HOME
The blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) belongs to the Nymphaeaceae (Water-Lily) family. It has several common names including: Egyptian lotus, blue water lily, and sacred lily of the Nile. Fossils of this plant have been dated back to the Jurassic period, about 160 million years ago. Amazingly, the fossils suggest that the blue lotus has not changed much. People from many cultures throughout history have valued Lotus flowers for a variety of reasons.
To the people of India the lotus flower signifies purity and peace, a representation of the Manifestation of God. Rising pure and unsullied above stagnant, muddy waters, the Indians have seen this flower as worthy of emulation, teaching them to be detached from material preoccupations.
To the Chinese, the lotus flower is thought of as being like a gentleperson, who keeps themselves clean, alive and healthy in a dirty (dense) environment. Essentially the lotus flower represents creative power and purity amid adverse surroundings. It is also a symbol of the seventh month, summer. In China, there are many poems about the lotus flower, often describing how they come out of the dirty mud under the water and yet retain their pureness, freshness and beauty.
Chinese poets often use lotus flowers to inspire people to continue striving through difficulties and to show their best part to the outside world, no matter how bad the circumstances may be. This is understood as being just like the lotus flower, bringing beauty and light from the murky darkness at the bottom of the pond.
Another
symbolic characteristic of the lotus flower leads from the observation
that the plant's stalk is easy to bend in two, but is very hard to break
because of its many strong sinuous fibers.
Poets use this to represent a close unbreakable relationship between two
lovers or the members within a family, showing that no matter how far
away they might live nothing can really separate them in heart.
In Buddhism the lotus flower symbolizes faithfulness. The golden lotus that is mentioned in Buddhist sutras has two meanings, one is the symbol for the achievement of enlightenment and the other points towards a real flower which is beyond our normal perception.
The people of Ancient Egypt (Kemet), used the blue lotus extensively in everyday ways, including making bread from the seeds. Flowers occur frequently in their art, with the blue lotus and papyrus being the most common. There were also drawings of people smelling the lotus flower, which some believe was used to induce stimulation or a state of euphoria.
The primary reason for the use of the blue lotus as a symbol by the Ancient Egyptians was because it symbolized the origin of life. They equated the Creator-god with the blue lotus, which is believed to have emerged at some point in time from the primeval ocean, Nun. Ra their primary god, was believed to have first appeared as a beautiful child floating on a great blue lotus.
Ancient Egyptians have also used the blue lotus as medicine, food, perfume and in funerary ceremonies. Tonics were made for ailments such as liver disease. When Nymphaea Caerulea (Blue Lotus) is smoked or drank after being soaked in water or wine, it is said to act as an intoxicant.