Since ancient times, the mandrake plant has been associated with humans. Its roots resemble arms and legs attached to the body. And the head is crowned by the above-ground part of the plant. Back in the 12th century, Hildegard of Bingen wrote that “because of this resemblance to humans, it is more easily influenced by the Devil and his intrigues than other plants.”
— White Mandrake- male, had a black outside, but white inside root. A plant with creeping leaves and a heavy, intoxicating odor. Berries yellow color had a sharp hypnotic effect, used as a sleeping pill and for anesthesia;
— Black Mandrake– female. Unlike the male one, it has a forked root;
— Morion or grass of fools.
Modern studies of the composition of mandrake have revealed the presence in its root of narcotic additives containing hyoscyamine, scopalamine and atropine. Medieval authors advised distilling mandrake root with wine so that the juice contained in it would be transferred into the drink. The resulting composition turned the wine into a dangerous poison that could plunge a person into a delirious state, drive him crazy or kill him, depending on the concentration.
Digging up mandrake
The ancient Greeks were very prejudiced against mandrakes. Theophrastus wrote that digging a mandrake requires two people. The first one should outline the mandrake in three circles and face west. At this time, his assistant should dance around the plant, whispering love speeches to it.
Theophrastus (372-288 BC or 390-284) was from the city of Eres on the island of Lesbos. As a young man, he came to Athens and studied first with Plato (427-347), then with Aristotle (384-322), for whom he was a faithful student and assistant. He showed brilliant oratorical abilities, which gave Aristotle a reason to change his name from Tirtham to Theophrastus, Greek. "divine speaker"
Subsequently, superstitions developed so much that rules for collecting the plant were developed:
You can only dig up the plant at night;
Be sure to stuff your ears with wax and plug them with cotton wool;
The plant, as if feeling that it will be dug up, is trying to hide in the ground. To prevent this from happening, you need to pour it with a liquid whose name is indecent to say out loud. Apparently this liquid is human urine. Accordingly, the reluctance to touch the plant at the next point is quite understandable;
After watering the plant, the soil must be loosened and dug in a circular ditch, avoiding touching the plant;
Wrap the root with a rope tied to the black dog's collar;
Move away from the dog to a safe distance and throw it a piece of meat;
The dog will run after the meat and pull out the root. At the same time, the root emits a deafening cry, upon hearing which the dog dies. According to legends, all living things around will die. There is another theory that explains the death of all living things by the release of plant roots, narcotic essential oils from which everything alive fell off their feet. If you pull the plant by a string from a safe distance, then the release of oils does not reach the mandrake hunter;
The dog's corpse must be buried in a place from which the mandrake root is pulled out.
According to existing beliefs, extracting the root by human hand reduced the entire power of the root to zero. But that was not all. During the Middle Ages, people were hanged frequently and methodically. It was during this period that another belief was born, that the mandrake grows from droplets of sperm of a hanged man that fell to the ground. As a consequence of the connection of mandrake with ejaculation products, its action is recognized as an effective love spell component in medieval Europe potions.
Mandrake storage
With the roots plucked, mandrakes perform monthly rituals according to the lunar cycle. The root must be kept wrapped in a piece of red cloth. Every new moon, a piece of fabric must be replaced with a new one. If there is no red fabric, it is possible to replace the color of the fabric with white. Every week you need to wash the root with red wine. If the root is stored correctly, it will protect its owner and help on the sexual front.
Usage
The main direction, as mentioned earlier, is love magic. The reason is most likely in the legend of growth from the seed of a hanged man and the resemblance to the human figure. The root was used by carrying pieces of it on one's person and discreetly tossing it into the clothes of one's beloved.
Leonbart Fuchs in his work “New Kreutterouch” writes: “Mandrake root, placed under the bed or pillow, awakens a strong passion for a woman and suppresses all moments that destroy the sexual instinct.”
Leonhard Fuchs
The most stubborn ones not only threw the roots into clothes, but also crushed the root and added it to the solution. After this, the lady who drank the drink became unexpectedly pregnant. In Rus', mandrake is known precisely as a love spell ingredient.
The second aspect of use is as a substance for contacts with other worlds. The narcotic components of mandrake root are, of course, to blame for this.
And finally, the use of mandrake root as a doll for exposure surgery. The root externally represents a person and by influencing the connection of the root with a specific person, injuring the root, they ruined the person.
