Learning Who We Are Today with Rituals from the Past
Egyptian myth is shrouded in symbolism and mystery. This can be challenging when a modern person is trying to find meaningful rituals for their life. The stories growing out of the sacred use of blue lotus flower all share the ideal that self realization is the means to universal awareness and thereby life itself. Let’s take a trip through the pyramids to see how the gods found themselves to be eternal, and how we can bloom into the corpus of the gods as we understand the significance of this most holy of holy blossoms.
An Entheogen is a plant that induces a spiritual experience. Blue Lotus Flower can be used as an entheogen to manifest our sacred selves. Let’s explore the mysticism of creation, belonging, virility, death, and resurrection. This will be quite an adventure, but do not fret, the Blue Lotus flower will be there gently caring for us as we grow through the mire.
In the Beginning there was a Blue Lotus Flower
In the creation of all that could exist, Blue lotus is both the vehicle and corpus of existence. During the time of nothing, a thought became aware of itself. The story goes like this: When there was nothing, just a vast feminine potential of nothingness, a mound of clay emerged and an idea sprouted. As it realized that it was, a blue lotus bud coiled upwards out of the this nothingness. As it realized it was something, raising its bud out of the pool, it bloomed, and inside that bloom was a little baby, Atum-Ra. When that baby opened its eyes, light shined out. Everywhere that baby looked, light struck and things came to be. All of existence became visible as the baby became aware of itself and its surroundings. From Nu, or the feminine potential of nonexistence, came soil, that which existence sprouts from, and from this came a god. As this god became aware of itself, so too did all things come to being. So the Blue Lotus Flower represents the creation of the godhead itself. Symbolically, the creation of your own self and the actions you take to exist.
Because Blue lotus flower is believed to be the actual corpus of the god, and the substance from which that corpus emerged, entheogenic use of the blue lotus flower is a means of communion with this process of self realization. From the realm of dreams, or non existence to our flesh and blood lives.
When I Grow Up I Want to Be with People
The need to be with others, to have children, existed in this God, and so from the Blue Lotus Flower, birthed the pantheon of the Gods and humanity10. In one story he cries to make people, and in another story he masturbates to create the other gods. Because Blue Lotus Flower manifests this energy, it can be used in the arts of sexuality. Many scenes in the hieroglyphs showed the use of Blue Lotus Flower in acts of sexuality. It was used by elites in ritual orgies, where, in costume manifesting the life of the gods within themselves, they celebrated in euphoric ecstasy the creative forces of the Blue Lotus Flower God State. Its aphrodisiac influences were also used commonly by the public, but the elites held epic parties famous for their orgasmic ecstasy. When steeped in alcohol for a few days to a week, the effects of this entheogen are magnified, while the affects of the alcohol are reportedly minimized. So, it was also used to create community and togetherness, uniting Egypt in country, body and soul.
Supporting Community Intimacy
Its aphrodisiac powers may be found in the way it makes you feel dreamy and comfortable. Because of this, it can also help with erectile dysfunction, helping the man feel good about what he is doing, and so naturally able to get it up. Some men report an inability to enjoy sex with Viagra. That is because Viagra causes stimulation in the blood vessels, and disconnects the dream state from the body. While it provides stamina, it removes intimacy. The dream state that Blue Lotus Flower initiates, is a state of intimacy, so it is a great choice for sexy time, and gently encouraging that ability. It has several properties that provide support to the body, mind and dream state including nutrients and terpenes. Supporting intimacy in community, it can be used to help people in many ways.
Taking Care of Our Family is a Sacred Act
We can learn from the Gods’ themselves how to care for each other. One of these Gods is the grandson of the Creator. Nefertum, is especially happy to use and share the essences of the living gods. This god is all about making life nice for people. Seed of a Blue Lotus grand-father, the son becomes, in essence, the blue lotus flower. He is depicted as a blue god, or wearing a collar of blue lotus petal. He really likes taking care of the other gods and sharing with the people. Nefertum is representative of the pleasant scent of the lotus flower and of its medical properties. He was known as “Water Lily of the Sun” and was held in great affection.
