Mandrake

Last updated
The so-called "female" and "male" mandrakes, from a 1583 illustration Mandragoras 454 Dodoens 1583.png
The so-called "female" and "male" mandrakes, from a 1583 illustration
The flowers of Mandragora officinarum Mandragora autumnalis1432.JPG
The flowers of Mandragora officinarum
A mandrake root, resembling a human form (Science Museum, London) Mandrake root, England, 1501-1700 Wellcome L0058458.jpg
A mandrake root, resembling a human form (Science Museum, London)

A mandrake is the root of a plant, historically derived either from plants of the genus Mandragora (in the Solanaceae family) found in the Mediterranean region, or from other species, such as Bryonia alba (the English mandrake, in the Cucurbitaceae family) or the American mandrake (Podophyllum peltatum in the Berberidaceae family) which have similar properties. The plants from which the root is obtained are also called "mandrakes". Mediterranean mandrakes are perennial herbaceous plants with ovate leaves arranged in a rosette, a thick upright root, often branched, and bell-shaped flowers followed by yellow or orange berries. They have been placed in different species by different authors. They are highly variable perennial herbaceous plants with long thick roots (often branched) and almost no stem. The leaves are borne in a basal rosette, and are variable in size and shape, with a maximum length of 45 cm (18 in). They are usually either elliptical in shape or wider towards the end (obovate), with varying degrees of hairiness. [1]

Contents

Because mandrakes contain deliriant hallucinogenic tropane alkaloids and the shape of their roots often resembles human figures, they have been associated with magic rituals throughout history, including present-day contemporary pagan traditions. [2]

The English name of the plant derives from Latin mandragora, related to the French main-de-gloire (hand of glory). [3] In German, it is known as alraune ('all-rune' or 'elf-rune'), referring to the plant's folkloric ability to impart wisdom. [4] Certain sources cite the Dutch name pisdifje ('brain thief'), claiming the plant grows from the brains of dead thieves, or the droppings of those hung on the gallows. [5]

Toxicity

All species of Mandragora contain highly biologically active alkaloids, tropane alkaloids in particular. The alkaloids make the plant, in particular the root and leaves, poisonous, via anticholinergic, hallucinogenic, and hypnotic effects. Anticholinergic properties can lead to asphyxiation. Accidental poisoning is not uncommon. Ingesting mandrake root is likely to have other adverse effects such as vomiting and diarrhea. The alkaloid concentration varies between plant samples. Clinical reports of the effects of consumption of Mediterranean mandrake include severe symptoms similar to those of atropine poisoning, including blurred vision, dilation of the pupils (mydriasis), dryness of the mouth, difficulty in urinating, dizziness, headache, vomiting, blushing and a rapid heart rate (tachycardia). Hyperactivity and hallucinations occurred in the majority of patients. [6] [7]

Folklore

The root is hallucinogenic and narcotic. In sufficient quantities, it induces a state of unconsciousness and was used as an anaesthetic for surgery in ancient times. [8] In the past, juice from the finely grated root was applied externally to relieve rheumatic pains. [8] It was used internally to treat melancholy, convulsions, and mania. [8] When taken internally in large doses it was said to excite delirium and madness. [8]

fol. 16r from University of Pennsylvania LJS 46: Herbal ... etc., from Italy and England, dated to ca. 1520 Mandrake LJS 46 16r.jpg
fol. 16r from University of Pennsylvania LJS 46: Herbal ... etc., from Italy and England, dated to ca. 1520

In the past, mandrake was often made into amulets which were believed to bring good fortune, cure sterility, etc. In one superstition, people who pull up this root will be condemned to hell, and the mandrake root would scream and cry as it was pulled from the ground, killing anyone who heard it. [2] Therefore, in the past, people have tied the roots to the bodies of animals and then used these animals to pull the roots from the soil. [2]

The ancient Greeks burned mandrake as incense. [9]

In the Bible

Two references to דודאים (duda'im, plural; singular דודאduda)—literally meaning "love plants"—occur in the Jewish scriptures. The Septuagint translates דודאים as μανδραγόρας (mandragóras), and the Vulgate follows the Septuagint. A number of later translations into different languages follow Septuagint (and Vulgate) and use mandrake as the plant as the proper meaning in both the Book of Genesis 30:14–16 and Song of Songs 7:12-13. Others follow the example of the Luther Bible and provide a more literal translation.

