| Calendar |
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| Effects |
Primary Effects
Parasympathetic depressant, hallucinogen, and hypnotic. Most hypnotics produce low alphoid and spindle alpha brain-wave activity, similar to that found in REM sleep, or the dreaming state. This rhythm does not allow deep sleep to occur although it does lower brain patterns into a dreamy visionary mode, known in magic as an astral plane experience.
Preparation
Small quantities (less than 30 grains) of the powdered root are placed in wine. Both the fruit and the roots were used as ingredients in "flying ointments," psychedelic preparations allegedly used by fifteenth-century witches to enable the to fly on their brooms in astral projection.
Ritual Use
The first of the two distinct types of love magic is the general charm or medicine that allegedly works on anyone and that is selected because of its distinctive appearance, shape, taste, or easily recognized likeness to human anatomy. The fact that mandrake is almost an anaphrodisiac because of its parasympathetic depressant chemistry leads one to consider using it for sexual fantasies rather than for physical activity. It is conducive to an astral fantasy and has a tradition of use in this manner. Witches flying on their broomsticks to attend orgies at their sabbath were experiencing astral journeys in which their repressed sexuality came vividly to life. These were considered evil since sex was considered Satanic. Because it does not allow deep sleep states to occur, mandrake is well suited to those altered states in which lucid or waking dreams occur very near consciousness. Too often we are unaware of our inner feelings, unaware of the hidden aspects of our personalities, and out of touch with our unconscious emotions. We can get in touch with ourselves and some of our deepest feelings by using our dreams. When examined from this perspective, dreams can reveal basic feelings, values, philosophy, and methods of coping with emotional problems. The appearance of symbols is individual and personal, depending on one's life experience. Content includes the mood of the dream and the emotions felt while dreaming. A sexual "waking dream" can be preprogrammed if one's mood and concentration remain constant after imbibing the mandrake. Dream symbols express and extend our waking thoughts. Training yourself to remember and use your dreams can be a pleasant and helpful day-to-day exercise and should not be distorted into an agonizing probing for sin and guilt. Exposing problems that we may have refused to accept consciously can lead to positive, corrective action. It can lead to the recognition of emotions that we have tried to submerge, eventually motivating us to accept, or perhaps even control or channel them. When taken in small doses, mandrake will produce a light, sleep-like trance with very lucid dreams. The effects last for several hours. Immediately upon awakening whether in the middle of the night or in the morning, try to capture your dream. Write down a summary that includes both its content and mood. Think about what your emotions were during the dream and what your feelings about it are now that you are awake. Don't worry about any deep probing of symbolism for the first dream; simply enjoy the fact that you caught it. If you wish to reflect on its content, do so, but the purpose of the first exercise is simply to experience the fact that you are now in touch with a part of yourself that you have probably paid little attention to in the past. Any increase in self-awareness or understanding makes us better lovers. The mandrake keeps consciousness close enough to the surface that the contact between the conscious and subconscious selves is experienced. Note of caution: Mandrake can be detrimental to the heart because of the tropanes. A tolerance is built up to the tropanes in the parasympathetic system; thus, more mandrake is required to achieve the same effects. his is not true with the effects on the heart, and severe damage may occur.
Mandrake is extremely toxic and even poisonous. BE VERY CAREFUL
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