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Lakshmi, an incarnation of the mother goddess and similar in many ways to Venus (she is the goddess of beauty and prosperity) takes the lotus as her symbol and is often depicted sitting upon an open lotus flower. The ancient Egyptians believed that the world arose from a lotus that grew from the belly of Nu. This flower is also connected to resurrection or reincarnation because of the way the its seeds can lie dormant for centuries and then grow into a plant in the right conditions. In the East, it is a symbol of spiritual enlightenment as well as of fertility and sexuality. In West European magick, the lotus is often used in consecration and in sex magick, and the flowers are associated with nymphs. The lotus is a good symbol of purity and of persistence against difficulty because it has its feet in the mud but has pure white petals raised about the surface of the water: as the Buddhists say, "This flower does not grow in the highlands but in the muck of the swamp." A Chinese belief is that the lotus demonstrates how to show your best to the world and bring light out of darkness. This species of lotus once grew along the Nile, and although it no longer does, it is still sometimes called Sacred Lily of the Nile; likewise, some have argued that Soma was this lotus. The petals are cooling and sedative and have been used against insomnia. In keeping with the Venus influence, they have also been used to deal with venereal disease and sexual dysfunction. The flower is nontoxic. These dried petals are a pinkish brown and their slight scent is not flowery but watery. |
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© 2004, 2014 Harold A. Roth; No reproduction without permission Other dried flowers: elder flowers, hibiscus flowers, honeysuckle buds, jasmine flowers, lavender buds, marigold petals, poppy petals, rose petals, safflower petals |
Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) Info 