Mystical Plants and Medicinal Plants
by Robert Shorn
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Nature is referred to as Mother Nature, symbolizing her power to create, nourish and maintain creation. Man is aware of nature’s powers of creation, balance as well as destruction, but is not aware of the vastness and her sway over the entire universe. Unable to comprehend nature in her entirety, man holds her in veneration.
Nature provides and sustains mankind by nourishing him with food. The food chain that man has learnt to draw from nature from the abundant plant life. Man has learnt to cultivate land and grow plants, cereals, grains, pulses, vegetables and fruits for his food. He has learnt to use the natural fiber to weave cloth and use the abundant natural resource of wood for building his shelter. The usage of plants is not limited to only this. Plants are useful to man in being able to cure him of ailments including diseases and infections too.
Recognizing the medicinal and curative properties of medicinal plants, man has for generations helped the plants in veneration and worshipped them besides studying their properties and growing them. Ancient civilizations and excavation sites like the ones at Iraq have provided clue to the fact that 60,000 years ago men used to cultivate medicinal plants and held them in high esteem.
Certain mystical plants and medicinal plants with hallucinogenic plants capable of producing hallucinations as well as helping individuals transcend the consciousness into higher realms are used by yogis and people who practice spiritual rituals and study. Certain sects in oriental cultures as well as other ancient societies use shamanistic practices involving few special plants.
Since time immemorial people have believed that plants and trees are also living spirits with a soul except that they are at a lower mode of expression of life. Accordingly they believed trees to be some guardian angels or spirits. Hindu philosophy has ascribed various holy trees to different deities and considers them auspicious residence where deities reside.
Man uses the plants in nature for his food and other uses to make his life comfortable. Since it is Mother Nature that nourishes him, he refers to the principle and most important gifts of nature that he uses as ‘Mother’. Coconuts give us food, oil, fiber, shell, rope and many more things. Its each and every part is useful for us. Therefore in many cultures coconut is worshiped and also called Mother coconut. Similarly cocoa plant is called mother cocoa.
Just like how trees are homes to good spirits and angels, there are trees that are homes to evil spirits and ghosts too. People do pray and worship the evil entities requesting and appeasing to them to protect mankind from harm and evil influence. Many plants are used by magicians and sorcerers to prepare brews and concoctions. Witches are known to use plants like belladonna in their witchcraft to prepare potions and other magic mixes.
Nature is abundant with both good and bad. Similarly there are good plants and there are plants that are poisonous or bad for man’s use. It is for man to learn to use good things and avoid using bad things and respect nature and be thankful.