Using roots as amulets. It was also sometimes used as a remedy for insomnia and gout.
Legends
The Greeks considered the mandrake to be the very root with which Circe turned Odysseus's companions into pigs.
The goddess of love Aphrodite was called Mandragorita or Mandrogaritis.
Pythagoras, Dioscorides and Pliny praised magical power mandrake root.
Mandrake in the Bible
Old Testament, Book of Songs of Solomon:
8.14 The mandrakes have already given off incense, and at our doors are all kinds of excellent fruits, new and old: I have saved this for you, my beloved!
Old Testament, First Book of Moses. Being
30:14 Reuben went during the wheat harvest, and found mandrake apples in the field, and brought them to Leah his mother. And Rachel said to Leah [her sister], Give me the mandrakes of your son.
30.15 But [Leah] said to her: Is it really not enough for you to take possession of my husband, that you also covet my son’s mandrakes? Rachel said: So let him lie with you this night, for the mandrakes of your son.
30.16 Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah came out to meet him and said, “Come in to me [today], for I bought you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay down with her that night.
30:17 And God heard Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.
Ritual with mandrake root
For the ritual you will need a mandrake of the opposite sex. The operation of extracting mandrake from the ground is described in detail above.
After receiving the plant, you need to separate the foliage from the root. Using a knife, cut out the secondary sexual characteristics of the opposite sex from the root. Of course, morals have now become somewhat simpler and same-sex options are possible.
You must take the main part of the root home and use your knife to cut out on it the features of a doll of the gender opposite to your own. As you carve, repeat the phrase, “Keep this house,” over and over again.
A properly prepared root had to be planted in a church yard, or at the crossroads of two roads. This arrangement increased the strength of the root. Planting the root was again done by drawing a circle around the intended location clockwise, that is, in the direction of the sun in the northern hemisphere. If a similar need arose in the southern hemisphere, then it was necessary to draw a circle counterclockwise, which is exactly how the sun circles there. It is best to plant the root during the new moon and midnight. But after planting the root, you need to take care of it for 28 days. Throughout the lunar month, you must water it with a mixture of water with the addition of your blood, in a ratio of twelve to one, which is thirteen parts of the solution. The extraction of the root also had to take place at midnight. Don't forget to draw the same circle around the plant as when planting it.
If all the instructions are followed correctly, then at the root most of the cuts will heal, acquiring a resemblance to a figure of the opposite sex.
Further processing of the root consists of washing it and smoking it daily in verbena smoke for three months. In three months you will have a wonderful protective amulet that will protect your home.
Matches
- Common name: wild lemon, raccoon berries, Circe herb
- Aura: Warm
- Planet: Mercury
- Element: Earth
- Deities: Hecate
- Plant parts used: root
- Basic properties: love, fertility
Mandrake in films
In the movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets there is a scene with a mandrake being transplanted.
Sequence of actions when replanting mandrake:
1. Hold the mandrake firmly at the base of the stem.
2. Pull the mandrake's stem firmly, being careful not to damage its stem and leaves.
3. Plant the mandrake in another pot.
4. Cover tightly with soil and compact the soil.
Warning: Mandrake can bite your fingers!
Attention: Ears must be protected with special sound-muffling headphones.
The medicinal plant mandrake belongs to the nightshade family and has many alternative names: Circe's grass, Adam's head, cuckoo's boots, etc. Mandrake grows in the Front and Central Asia, Mediterranean, and also in the Himalayas.
Mandrake in folk medicine
In medicine, the plant is used to treat gastrointestinal diseases, eliminate joint and neuralgic pain, vitiligo, and edema. Hippocrates believed that small doses of mandrake are indicated for taking to get rid of such human conditions as fear, melancholy, and causeless nervousness. Large doses of mandrake have a sedative effect. Josephus Flavius used medicines based on this plant in exorcism rituals, and Avicenna used it as an anesthetic before surgery.
Mandrake as a talisman and talisman
Even in ancient times they were known magical properties mandrakes - this plant was carried with them as a talisman. Mandrake is an excellent remedy against negative influences of any kind: evil eye, damage and curses. It should be noted that the root of this plant can only be used by people - “Circe’s herb” is completely unsuitable for magical protection animals.
Since ancient times, mandrake was used by merchants - the “Adam’s head” protected against the disclosure of secret and illegal transactions. “Evidence” has survived to this day that a mandrake can supposedly double the amount of money if it is placed in a chest with coins.
