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A.K.A Blue Lotus, Egyptian Flower, Blue Lily

Botanical name: Nymphaea caerulea

Origin: Egypt

Therapeutic actions: Aphrodisiac; Stimulant; Tonic.

Nutrients: Taurine, vitamins B3, B5, B6 and B12.

Drug interactions: No known drug interactions.

Description: It has been used in ancient Egypt as a key to good health, sex and re-birth. It has been said to be an aphrodisiac for both men and women as well as a general remedy for all illnesses. A tonic like ginseng, pain reliever like arnica, circulation stimulant (better than Ginkgo Biloba), sexual stimulant (better than Viagra), all of these are combined in this flower. It has been able to create a feeling of well-being, euphoria and ecstasy.

 

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Bulk Dry Herb# 5345/1084 Liquid Tincture# 3345/2084

Or call 1-541-791-8400

For a FREE Natural Health Consultation Call 503-362-5899
Or write to truman@herbalhealthreview.com

 

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Blue Lotus: The Ancient Egyptian Dream Flower

Continuing with our series on rare and exotic oneirogens, we take a look at Nelumbo Nucifera and it’s potential to expand your awareness of the dream state

Blue Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) or blue lily is a flower that has had a majestic stretch of limelight back through thousands of years of history and across cultures as varied as the Egyptian, Mayan, Syrian and Thai.

It’s a flower of such beauty, intoxicating scent and inebriating effect that it has spread from culture to culture like a virtual wildfire.

And it has rightfully earned it place in the history books as one of the most wonderful and significant flowers we have access to.

Physically, it’s a small, round, blue, flowering species that floats atop lakes or other bodies of water. The flower buds rise to the surface over a period of two to three days. When they’re ready, they open in the morning around 9:30am and close in the early afternoon around 3:00pm

So in this article we’ll dive into everything you might want to know about this ancient sacrament and touch on how it can potentially aid our lucid dreaming practice.

What’s the difference between Blue Lotus and Blue Lily?

First of all, there’s a really important note to make on the difference between blue lotus and blue lily.

There’s a lot of confusion on the web between Blue Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) and the Blue Lily (Nymphaea caerulea). Some sites use the terms interchangeably, but they are quite different flowers in appearance and effect.

It’s double confusing, because in India they colloquially refer to what’s scientifically known as the Blue Lotus species as the Blue Lily!

And this “double nomenclature” has kind of spread throughout the world (I guess Lotus sounds a bit more catchy than Lily?).

The whole debacle is explained in depth here.

So tell us about the history of Blue Lotus

The most famous of the ancient societies that revered the blue lotus was that of the ancient Egyptians.

It was basically the ‘party drug’ of Ancient Egypt. Imagine, if you will, secret temple gatherings of elite society – sharing sacred wines specially imbibed with blue lotus extract. These parties, much as the rest of Egyptian society, were sexually themed. The famed aphrodisiac qualities of the blue lotus led no doubt to religiously charged orgies.

You can see evidence of this in countless murals, papyrus and temples throughout Egypt – including the Turin Papyrus shown below.

Yet, the place of the flower in Egyptian society extended beyond its use as a high.

The typical woman in the street would wear beautiful blue lotus flowers in her hair or headdress as a fashion statement.

In fact, the significance of the flower is such that it is even cited in the Egyptian Book of The Dead – one of the most important historical artefacts that remains from the proud civilisation.

Ancient blue lotus flowers were also found scattered over Tutankhamun’s body, when he was un-casked in 1922.

And to top off the list, blue Lotus was exported by the ancient Greeks when they stumbled across it (wouldn’t you?) – it’s actually thought to be mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey itself!

Blue Lotus Effects

The Blue Lotus is a subtle plant and the effects are not as heavy as you might expect from such a legendary substance.

Although you can quite imagine that soaked with some good wine, it would certainly have given a kick to those old Egyptian parties!

The blue lotus high provides a mild sense of tranquillity and euphoria, along with an altered sense of awareness. Its effects famously combine very well with wine, which illuminate the social and euphoric aspect. Or, you can take the blue lotus alone and concentrate on its ability to enhance meditative and introspective practices.

