a substance called nuciferine, soluble in alcohol but not known to be psychoactive.

Nineteen fresh flowers of the lily were soaked in wine for a few days. The flowers were then removed and the wine drunk by two volunteers, Marie and Robert. Their experiences proceeded as follows:

5.25pm		They drank the wine.
5.40pm	Rob:	"I feel good, I feel quite excited now."
	Marie:	"I feel fine...slightly flushed...a lot more relaxed. I do feel  a bit giggly...a bit more chatty."
	Rob:	"I feel very happy, very laid back...I feel good."
	Marie:	"I never felt like this before."
6.00pm		Rob and Marie felt restless and went out for a walk even though it was raining.
6.37pm		They sit down in a porch out of the rain.
	Rob:	"I'm certainly on something now, definitely."
	Marie:	I feel very chatty."
7.40pm		Rob felt the effects were wearing off.
	Marie:	"You do pick out things quite clearly to listen to...I keep going off and staring at things."
8.10pm		Rob and Marie ate the flowers and the effects seemed to return.
8.37pm	Rob:	"It alters your perception for the better...you can notice more things."
At the end of the day they both felt very tired. The next morning they were quite well except for faint headaches.
Marie:		"My mind felt very alert, yet at the same time I was very physically relaxed."
Rob:		"...contentment, relaxation, happiness, cheekiness, increased awareness."
A pharmacologist present summarized the effects as being "euphoria with tranquilization." Another specialist claimed the effects were similar in some ways to MDMA (ecstasy). -- The Blue Water Lily, Colin Byrne

Unfortunately the test was not up to scientific standards - there was no control group (where another set of volunteers would drink wine not infused with the lily, but told that it had been) - so it is rather difficult to know how much of the effects on the two were just from the alcohol and if any were from the lily infusion itself.

Lily Part 2

Egypt