In Genesis 30:14, Reuben, the eldest son of Jacob and Leah, finds mandrakes in a field. Rachel, Jacob's infertile second wife and Leah's sister, is desirous of the duda'im and barters with Leah for them. The trade offered by Rachel is for Leah to spend that night in Jacob's bed in exchange for Leah's duda'im. Leah gives away the plants to her barren sister, but soon after this (Genesis 30:14–22), Leah, who had previously had four sons but had been infertile for a long while, became pregnant once more and in time gave birth to two more sons, Issachar and Zebulun, and a daughter, Dinah. Only years after this episode of her asking for the mandrakes did Rachel manage to become pregnant.

And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes. And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

— the Bible, King James Version, Genesis 30:14–16 [10]

Sir Thomas Browne, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica , however, suggests the duda'im of Genesis 30:14 refers only to the opium poppy (as a metaphor describing a woman's breasts.)

The final verses of Chapter 7 of Song of Songs (Song of Songs 7:12–13), mention the plant once again:

נַשְׁכִּ֙ימָה֙ לַכְּרָמִ֔ים נִרְאֶ֞ה אִם פָּֽרְחָ֤ה הַגֶּ֙פֶן֙ פִּתַּ֣ח הַסְּמָדַ֔ר הֵנֵ֖צוּ הָרִמֹּונִ֑ים שָׁ֛ם אֶתֵּ֥ן אֶת־דֹּדַ֖י לָֽךְ׃ הַֽדּוּדָאִ֣ים נָֽתְנוּ-רֵ֗יחַ וְעַל-פְּתָחֵ֙ינוּ֙ כָּל-מְגָדִ֔ים חֲדָשִׁ֖ים גַּם-יְשָׁנִ֑ים דּוֹדִ֖י צָפַ֥נְתִּי לָֽךְ:

Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves. The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

— the Bible, King James Version, Song of Songs 7:12–13 [11]

Magic and witchcraft

Mandragora, from Tacuinum Sanitatis (1474). Tacuinum Sanitatis Mandrake Dog.jpg
Mandragora, from Tacuinum Sanitatis (1474).

According to the legend, when the root is dug up, it screams and kills all who hear it. Literature includes complex directions for harvesting a mandrake root in relative safety. For example, Josephus (circa 37–100 AD) of Jerusalem gives the following directions for pulling it up:

A furrow must be dug around the root until its lower part is exposed, then a dog is tied to it, after which the person tying the dog must get away. The dog then endeavours to follow him, and so easily pulls up the root, but dies suddenly instead of his master. After this, the root can be handled without fear. [12]

An excerpt from Transcendental Magic: Its Doctrine and Ritual by nineteenth-century occultist and ceremonial magician Eliphas Levi, suggests the plant might hint at mankind's "terrestrial origin:"

The natural mandragore is a filamentous root which, more or less, presents as a whole either the figure of a man, or that of the virile members. It is slightly narcotic, and an aphrodisiacal virtue was ascribed to it by the ancients, who represented it as being sought by Thessalian sorcerers for the composition of philtres. Is this root the umbilical vestige of our terrestrial origin? We dare not seriously affirm it, but all the same it is certain that man came out of the slime of the earth, and his first appearance must have been in the form of a rough sketch. The analogies of nature make this notion necessarily admissible, at least as a possibility. The first men were, in this case, a family of gigantic, sensitive mandragores, animated by the sun, who rooted themselves up from the earth; this assumption not only does not exclude, but, on the contrary, positively supposes, creative will and the providential co-operation of a first cause, which we have REASON to call GOD. Some alchemists, impressed by this idea, speculated on the culture of the mandragore, and experimented in the artificial reproduction of a soil sufficiently fruitful and a sun sufficiently active to humanise the said root, and thus create men without the concurrence of the female. Others, who regarded humanity as the synthesis of animals, despaired about vitalising the mandragore, but they crossed monstrous pairs and projected human seed into animal earth, only for the production of shameful crimes and barren deformities. [13]

The following is taken from Jean-Baptiste Pitois' The History and Practice of Magic, and explains a ritual for creating a mandrake:

