ODE TO THE LOTUS:

Lotus, Lotus, floating free

Open your petals just for me.

Glowing, shimmering upon the water,

Let me have your oil, attir...adorn my hair

Decorate my table while we feast.

Fill the air with your aromas>

Spread your beauty over

The Halls where people

Dance and Sing

Drop your petals oil in my drink

I will bath in oil and arrange

Upon my skin a gown of

Your "blue spears"

And let my lover undress me..

Petal by petal with his lips.

And when I die

Wrap me not in linen

But you, dear Lotus Blossom,

So I may open my petals

In Eternity...


Ixia Ouraya

The Egyptian Lotus is not really a lotus at all, but a water lily native to the Nile area, Nymphaea. According to the SSEA (Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities) journal.

"Herbalists correctly identified the lotus (early in the 19th century) as a poisonous plant which should be used under medical supervision. Its crude aklaloid, substances with similiar pharmacological properities.

In small does these drugs induce a feeling of well being, drowsiness, giddiness and double vision. In larger doses they induce hallucinations and/or stuporous sleep with vivid dreams....

The alkaloids are found only in the blossom and the rhizome. These compounds are alcohol soluble but not soluable in water. The raw rhizome is poisonous, but safe to eat after boiling... The stalk and leaves are innocuous...The seeds are edible and are considered a good natural food

The lotus is the single most frequently used ingredient in Ancient Egyptian remedies.

By merely placing a lotus blossom into a jar of wine and leaving it for some weeks/months it will produce a narcotic-laced wine...... One may also squeeze a bit of the petal's juice into wine when served

This narcotic effect was used in Ancient Egyptian religious cults .....and as a aphrodisiac...."