Mandrake brings prosperity, wealth and prosperity to its owner. To do this, you need to cut a figure from the root that resembles a person. When you eat, the “mandrake man” should be seated in a place of honor and “fed” with the best pieces. On Saturday, your talisman should be dipped in wine, and for the new month you should dress it up in everything new.
Love spell with mandrake
The ancient Egyptians used mandrake as an aphrodisiac. It was believed that the “Adam’s head” could ignite passion and love desire. Love potions were prepared from the root, tincture of leaves or roots.
Pythagoras also wrote about the mandrake as an anthropomorphic plant (similar to a person). Albertus Magnus went even further, as he claimed that the plant comes in two sexes: white plant is male, and black is female. This must be taken into account in love rituals: So, to attract a man you need to use a “feminine” root, and vice versa.
Mandrake in black magic
Naturally, the mandrake was also used in: sorcerers with its help could easily deprive the victim of reason or beauty. In addition, the “herb of Circe” is used in Halloween rituals; witches cannot do without it; they include the root in an ointment for “night flights on a broom.” Due to its resemblance to a person, the mandrake was also used as a “voodoo doll.” This is what she is, a magical mandrake.
General informationFamily: Solanaceae Solanaceae
Botanical name: Atropa mandragora, Mandragora officinarum (var. autumnalis); Mandragora officinarum (var. vernalis)
Pharmacy:
Generic name: mandragora - shepherd of time
Folk names: wild lemon, raccoon berries, Circe's herb, man's root, Adam's head, sleeping potion, Adam's head, umbilical cord, cone berry, empty grass, cuckoo boots, creek grass, planta semihominis (semi-human grass) and anJrwpomorjh (humanoid plant). in English. - Mandrake Root.
The word mandrake comes from the Armenian “mandr” - small and “or” or “gar” - like. In Arabic - Iabrunen, among the Syrians - Iabruhe, among the Greeks - Hippophalmos, among the Chaldeans - Khabrukhin (Iabruhe), among the Jews - Dudaim.
White mandrake - arses, morion, circeum. "Atropa" - from the Greek god Atropos, who "...cuts the thread of life."
Planet:- Mercury, contains the forces of Saturn in the sign of Capricorn and the Moon
Zodiac sign:- Twins
Element:- Earth
Deities:- Hecate, Gator, Diana, Aphrodite
Language of flowers: - sign of rare, unusual
Basic properties: - love, fertility, money, health, protection, symbol of witchcraft, magic herb.
Description:
This is a poisonous perennial herb of the nightshade family (including henbane and belladonna). Perennial stemless or very short-stemmed herb with a thick, straight root, sometimes resembling a human figure. The leaves are large, entire, up to 80 cm long, in a dense rosette. The flowers are solitary, 5-membered, greenish-white, blue or purple. The fruit is a large orange or yellow berry. Due to the unusual shape of the root, the plant was in ancient times called planta semihominis (half-human grass) and anJrwpomorjh (human-like plant). Mandrake has a strong and unpleasant smell leaves.
Places of growth:
There are five or six species that grow in the Mediterranean, Western and Central Asia, and the Himalayas:
- Mandragora (Atropa mandragora);
- Mandragora officinarum L.);
- Spring Mandragora (Mandragora vernalis);
- Autumn Mandragora (Mandragora autumnalis Spreng);
- Turkmen mandrake (Mandragora turcomanica).
But oh magical mandrake it was said that it grows from the sperm of hanged men, so under the gallows one could often meet sorcerers and witches.
Parts used: Mainly roots. Sometimes leaves, fruits or bark are also collected.
For magical purposes: the leaves were used to make narcotics, laxatives and witchcraft potions.
The roots are harvested in August - October.
Collection for magical purposes
The method of obtaining mandrake was described by Theophastus (372 - 287 BC). He was also described by Goethe in his Faust.
Mandrake could only be mined by knowledgeable people; it brought death to everyone else. Anyone who decided to take this step had to bow in the direction of the setting sun and pay tribute to the forces of darkness. With an iron sword, which had never been used for anything, he had to draw three magic circles around the mandrake stem, covering his ears and turning his face away all the time in order to avoid ominous odors that penetrated the body, swelling it (if precautions were not taken and do not lubricate the body vegetable oil
). Pulling out a mandrake yourself was tantamount to death, so this “honor” was given to the dog. The animal was tied to a plant and a piece of meat was thrown to it so that it could not reach it. The dog reached for the meat and pulled out a root from the ground. At the same time, the Mandrake made sounds that drove everyone who heard it crazy. At the end of the ritual, the dog usually died.
There is a terrible stench all around, muffled groans,
Similar to the moans of a mandrake,
When they pull it out by the roots, -
That sound drives a mortal into madness...
Medicine:
Gastrointestinal diseases, muscle, joint and neuralgic pain, glandular induration, tumors, edema, vitiligo, air sickness.
Mandrake is highly toxic, and the alkaloids it contains inhibit the growth of cancer cells (by releasing cytotoxins). Active substances:
The plant is poisonous; roots, fruits and seeds contain alkaloids: hyoscyamine; scopolamine; mandrake; atropine and others.Ethnoscience:
Hippocrates, the most famous healer of antiquity, carefully studied the effects of mandrake and came to the conclusion that in small doses it is an effective remedy for fear, melancholy and depression, and in larger doses it has a sedative effect.
Josephus used a mandrake to heal those possessed by demons. Homer mentions that epileptics were treated by inhaling mandrake vapors.
Avicenna called the mandrake “y-abruk” - an idol created by nature in the external likeness of a person. The patient was recommended to give 2 g of juice (tears) of the plant with wine before surgery so that he could sleep soundly and not feel pain. These same “tears” were used to remove freckles and bruises. Crushed mandrake root along with vinegar was applied to carbuncles, and mixed with oatmeal - to sore joints.
Sometimes it was used to treat elephantiasis and was also used as an abortifacient.
Magic:
Mandrake has strong magical properties, but only a true professional can use them. An ignoramus who takes up work with a mandrake may die.
Mandrake is used as a means of protection against harmful spells, since its root is an accumulator of astral energy, and therefore is considered one of the best amulets plants. These amulets are so strong that they work even without applying any magical signs or symbols to them. Carrying mandrake root with you will relieve negative influence any evil energies, because thanks to it a very powerful energy shield is created that can protect against the evil eye, damage, slander and even curses. However, it should be remembered that mandrake is not suitable for protecting animals due to its appearance
, it is used only for people.
Mandrake was recommended when making trade transactions, especially underground and illegal ones, it protected them from disclosure. She is a talisman for transactions related to money. In the old days it was believed that mandrake, placed in a chest with coins, doubles their number.
In the Egyptian Ebers papyrus, mandrake is described as a means of stimulating sensuality. A special “love potion” was made from the mandrake fruit. It has fantastic properties for inciting passion and love desire. For love potions, either the root or a tincture of roots and leaves is used.
Pythagoras called the plant anthropomorphic, and Albertus Magnus wrote that mandrakes, like people, come in different genders. Before him, Pliny the Elder argued that the white mandrake is a male, and the black one is a female. In some folk traditions Based on the type of mandrake root, they distinguish between male and female plants and even give them corresponding names in the spirit of folk etymology: mandrake and womandrake.. In old herbalists, mandrake roots are depicted as male or female forms, with a bunch of leaves growing from the head, sometimes with a dog on top chains or a dying dog. It should be taken into account that you need to bewitch a man with a “feminine” root, and a woman with a “masculine” root.
In fact, this is true. There is not just one mandrake, but two.
Medicinal mandrake or mandrake for medicinal use ( Mandragora officinalis), also called the female mandrake, which is incorrect, since both species are equally hermaphrodite; this type of mandrake grows in southern Europe and, especially abundantly, in Calabria and Sicily. Its purple flowers appear in the fall, while the wild variety's flowers appear in the spring and are light greenish in color.
Spring Mandragora (Mandragora vernalis) is considered a male species and grows in more northern areas. The male mandrake also differs from the female mandrake in having a thicker, whitish root both outside and inside, and a more pronounced unpleasant, intoxicating, stimulating odor that spreads from the leaves and flowers of the plant; finally, its fruits are much larger than those of the female variety, resemble small yellow apples and emit a sweet and delicate smell. It was the fruits of this plant that the Egyptians considered a means of stimulating sensuality, and this knowledge, in turn, was passed on to them from the Arabs, who called these fruits “devil’s apples” because of the exciting dreams they caused, but also “eggs of Spirits.”
Although botanists assure us that these two plants have similar properties, one can nevertheless doubt this, since magicians made a clear distinction between the male and female mandrake, using predominantly the first variety, while the mandrake, called female, On the contrary, it was used by ancient medicine.