Would you like to make a Mandragora, as powerful as the homunculus (little man in a bottle) so praised by Paracelsus? Then find a root of the plant called bryony. Take it out of the ground on a Monday (the day of the moon), a little time after the vernal equinox. Cut off the ends of the root and bury it at night in some country churchyard in a dead man's grave. For 30 days, water it with cow's milk in which three bats have been drowned. When the 31st day arrives, take out the root in the middle of the night and dry it in an oven heated with branches of verbena; then wrap it up in a piece of a dead man's winding-sheet and carry it with you everywhere. [14]

In Medieval times, mandrake was considered a key ingredient in a multitude of witches' flying ointment recipes as well as a primary component of magical potions and brews. [15] These were entheogenic preparations used in European witchcraft for their mind-altering and hallucinogenic effects. [16] Starting in the Late Middle Ages and thereafter, some believed that witches applied these ointments or ingested these potions to help them fly to gatherings with other witches, meet with the Devil, or to experience bacchanalian carousal. [17] [18]

Romani people use mandrake as a love amulet. [19]

Related Research Articles

<i>Datura</i> Genus of poisonous, potentially psychoactive plants

Datura is a genus of nine species of highly poisonous, vespertine-flowering plants belonging to the nightshade family (Solanaceae). They are commonly known as thornapples or jimsonweeds, but are also known as devil's trumpets. Other English common names include moonflower, devil's weed, and hell's bells. All species of Datura are extremely poisonous and psychoactive, especially their seeds and flowers, which can cause respiratory depression, arrhythmias, fever, delirium, hallucinations, anticholinergic syndrome, psychosis, and death if taken internally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob</span> Regarded Patriarch of the Israelites

Jacob, later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, and Islam. Jacob first appears in the Book of Genesis, originating from the Hebrew tradition in the Torah. Described as the son of Isaac and Rebecca, and the grandson of Abraham, Sarah, and Bethuel, Jacob is presented as the second-born among Isaac's children. His fraternal twin brother is the elder, named Esau, according to the biblical account. Jacob is said to have bought Esau's birthright and, with his mother's help, deceived his aging father to bless him instead of Esau. Later in the narrative, following a severe drought in his homeland of Canaan, Jacob and his descendants, with the help of his son Joseph, moved to Egypt where Jacob died at the age of 147. He is supposed to have been buried in the Cave of Machpelah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scopolamine</span> Tropane alkaloid & anticholinergic drug

Scopolamine, also known as hyoscine, or Devil's Breath, is a natural or synthetically produced tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic drug that is used as a medication to treat motion sickness and postoperative nausea and vomiting. It is also sometimes used before surgery to decrease saliva. When used by injection, effects begin after about 20 minutes and last for up to 8 hours. It may also be used orally and as a transdermal patch since it has been long known to have transdermal bioavailability.

<i>Atropa belladonna</i> Species of toxic flowering plant in the nightshade family.

Atropa belladonna, commonly known as belladonna or deadly nightshade, is a toxic perennial herbaceous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae, which also includes tomatoes, potatoes and aubergine (eggplant). It is native to Europe and Western Asia, including Turkey. Its distribution extends from Ireland in the west to western Ukraine and the Iranian province of Gilan in the east. It is also naturalised or introduced in some parts of Canada, North Africa and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potion</span> Magical type of liquified medicine or drug

A potion is a liquid "that contains medicine, poison, or something that is supposed to have magic powers." It derives from the Latin word potio which refers to a drink or the act of drinking. The term philtre is also used, often specifically for a love potion, a potion that is supposed to create feelings of love or attraction in the one who drinks it. Throughout history there have been several types of potions for a range of purposes. Reasons for taking potions ranged from curing an illness, to securing immortality to trying to induce love. These potions, while often ineffective or poisonous, occasionally had some degree of medicinal success depending on what they sought to fix and the type and amount of ingredients used. Some popular ingredients used in potions across history include Spanish fly, nightshade plants, cannabis, and opium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leah</span> Biblical matriarch

Leah appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son Reuben. She has three more sons, namely Simeon, Levi and Judah, but does not bear another son until Rachel offers her a night with Jacob in exchange for some mandrake root. Leah gives birth to two more sons after this, Issachar and Zebulun, and to Jacob's only daughter, Dinah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Besom</span> Type of broom

A besom is a broom, a household implement used for sweeping. The term is mostly reserved for a traditional broom constructed from a bundle of twigs tied to a stout pole. The twigs used could be broom, heather or similar. The song "Buy Broom Buzzems" from Northern England refers to both types of twig. From the phrase broom besom the more common broom comes. In Scotland, besoms are still occasionally to be found at the edge of forests where they are stacked for use in early response to an outbreak of fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flying ointment</span> Hallucinogenic salve used in the practice of witchcraft

Flying ointment is a hallucinogenic ointment said to have been used by witches in the practice of European witchcraft from at least as far back as the Early Modern period, when detailed recipes for such preparations were first recorded and when their usage spread to colonial North America.