This grand-son of creation, Nefertum, really loves his grandfather. As his grandfather is getting old and suffering, he comes to him and blesses him with the scent of the Blue lotus, by holding this plant to his nose. This is an act of literally giving the god back to itself, and in so doing providing comfort and self realization as the soul is passing into the next realm. Using blue lotus flower as an entheogen, we manifest the aspect of caring, comfort and healing as a part of the community. From the example of Nefertum, we can act to care for others by offering them the opportunity to feel both comfort and guidance from this sacred plant.
Healers then and now
The Blue Lotus Flower is used for other medicinal properties. Some of these range from depression and mental health, to tremors and body pain, among other problems. Healers today are working with this entheogen. A psychologist has started to explore this more thoroughly. You can check out the video on this here. It is research done to see what happens when people partake. She did this so there was recorded research, and so she could better help people with the entheogen. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), “It has been speculated that the flower was used in ancient Egyptian culture as part of healing and shamanistic rituals dating back to the fourteenth century B.C. Today, blue lotus flower is used as a sleep aid and anxiety reliever, but has also been described as a mild stimulant.”
The two main compounds responsible for the flower’s medicinal effects are called apomorphine and nuciferine. The buds and flowers contain the psychoactive components. Apomorphine is a compound that acts as a dopamine agonist, meaning it can give a happy or euphoric feeling. Nuciferine is a compound believed to act as an anti-psychotic substance that can induce feelings of calmness. So it is easy to see how Nefertum could soothe his aging grandfather with this sacred herb.
Helping our elders age
Nefertum helps his grandfather die in a sacred and respectful way, using this plant. In using Blue Lotus flower to comfort the distressed we are accepting and assimilating ourselves with the cosmic process of death, and in so doing, find comfort ourselves. This is why, as an aspect of Nefertum and Atum-Ra themselves, Blue Lotus Flower can be used to aid in the suffering of the terminally ill, and why it helps with pain, both physical and mental.
The dying god, in receiving itself back into itself, is not lost in death, but realized again. As a result, Nefertum was described in the Pyramid Texts as “the lotus blossom which is before the nose of Re”. The Blue Lotus Flower was a symbol of eternal life, and we can see hieroglyphs where the Ankh is offered to the nose of the pharaohs and gods. In this picture the Ankh is held to the nose as described the passage from the Pyramid Texts. So, when you see the image of the Ankh, also think, Blue Lotus.
We die in order to know we are alive
Death is a sacred act of existence. We all know that on some level, but it still seems a little scary. That is why the Egyptians painted stories of passage on their coffins and tombs, so when the soul awoke, it would be reminded of the passage and feel secure in the process. Some of these paintings depict the protection offered to the passing soul in the form of the four sons of Horus, the sun god. Born out of the Blue Lotus, there are four sons. These sons are protector gods helping the soul with the things it needs: a rope ladder to ascend to the sky, martial defense of the soul, guidance along the path, and assistance with hunger and thirst. As the soul sits on the barque of the blue lotus waiting for judgment of Maat, four gods are birthed from this sacred bloom to assist the soul during this trial.
A 19th Dynasty relief from the temple of Seti I at Abydos provides a classic example of the use of incense. In the image of this Blue Lotus Ritual, Seti leans forward towards a statue of Atum-Ra, his right hand pouring water over a bouquet of lotus flowers while his left hand wafts smoke from an arm-shaped incense stick towards the god. The incense signifies reverence and prayer; and on a deeper level it evokes the actual presence of the deity by creating the fragrance of the gods. Traveling through our dream states can seem like a trial of life and death. These stories help us to remember that if we try to keep a light heart, we will be protected and a path made ready for us.
As the Blue lotus flower closes upon life, it becomes a barque. It becomes a means of resurrection. The image of the barque here shows an example of the passage of Atum-Ra through the belly of Maat to the shore of reeds. Life is resurrected in the field of reeds. As Atum-Ra dies, and realizes himself on a journey, the Blue lotus becomes a barque that transitions the god through the belly of the sky to the sea of reeds and a resurrected life. Traveling through the belly of the sky is fraught with perils of losing the self and not making it to the land of resurrection and renewed life. There are monsters here to battle. Upon the barque of the Blue Lotus Flower, there is a sturdy footing for defense and allies to assist you. Fighting on the barque of blue lotus against that which seeks to consume the soul allows the dead to continue the process of self realization.