In black magic, mandrake is used as a means to deprive a person of reason or beauty.
Mandrake is one of the traditional Halloween ritual herbs; it was also included in the ointment for the flight of witches. It was used as a “doll” in voodoo witchcraft; witches could cast spells by representing the “figure” of the person they were directing their magic against. In the place where the witch damaged the mandrake, the person will inevitably be injured.
It is claimed that mandrake can make a person invulnerable to bladed weapons.
Mandrake can help in searching for treasure and predicting the future.
The Pythia of the Delphic Oracle, dedicated to the god Apollo, usually drank an infusion of mandrake before her prophecies. “Give me the cup of mandrake, so that I can look into the future and sleep forever” (Antony and Cleopatra by W. Shakespeare).
Attention!
Mandrake is enough rare plant. And in many magical rituals they propose to replace its root with the root of another plant - Bryonia dioic (Pumpkin family). Apparently, then, for the purpose of shortening, they began to write simply: “use mandrake root (Bryonia dioic),” thereby misleading those who do not know the Latin name of this plant. So - be careful! If you were offered Bryonia dioic - this is a substitute!! and not the mandrake root itself.
The role of mandrake in mythological beliefs is explained by the presence of certain hypnotic and stimulating properties in this plant, as well as the similarity of its root with the lower part human body. Therefore, Pythagoras called the mandrake a “human-like plant,” and the Roman writer and agronomist Lucius Columella called it a “half-human grass.” Since ancient times, mandrake has been widely used in folk medicine, magic, witchcraft, and later in alchemy. Among the Germanic peoples, images of household gods were made from mandrake root. There was a belief that the mandrake root served as a powerful thickener of astral energy, and its characteristic human form was considered as the basis for the fantastic theories of magicians who wanted to find the elixir of life in it.
Hildegard of Bingen (12th century) believed that the mandrake arose where Adam was created. Thomas Browne wrote in 1646 about the fat of hanged men feeding it.
The belief in the stimulating power of mandrake and its role in conception had deep roots: just remember the biblical legend about mandrake apples, which Leah and Rachel used to conceive. The Book of Genesis tells that Leah conceived and gave birth to Jacob's fifth son after she "bought" him with mandrake apples found by her son Reuben from Rachel. In the Middle Ages, ideas about the ability of mandrake to cause conception led to the emergence of an entire industry for the production of fake mandrake roots.
Bible, Genesis chapter 30, verses 14-16
14. Reuben went during the wheat harvest, and found mandrake apples in the field, and brought them to Leah his mother. And Rachel said to Leah, Give me the mandrakes of your son.
15. But she said to her: Is it really not enough for you to take possession of my husband, that you also covet my son’s mandrakes? Rachel said: So let him lie with you this night, for the mandrakes of your son.
16. The pack came from the field in the evening, and Leah came out to meet him and said: come in to me; for I bought you with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
The physician Dioscurides (2nd century BC) identified the mandrake with the kirk plant, about which the tenth song of the Odyssey says:
The root was black, the color was like white milk;
They call him the immortals; it's dangerous for people
Uproot it from the ground,
But to the gods everything is possible.
Mandrake is an attribute of the Great Mother and the emblem of the sorceress Circe (Circa), who turns people into pigs. In Greece, the mandrake was also associated with Aphrodite, who sometimes received the corresponding epithet.
Young men sometimes wore pieces of mandrake as a love amulet.
In Germany, the mandrake was used to depict the household gods of the Alruns. There were many legends about how particularly powerful magicians managed to revive the roots, turning them into real homunculi (zombies) that could be controlled. There, in Germany, peasants made eyes for their mandrakes from millet grains and treated them very kindly: they bathed them, dressed them, carefully wrapped them for the night, sometimes putting them in a coffin. They did all this to be able to consult with the mandrake on important issues.
In France, the mandrake was considered close to the elves and was called "main-de-gloire" (hand of glory) or "magloire".
Recipes, infusions, decoctions:Tincture
crushed mandrake root is infused in alcohol (1:4 ratio) for 15 days, filtered. Take 3-10 drops as an analgesic and hypnotic for rheumatism and gout.
Oil
interior fat is mixed with mandrake tincture (1:5). Used as an external pain reliever for rheumatism and gout.
Signs of poisoning are: nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness (feeling of “wooliness”), drowsiness, hallucinations.