The Hittites, also spelled Hethites, were a group of people mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Under the names בני-חת and חתי they are described several times as living in or near Canaan between the time of Abraham and the time of Ezra after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile. Their ancestor was Heth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriarchs (Bible)</span> Biblical figures Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

The patriarchs of the Bible, when narrowly defined, are Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob, also named Israel, the ancestor of the Israelites. These three figures are referred to collectively as "the patriarchs", and the period in which they lived is known as the patriarchal age.

<i>Hyoscyamus niger</i> Species of plant

Henbane is a poisonous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Henbane is native to temperate Europe and Siberia, and naturalised in Great Britain and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deliriant</span> Class of psychoactive drugs

Deliriants are a subclass of hallucinogen. The term was coined in the early 1980s to distinguish these drugs from psychedelics such as LSD and dissociatives such as ketamine, due to their primary effect of causing delirium, as opposed to the more lucid and less disturbed states produced by other types of hallucinogens. The term generally refers to anticholinergic drugs, which are substances that inhibit the function of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Common examples of deliriants include plants of the genera Datura and Brugmansia as well as higher than recommended dosages of diphenhydramine (Benadryl). A number of plant deliriants such as that of the Solanaceae family, particularly in the Americas have been used by some indigenous cultures to reach delirious and altered states for traditions or rituals, such as rites of passage, divination or communicating with the ancestors. Despite their long history of use, deliriants are the least-studied class of hallucinogens in terms of their behavioral and neurological effects.

<i>Mandragora officinarum</i> Species of plant

Mandragora officinarum is the type species of the plant genus Mandragora in the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is often known as mandrake, although this name is also used for other plants. As of 2015, sources differed significantly in the species they use for Mandragora plants native to the Mediterranean region. The main species found around the Mediterranean is called Mandragora autumnalis, the autumn mandrake. In a broader circumscription, all the plants native to the regions around the Mediterranean Sea are placed in M. officinarum, which thus includes M. autumnalis. The names autumn mandrake and Mediterranean mandrake are then used. Whatever the circumscription, Mandragora officinarum is a perennial herbaceous plant with ovate leaves arranged in a rosette, a thick upright root, often branched, and bell-shaped flowers followed by yellow or orange berries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John the Revelator (Blind Willie Johnson song)</span> 1930 traditional American folk song

"John the Revelator" is a gospel blues call and response song. Music critic Thomas Ward describes it as "one of the most powerful songs in all of pre-war acoustic music ... [which] has been hugely influential to blues performers". American gospel-blues musician Blind Willie Johnson recorded "John the Revelator" in 1930. Subsequently, a variety of artists, including the Golden Gate Quartet, Son House, Depeche Mode, Jerry Garcia Band, The White Stripes, The Forest Rangers, The Sword, have recorded their renditions of the song, often with variations in the verses and music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psalm 80</span> 80th psalm in the biblical Book of Psalms

Psalm 80 is the 80th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 79. In Latin, it is known as "Qui regis Israel intende". It is one of the 12 Psalms of Asaph. The New American Bible calls it "a prayer for Jerusalem". The Jerusalem Bible describes it as "a prayer for the restoration of Israel".

<i>Mandragora</i> (genus) Genus of plants

Mandragora is a plant genus belonging to the nightshade family (Solanaceae). Members of the genus are known as mandrakes. Between three and five species are placed in the genus. The one or two species found around the Mediterranean constitute the mandrake of ancient writers such as Dioscorides. Two or three further species are found eastwards into China. All are perennial herbaceous plants, with large tap roots and leaves in the form of a rosette. Individual flowers are bell-shaped, whitish through to violet, and followed by yellow or orange berries.

<i>Mandragora autumnalis</i> Species of plant

Mandragora autumnalis, known as mandrake or autumn mandrake, is recognized by some sources as a separate species from Mandragora officinarum, although with different circumscriptions. Others regard it as merely part of this very variable species. Plants given the name Mandragora autumnalis consist of a rosette of leaves up to 60 cm (2 ft) across, close to the ground, with a central group of usually purplish flowers followed by yellow or orange berries. The large tap-roots as well as the leaves contain alkaloids and are toxic. They have traditional uses as herbal medicines.

