The sacred journey in dynastic Egypt: shamanistic trance in the context of the narcotic water lily and the mandrake.
Journal of psychoactive drugs January 1, 1989 W Emboden 32 citations
Water lilies and mandrakes, both powerful narcotic plants, likely played a role in shamanistic healing in dynastic Egypt, not merely in ritual mourning as usually thought. An extensive review of iconography and ritual suggests these plants induced a shamanistic trance used in medicine and healing rituals. Analysis of stelae, magical papyri, and vessels indicates that dynastic Egyptians possessed profound knowledge of plant lore and altered states of consciousness. The shamanistic priest, highly placed in society, guided souls, provided for transmutation of souls, and personified plants as possessed by human spirits.