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 The Blue Egyptian Water Lily Robert Thornton MD |
Known to the Kemet people of ancient Egypt as Seshen, the plant we now identify as
Nymphaea caerulea is not a true lotus, although that name is used. It is a water lily growing in wet soil on
the shores of lakes and rivers. Also known as the Blue Lotus, Egyptian Lotus, Blue Water
Lily, Sacred Lily of the Nile, it has light blue flowers which appear in spring. The
lotus closes at night and sinks underwater, to re-emerge and bloom again in the morning.
It also has unusually resilient seeds, which have been known to germinate after over 200
years of dormancy. Thus the flower became a natural symbol of the sun and creation and
re-birth.
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From the waters arose life ... Fossil remains of the Blue Lotus, remarkably similar to today's plant, have been dated to the Jurassic period, and it was widely dispersed before the Ice Age, making it one of the world's first known flowering plants, if not actually the first. This gives an archaeological link to the central role played by the lotus in the creation legends of so many different cultures. The Kemet version of the creation story that originated in Heliopolis tells that before the universe came into being, there was an infinite ocean of inert water that constituted the primeval being named Nun. Out of Nun emerged a lotus flower, together with a single mound of dry land. The lotus blossoms opened, and out stepped the self-created sun god, Atum, as a child. In Hermopolis, a similar story has Ra (or Re) as the sun god who formed himself from the chaos of Nun to emerge from the lotus petals, which would again enfold him when he returned to it each night. |  |
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As a symbol of re-birth for the Kemet, the lotus was closely related to the imagery of the
funerary and Osirian cult. The Four Sons of Horus were frequently shown standing on a
blue lotus in front of Osiris. The Book of the Dead contains references to "transforming oneself
into a lotus" and thus fulfilling the promise of resurrection. The blue lotus was found scattered over Tutankhamen's body when the Pharaoh's tomb was opened in 1922, and the illustration aside is of an image found in his tomb of the Pharoah's head emerging from the lotus. |
| The precise use made by the Kemet of Nymphaea caerulea apart from in funerary rites is still being debated. Medicinally, they used the flowers to treat liver diseases, constipation, poisonings and problems of the urinary tract. The dried seeds were used to make bread, and the sweet round root (similar to cassava) was also eaten. There are many depictions of people being offered the flower at parties, but why this is so really depends on whether it has psychotropic properties (the flowers are suspected to contain aporphine and nuciferine, natural opioid-alkaloids), or if its effect is more akin to that of viagra. The Egyptian idea of sexuality was identified with creation. Being a flower of creation, the flower became linked to human fertility and sexuality. The images of women holding the flower may be hinting at her ability to bear children or that she was sexually desirable, and images of men holding the flower may hint at his potency. Women were wooed with the blue lotus. | |
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And I will say to Ptah, Lord of Truth: "Give me my fair one tonight." The river is like wine. The god Ptah is its tuft of reeds, The goddess Sekhmet is its bouquet of flowers, The goddess Yadyt is its water lily bud, The god Nefertem is its opened water lily. My love will be happy! The dawn illuminates her beauty. 19th Dynasty Love Poem, Harris 500 papyrus |
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