Mandragora turcomanica, the Turkmenian mandrake, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Solanaceae, native to the Köpet Dag mountains in Turkmenistan and one location in neighbouring Iran. It differs from the mandrakes found around the Mediterranean chiefly by being larger.

Mandragora caulescens, the Himalayan mandrake, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Solanaceae, native to the Himalayas and mountainous regions of Myanmar and south-west China. One of the differences from the other species of Mandragora is that it has a stem, whereas they are stemless. Like all species of Mandragora, it contains tropane alkaloids, making it toxic. It is used in traditional Chinese medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezekiel 16</span> Sixteenth chapter of the Book of Ezekiel

Ezekiel 16 is the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet/priest Ezekiel, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. Biblical scholar R. E. Clements calls this chapter "an Old Testament parable of the prodigal daughter", describing a shocking illustration of ungrateful Jerusalem in contrast to God's enduring love to her. This chapter is often linked to Ezekiel 23, which deals with two daughters, symbolizing the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

References

  1. ↑ Ungricht, Stefan; Knapp, Sandra & Press, John R. (1998). "A revision of the genus Mandragora (Solanaceae)". Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, Botany Series. 28 (1): 17–40. Retrieved 2015-03-31.
  2. 1 2 3 John Gerard (1597). "Herball, Generall Historie of Plants". Claude Moore Health Sciences Library. Archived from the original on 2012-09-01. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  3. ↑ Wedgwood, Hensleigh (1855). "On False Etymologies". Transactions of the Philological Society (6): 67.
  4. ↑ "Alraune (Kulturgeschichte)", Wikipedia (in German), 2023-03-05, retrieved 2023-03-06
  5. ↑ Leland, Charles Godfrey (1892). Etruscan Roman Remains in Popular Tradition. T. F. Unwin.
  6. ↑ Jiménez-Mejías, M.E.; Montaño-Díaz, M.; López Pardo, F.; Campos Jiménez, E.; Martín Cordero, M.C.; Ayuso González, M.J. & González de la Puente, M.A. (1990-11-24). "Intoxicación atropínica por Mandragora autumnalis: descripción de quince casos [Atropine poisoning by Mandragora autumnalis: a report of 15 cases]". Medicina Clínica. 95 (18): 689–692. PMID   2087109.
  7. ↑ Piccillo, Giovita A.; Mondati, Enrico G. M. & Moro, Paola A. (2002). "Six clinical cases of Mandragora autumnalis poisoning: diagnosis and treatment". European Journal of Emergency Medicine. 9 (4): 342–347. doi:10.1097/00063110-200212000-00010. PMID   12501035.
  8. 1 2 3 4 A Modern Herbal, first published in 1931, by Mrs. M. Grieve, contains Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-Lore.
  9. ↑ Carod-Artal, F. J. (2013). "Psychoactive plants in ancient Greece". nah.sen.es. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  10. ↑ "Genesis 30:14–16 (King James Version)". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "Song of Songs 7:12–13 (King James Version)". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  12. ↑ James Hastings (October 2004). A Dictionary of the Bible: Volume III: (Part I: Kir -- Nympha). University Press of the Pacific. ISBN   978-1-4102-1726-4 . Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  13. ↑ pp. 312, by Eliphas Levi. 1896
  14. ↑ pp. 402-403, by Paul Christian. 1963
  15. ↑ Hansen, Harold A. The Witch's Garden pub. Unity Press 1978 ISBN   978-0913300473
  16. ↑ Raetsch, Ch. (2005). The encyclopedia of psychoactive plants: ethnopharmacology and its applications. US: Park Street Press. pp. 277–282.
  17. ↑ Peters, Edward (2001). "Sorcerer and Witch". In Jolly, Karen Louise; Raudvere, Catharina; et al. (eds.). Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Middle Ages. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 233–37. ISBN   978-0-485-89003-7.
  18. ↑ Hansen, Harold A. The Witch's Garden pub. Unity Press 1978 ISBN   978-0913300473
  19. ↑ Gerina Dunwich (September 2019). Herbal Magick: A Guide to Herbal Enchantments, Folklore, and Divination. Weiser Books. ISBN   978-1-63341-158-6.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.