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

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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,
nupharine, has been fractionated into four separate
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...."