Some users also report a pleasant feeling of warmth around the head and upper body and a dream like feeling – as if the life itself were a waking dream.

Let’s take a look at a couple of trip reports from erowid.org

Medicinal benefits

Like many other of the wonderful cure-alls that abound in nature, Blue Lotus is one of those substances that blesses us with an unending raft of valuable characteristics.

The flower can be used as a sleep aid, to reduce anxiety and as a stress reliever. Blue Lotus is hypothesised to contain nuciferan (a natural anti-spasmodic) along with aporphine, which will give you feelings of calming euphoria.

There are also reports of its use as a treatment for gastrointestinal problems. Diarrhoea and dyspepsia, among other things, have reportedly been helped by ingesting Blue Lotus – although research is limited in this area.

Blue Lotus and lucid dreaming

And so onto the thrust of this article. As lucid dreamers, we know about the wide variety of traditions herbs and sacraments used throughout history to induce prophetic dream states.

The blue lotus is yet another interesting sacrament we can add to our arsenal of oneirogens.

However, there are more reports of a noticeable impact on the vividness of dreams and dream recall than lucidity itself. Some advise that the dreamlike sensation the plant induces whilst waking continues into sleep itself – where dreams seem more colourful and lifelike.

Blue lotus is not a panacea for lucid dreaming – and its tendency to induce lucidity is not as definite as some other dreams herbs, such as silene capensis. Nevertheless, combined with mindful and diligent practice of lucid dreaming techniques, blue lotus does have potential to aid the transition into the lucid dream state – and certainly provide for some interesting adventures if you arrive there.

The wonderful array of different Blue Lotus preparations

Buds and flowers are the psychoactive components of blue lotus. And one of the wonderful things this herb is the shear variety of ways you can take it!

There are some truly beautiful products out there. So, if you take a mind to try this ancient sacrament, your options are abundant. Below are the most common ways to take blue lotus (in order of potency).

Supply tends to fluctuate, but at the time of writing our recommended supplier Waking Herbs carries a 25x extract in resin, powder and liquid form.

Just so we’re clear, that means 25kg of fresh blue lotus flowers are used to make 1kg of the resin or powder!

Blue lotus absolute oil

A highly concentrated oil made via solvent extraction. This is the purest form you can get, with roughly 1 ton of flowers to make 1 kilo of oil. This reportedly makes an incredible addition to an oil massage, as yes the alkaloids can be absorbed through the skin! For a blue lotus massage, just mix a few drops of the absolute with a cheaper carrier oil like olive oil.

Blue lotus essential oil

The essential blue lotus oil is similar to the absolute oil, except it is instead made via a steam distillation process.

Blue lotus resin

A kind of dense hash-like material, the resin is made from compressed sticky flowers at the peak of their flowering cycle.

Blue lotus extract / powder

Various forms exist, but most widely available is a kind of powdered extract made from a CO2 extraction method, at around 25:1 potency compared to standard flower

Blue lotus tincture

The tincture is a liquid extract made at about 5x concentration to standard blue lotus flower.

Blue lotus wine

The most traditional and all-time favourite! You can make your own blue lotus wine by simply soaking the flowers/buds in some normal wine (or even liquor) for a few hours. Since the flowers carry a bitter taste, sweet wine like a desert wine is generally recommended.

Blue lotus tea

Standard blue lotus tea can be either made yourself or purchased in tea bags. If you want to make your own preparation, you need only soak the flowers in hot water.

Legal Status

Interestingly, Nelumbo nucifera is actually illegal in a few counties now, including Russia.

It’s also illegal for ‘human consumption’ in the US – so you’ll find it on sale as incense, massage oil and so on!

Conclusion

Blue lotus is a wonderful tonic that can also be fun.

It can an extra shade to your appreciation and understanding of the dream state.

Just remember it is on the mild side. Don’t go in expecting intensely deep and vivid lucid dreams!

But if a calm mood and an subtle uplifting sense of joy sounds good to you, then don’t forget to grab some here.