By using the blue lotus flower as an entheogen, we are participating in the battle to defend our soul’s integrity through maintaining self realization so that we may float to the land of happiness and life.
Literal Manifestation or Symbolic Living
Symbolically, blue lotus is the means to travel through the dangers of loosing yourself but also the means to attaining the good life we are destined to enjoy after this death.
Perhaps, this is a literal manifestation of the god process. The story was taken seriously by the Egyptians as exemplified by the way they prepared their dead. King Tut’s body was found to be covered with blue lotus petals when his tomb was opened in 1922. A version of the Book of the Dead says “Rise like Nefertum from the blue water lily, to the nostrils of Ra, and come forth upon the horizon each day.” Many mummies were sprinkled with Blue Lotus petals, and after thousands of years they still smell nice when the sarcophagus are opened!
Blue Lotus Flower can be seen as a metaphor for birth, life, death and resurrection simply by observing it’s biological processes. Coiling up out of an unknown muck, a little bud rises. It’s bloom is bright blue and it’s center is a bright sunny yellow. It faces the sun and the bud moves to follow the path of the sun. At night, it closes up, and then starts over the next day. It does this for three days, then makes a seed pod, which enables a new life. Noticing this pattern, the Egyptians chose it to symbolize the birth of God, its realization of self out of nothing, the god head coming to maturity, and then, in closing, his aging, and his death, as the bud travels through the belly of the night, yet to open fresh again in the morning, re-birthed.
This is also the only flower in Egypt that blooms all season. It never dies off. Because of it’s natural process, it is closely associated with the sun, its light, and realization of existence, growth, aging, death and resurrection. Atum-Ra, the creator god, is represented by the Sun, and the Blue Lotus Flower. His grand-son, or young self, called Nefertum, is the symbol of the the Sunrise with a lotus at its base.
As we confront literal and symbolic death in our lives as humans, use of the blue lotus flower directly assimilates us with the the barque of transition, a sturdy and safe place to defend one’s soul as we travel through the challenges of darkness. This symbolizes the becoming of the self once again through the dream state. As an entheogen, we can use the blue lotus flower to assist in lucid dreaming.
You’re Walking the Path of Ra
As an entheogen, we can see the blue lotus flower as a literal assimilation in the processes of life, community, vitality, death, and resurrection. We also have the opportunity to see think metaphorically about our subconscious and dream life waking as the real self. As an aid in Lucid Dreaming and
Entheogenic searching, Blue Lotus Flower provides the physical experience of this metaphor. It facilitates bringing the dream world, our most sincere aspects of our selves, to the light of consciousness, where we can become aware of our true selves through the dream state.
In sleep, or death, we may become aware of who we are, what we are capable of creating, and the importance of this as we face the loss of ourselves, thus loosing ourselves, and regaining ourselves through our selves, and true life after that death. Blue lotus flower lets us become and manifest these aspects of the God head’s experience, ensuring the arrival of the soul to immortal life, enabling the process of realization, growth, shedding of the old self for our true self, and living again as our true self.
Whether or not this is a literal communion with the Gods’ story of existence, death and re-existence, or a means of existential self realization, this sacred entheogen is truly worth knowing about. It is a holy blessing and a sacred medicine if we accept its invitation to become ourselves. The entheogenic use of Blue Lotus provides a sacred opportunity to die and live again through realization of our own state of non-existence, resurrecting our self through the realm of potential, which is death, that is our dream mind, to wake again, in life, a happier self in flesh.
So, dear dreamer, you are invited onto the path of Ra. Turn your head like the Blue Lotus Flower to the sun, and in sleep, remember your self. May the sweet aroma of this perfume guide your travels.
Other sources of interest:
Goodenough, Simon (1997) Egyptian Mythology
- Kemp, Barry J (1991) Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilisation
- Pinch, Geraldine (2002) Handbook Egyptian Mythology
- Watterson, Barbara (1996) Gods of Ancient Egypt
- Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003) The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt