Mandrake officinalis: description of properties, contraindications, photo. Magic herbs in Russia Adam's head plant

Among the natural remedies widely used by traditional medicine, special attention is drawn to the medicinal mandrake, which belongs to

Legends of the Mandrake

A distinctive feature of this perennial herb, called "male root", "cuckoo boots", "Adam's head", "raccoon berries", is a thick straight root, reminiscent of a human figure, which has become the subject of many superstitions, fictions and legends. One of them says that medicinal mandrake, when digging it out of the ground, emits a cry that can drive a person crazy or kill him. Therefore, in ancient times, a special protective rite was used to extract the "witch's flower" (as the people called the mandrake). Only a knowledgeable person could dig a plant. He did this not with his own hand (so as not to accept death from the plant), but tied a hungry dog to it, at a distance from which he threw a bone. The animal struggled to reach for food and, thus, pulled the magic root out of the ground, after which it died.

This magic root

The root of the plant was mined for various magical rituals, was considered a very strong amulet and was most valued if it accurately conveyed the shape of the human body, especially with the difference in sex: female and male. It is believed that men should be treated with a male mandrake, and women with a female mandrake.

Herbalists used the crushed root of the plant to treat carbuncles, sore joints, and elephant disease. Shamans used the hallucinogenic properties of mandrake for astral travel to another world.

Description of the plant

Mandrake officinalis (photo can be seen in the article) is found in natural conditions in Central Asia, the Himalayas, the Mediterranean, Transcaucasia, the Middle and Near East.

Prefers well-drained sandy and loamy soils. Loves the abundance of the sun, is also able to grow in partial shade. It is characterized by a long (about 1 meter) root that helps the plant to survive long dry periods. At temperatures below -15 ° C, it dies. The stem of the plant is absent or very short. The leaves are large (about 80 cm in length), have an oval or lanceolate shape, are collected in a basal rosette, and are characterized by a strong unpleasant odor.

Flowers are solitary, consist of a large 5-divided calyx and a campanulate 5-lobed corolla. At the beginning of flowering (in May), they are characterized by a light green color, which turns purple closer to autumn. The fruit looks like a large orange or yellow berry, has a pleasant fruity aroma and looks like a small apple or physalis. It tastes like a tomato.

Chemical composition

Traditional medicine has managed to reveal the properties beneficial to the body in the poisonous mandrake and uses all parts of the plant in its recipes. The roots and fruits contain psychoactive highly toxic alkaloids:

Mandragora officinalis (the photo conveys the modest attractiveness of the plant) is characterized by a calming, analgesic, cold, hypnotic effect. In terms of pharmacological properties, the plant is close to belladonna, dope, henbane.

The alkaloids that make up it suppress the functionality of the central nervous system, therefore the plant is characterized by a hypnotic effect.

The healing properties of the root

Mandrake root has been used to relieve toothache, hemorrhoids and complications during labor. It was ground to a powdery state and added to the beer. The same drink was recommended for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Boiled in milk, mandrake root helped as a poultice for non-healing chronic ulcers.

Freshly squeezed root juice can help soothe the pain of rheumatism and gout. The great Avicenna advised it as an effective remedy for removing freckles and treating bruises. "Mandrake tears" were mixed into a glass of wine and given as an anesthetic for surgical operations. In combination with honey and milk in a crushed form, the root of the plant was applied externally to tumors, edematous places, and compacted glands. In dried form, it was used for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as for joint and muscle pain.

Since ancient times, the plant has been attributed to the properties of an aphrodisiac: a handful of crushed root was added to a bottle of wine. The drink was infused for a week. To improve the taste, 2-3 sticks of cinnamon and a tablespoon of saffron were added to it. It was also believed that medicinal mandrake, the benefits of which have been proven by the scientific luminaries of antiquity, helps with infertility and inhibits the growth of cancer cells.

Mandrake treatments

Headaches, ulcers, open wounds, liver and spleen diseases were cured with a medicine that included dried mandrake fruits, opium poppy, cyperus flowers, common harmala and cinnamon, previously ground into powder and combined in equal parts.

A decoction of mandrake was used for painful manifestations in the limbs, sacrum area, as well as for the treatment of febrile conditions. Fresh leaves of the plant helped with toothache. To do this, they had to be thoroughly chewed. The smoke from burning the leaves of the plant helped in the treatment of coughs and headaches.

In small doses, mandrake medicinal helps with phobias, melancholy and depression. Even Homer described in his works that the smoke from the burning roots of a plant was used to fumigate epileptics. To fall asleep quickly, it was enough to hold a mandrake apple in your hand before going to bed or drink a glass of wine containing powder of dried mandrake root, ivy, henbane and licorice one pinch each.

Mandrake against disease

In ancient times, medicinal mandrake, the description of which was well known to ancient healers, was considered a universal medicine and helped in the treatment of:

depressive conditions,
abscesses,
inflammation of the eyes,
tumors,
gout
skin inflammation,
hemorrhoids
impotence,
headaches
convulsions
snake bites,
food poisoning
corns,
worms
loss of speech
open wounds and so on.

Mandrake has also been used to normalize the menstrual cycle.

Mandrake officinalis: the action of the plant

In modern medicine, the root extract is included in the composition of analgesic, hypnotic and antispasmodic drugs. Mandrake medicinal, the use of which was in wide demand several centuries ago, helps with disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, pain of various kinds, in the treatment of vitiligo and other skin pathologies. The leaves of the plant have a cooling effect, therefore, an extract based on them is added to gels and ointments for the treatment of external wounds.

Today, in folk medicine, mandrake harvesting is done without the use of mystical rituals. The roots are dug up by hand in late August - early September, after the mandrake has faded. The alkaloids contained in its composition are well studied by modern medicine and are used in a narrowly targeted manner to reduce internal secretion, acidity, intestinal and gastric activity, as well as relieve spasms.

It is better to harvest the leaves of the plant before the fruits ripen. It is recommended to dry raw materials in a well-ventilated place, out of direct sunlight. In its finished form, it can be used for smoking instead of ordinary tobacco, as part of smoking mixtures, or as incense and incense.

Tincture and ointment recipe

To prepare the tincture, you need to pour alcohol in a 1 to 4 ratio of the peeled and crushed root of the plant. Let it brew for 15 days. In finished form, the drug is recommended to be taken for insomnia, gout and rheumatism, 3-8 drops diluted with water.

To prepare a medicinal ointment based on mandrake, you need to combine the tincture of the plant with internal fat in a ratio of 1 to 5 and apply externally to relieve pain.

For the treatment of bruises and injuries, it is effective to use lotions from fresh juice combined with water in a ratio of 1 to 5. Or you can use an alcohol tincture diluted with water at a rate of 1 to 10.

Mandragora officinalis: contraindication for use

Mandrake is very poisonous. The main damage to the brain is caused by the substance scopolamine. Its uncontrolled independent use can lead to disturbances in brain function, hallucinations, memory loss, coma, respiratory arrest and death. Signs of mandrake poisoning are nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, staggering when walking, dilated pupils, dry mouth, and asthma attacks. Pregnant women, nursing mothers and children should not use mandrake.

Fresh fruits of the plant contain a small amount of alkaloids, so their consumption does not pose any health risks.

Modern medicine can offer a wide range of drugs of similar action, which are safer for health. Therefore, when choosing between drugs based on mandrake or other means with an appropriate therapeutic effect, it is better to prefer the second option.

Signs associated with the mandrake

It has been known for a long time that medicinal mandrake, the properties of which have found their main application in the medical field, helps in financial transactions, so knowledgeable people used it as a talisman. This was especially true of illegal, clandestine transactions, which saved them from disclosure. If the root is put in one place with the money, then their amount will double.

The root of a plant is able to give its owner prosperity, power, wealth, provided that the owner will never part with him: neither at night nor during the day. The use of the mandrake as a home talisman needs special treatment. The figurine should be dressed up in clothes and kept at home in a secret place, away from prying eyes. During home meals, you should put the little man in a place of honor, treat him first, and then yourself. On Saturdays, the talisman is recommended to be bathed in wine, and on the first day of the new moon, dressed in new clothes. It is believed that medicinal mandrake is capable of helping in the search for treasure, can predict the future.

Other plant names:

Adam's head, cuckoo's boots, love apples, male root, umbilical, empty, sleeping potion, shriek grass, pineapple, devil's apples.

Brief description of mandrake officinalis:

Mandrake medicinal (Adam's head) Is a perennial plant related to belladonna. Mandragora is able to withstand prolonged summer drought, leaving only a rosette of leaves on the surface of the earth, rising to a great height. Its root, going down to a depth of 2 m, is dark brown on the outside and white on the inside; it bifurcates in an amazing way, becoming like a human body.

On the sides of the "body" are located one side root, resembling hands. Mandrake is a stemless plant with large oval leaves, collected in a basal rosette, up to 1.6 m in diameter. Mandrake officinalis flowers are purple and appear in autumn, and wild flowers appear in spring and have a light greenish tint. The fruits resemble small yellow apples and give off a sweet and delicate aroma. It was the fruits of this plant that the Egyptians considered a means of arousing sensuality, and to them, in turn, this knowledge passed from the Arabs, who called these fruits "the apples of the devil" because of the exciting dreams they caused. The spring mandrake (Mandragora vernalis) is considered a male species and grows in more northern regions. The male mandrake also differs from the female, or medicinal, mandrake by a thicker root - a whitish color both outside and inside; a more pronounced unpleasant, stupefying, exciting smell that spreads from the leaves and flowers of the plant; finally, its fruit is considerably larger than that of the female mandrake. However, both plant species are equally hermaphrodites. The plant has a strong and unpleasant odor. Its berries glow at dawn due to the presence of phosphorus in them.

The signs by which it was necessary to look for the mandrake were known and described by Dioscorides. In the 18th century, Karl Linnaeus met her and called her healing mandrake. Other botanists later described two species of it - autumn and spring. Both species are very similar to belladonna. The autumn mandrake flowers are purple, the spring ones are light green, and the leaves, unlike belladonna, do not grow on the stem, but grow from the base of the root.

But the mandrake disappeared, and there was a period when they could not find it. Suddenly, in 1902, the search was successful. On the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, they found an almost ancient mandrake - its closest relative - the Carniolian scopoly, then in the Himalayas they found a light yellow scopoly. In China, back in 1872, Przhevalsky described the Tangut scopoly.

Growing places:

The medicinal mandrake species grows in southern Europe and is especially abundant in Calabria and Sicily. With great difficulty, they managed to find the magical mandrake. Two of its species - medicinal and autumn - grow in southern Europe and the Middle East. They are very difficult to find because the above-ground part fades quickly. Mandrake grows in Turkmenistan as well. In the spring, bunches of edible, melon-smelling orange fruits ripen on it.

Mandrake harvest:

For medicinal purposes, the root of the plant is used. Paracelsus talked about a peculiar way of pulling a plant out of the ground. In his opinion, this can be done only in the evening, leaning in the direction of the setting sun, turning his face away from the plant. Collected on the day of Kupala and kept secretly until Maundy Thursday. It was believed that if you fumigate a gun with a mandrake on that day, the hunt would be successful.

The chemical composition of mandrake officinalis:

A chemical study of the roots of mandrake has established in them the presence of alkaloids atropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine and others, among which is mandrake, which is characteristic only of this plant.

Roots, fruits and seeds contain alkaloids: atropine, hyoscyamine, mandrake, scopolamine, etc.

All these active ingredients form the basis of the chemical composition of the medicinal mandrake (Adam's head).

Pharmacological properties of mandrake officinalis:

The pharmacological properties of mandrake are determined by its chemical composition. Mandragora has analgesic, sedative, hypnotic, cholagonic, narcotic and anesthetic properties so strong that the person under its influence seems to be dead.

Probably mandrake arouses sensuality; visions, hallucinations and delusional states caused by it can lead to dementia, which at one time was noticed by Hippocrates. The Assyrians used it as a sleeping pill and pain reliever. Hippocrates clarified that in small doses it is an effective remedy for fear and depression. In larger quantities, it produces strange sensory impressions akin to hallucinations. In even larger doses, mandrake has a sedative and hypnotic effect and, finally, induces deep sleep, accompanied by complete insensibility. Homer mentioned that epileptics were treated by inhaling mandrake vapors. In terms of pharmacological activity, mandrake root extracts are close to belladonna, henbane, and dope. The roots are used for the preparation of pain relievers and antispasmodics for gastrointestinal diseases, as well as for muscle, joint and neuralgic pains.

Mandrake thins mucus.

The use of mandrake in medicine, treatment with mandrake:

Plants have been known since the time of Dioscorides. The roots were used to make ointments and drinks for special rituals, just as belladonna and henbane were used in the Middle Ages. In the Middle Ages, mandrake was used in syrups and other drugs for insomnia and pain. In order to quickly fall asleep, it was enough to hold a mandrake apple in your hand before going to bed. The rhizome peel and juice mixed with brandy were given to patients before the operation as anesthesia.

In the Middle Ages, the doctrine of similarity was in use. In accordance with it, people believed, for example, that walnut kernels, reminiscent of the hemispheres of the brain, could be used to treat headaches. Therefore, the man-like root of the mandrake was considered a remedy for all diseases in the world. And also love potions and means were made from it, with the help of which, it seems, it is easy to find treasures. And not a single self-respecting sorcerer appeared in public without a magical root. Since ancient times, mandrake has been used in folk medicine. The ancient Greek naturalist and philosopher, one of the first botanists, Theophrastus wrote about its hypnotic effect, warning that in large doses, drugs from the mandrake can lead to death. It is now known that mandrake, like many nightshades, contains poisonous substances that cause hallucinations.

It was believed that this plant can cure all ailments - from insanity to insomnia. Her "apples" (orange fruits), it was believed, strengthened sexual desire, helped from infertility.

Saint Abbess Hildegard (1098-1178), who lived in the Rupertsberg monastery near Bingen, built at her own expense, was famous as a prophetess. Hildegard recommended to immediately put the dug root in the spring water, then "all anger and nasty things from it will disappear." She prescribed the use of the corresponding parts of the figurine of the root for diseases of various parts of the body: for headaches - "head", for pain in the throat - "neck", etc.

And if "... someone is in a bad mood and does not find peace because of sadness and grief, let him put the mandrake in his bed so that the plant will warm from his sweat."

As a hallucinogen, mandrake has been used in tea (in very small doses) - because it has tremendous power as a mystical herb, causing visions and facilitating their manifestation in reality.

Dosage forms, method of administration and dosage of Mandrake medicinal preparations:

From the root of the mandrake, effective medicines and forms are made that are used in the treatment of many diseases. Let's consider the main ones.

In small doses, mandrake is used as an antidepressant, and in larger doses, it has a sedative and hypnotic effect.

Mandrake root tincture:

Tincture of mandrake root: infuse crushed root with alcohol in a ratio of 1: 4 for 15 days, strain. Take 3-10 drops as an analgesic and hypnotic for rheumatism, gout. Mandrake tincture is a part of medicines for vitiligo and air sickness.

Mandrake Root Oil:

Mandrake root oil: mix the interior fat with the mandrake tincture in a ratio of 1: 5. Use as an external pain reliever for rheumatism and gout.

Shredded Mandrake Plant:

Crushed fresh mandrake plant together with milk and honey should be used in the form of dressings as a softening agent for glandular thickening, swelling and swelling.

Contraindications for mandrake officinalis:

Mandrake is a very poisonous plant. Signs of poisoning are: nausea, vomiting cramps, muscle weakening (feeling of "cottoniness"), drowsiness, hallucinations. There is a possibility of falling into a comatose sleep.

A bit of history:

Mandrake is a symbol of the Great Mother, the giver of life. Circe's emblem. In European symbolism, mandrake personifies conception and fertility, and also has magical powers. Conspiracy plant. Mandragora has been compared to the spirit of the dead. First of all, this is evidenced by its ancient Latin name - Atropa, which then passed to henbane, which was characterized by somewhat similar properties. For many millennia and until recently, the mandrake was considered a predominantly sacred plant. The magical properties of the human figurine-like mandrake root were highly prized in the Middle Ages. Then they believed that he would bestow youth and health, beauty and love, happiness and wealth. The stronger and more incomprehensible the plant acted, the more magical properties were attributed to it, the more legends were formed about it. In this respect, perhaps, no plant is as "lucky" as the mandrake. Too much fame turned out to be sad for her: two species of mandrake, especially appreciated, almost disappeared from the face of the earth.

There are many legends about the origin of the mandrake and about its properties. Ancient Arabs and Germans believed in mandrake, demonic spirits that resembled little beardless men that lived in these plants. In ancient Greece, mandrake was called the plant of Circe, the goddess of witches, who prepared juice from the root and used it to turn Odysseus's companions into pigs. It is said that medieval witches at night gathered roots under the gallows, on which unrepentant criminals died, vicious from birth. The implication was that the root grows from where the semen and the decaying body of the culprit seeped. Mandrake has a reputation for enhancing love attraction and fertility, known as love apples. In Genesis, the barren Rachel, the wife of Jacob (Israel), ate the roots of a mandrake and conceived Joseph. Mandragora is given to women to give birth to as many sons as possible, Arab men wear mandrake roots as amulets to enhance their masculinity. From legends it is known that the mandrake shrinks when a person approaches. Touching her can be fatal. In order to get the mandrake root, the method described by Theophrastus (372–287 BC) was used.

You can pull out a mandrake only in the evening. Above all, the healer must bow in the direction of the setting sun and pay tribute to the deities of hell. After that, with an iron sword, never used, it is necessary to draw three magic circles around the stem of the mandrake, turning the face away in order to avoid sinister emanations that penetrate the body, inflating it (unless you take precautions and do not lubricate the body with vegetable oil). Then it is best not to participate in pulling out the plant, but to tie the dog to the plant and toss it a piece of meat that it would not be able to reach. Reaching for the meat, the dog will pull out the root from the ground, taking on all the negative energy. The mandrake pulled out by the roots screams and oozes blood, and the one who pulls it out dies in agony. It is also believed that the root can predict the future: it shakes its head in response to the questions asked.

The legend that the mandrake grows from the seed of hanged murderers illustrates the transition from the idea that a plant in the form of a human could provide magical benefits to the idea that it represents demonic forces.

In everyday symbolism, the mandrake represented the negative and small sides of the soul.

Too great power was attributed to Mandragora, and at the end of the 16th century she disappeared from both pharmacies and the European market, pursued by collectors and traders of her roots.

The stories about her, however, did not stop. On the contrary, there are more of them. And since it is very difficult to find the mandrake, they began to replace it with various fakes. From the roots of bryony, ginseng, ginger, belladonna and other plants, figures resembling little men were cut out, barley or millet grains were inserted into their "heads" and buried in wet sand.

The grains were sprouting, the "head" of the little man was covered with "hair".

The figurines were washed in wine, dressed up like dolls, and sold for a lot of money, assuring them that they help to open the veil of the future, bring happiness, multiply wealth, and bewitch lovers. Here is what Papus wrote about the mandrake in Black and White Magic: One of the 12 Rosicrucian plants. Unfavorable. It is capable of causing madness if it is not corrected by the sun, and in this case it turns out to be a good narcotic drug. It was used by the Germans to depict the domestic gods - the Alruns. The sorcerers used it to go to the Sabbath. As the popular belief said, the mandrake was used as a "doll" in voodoo witchcraft, witches could conjure, representing the "figure" of the one against whom they directed their magic. In the place that the witch damaged at the mandrake, a person will inevitably be injured. In Germany, peasants made eyes from millet seeds for their mandrakes and treated them very kindly: they bathed, dressed, carefully wrapped them up for the night, sometimes putting them in a coffin. They did all this in order to get the opportunity to consult with the mandrake on important issues.

In France, these plants were considered close to the elves and called the hand of glory. They were often hidden in secret lockers, since it was dangerous to own a mandrake - its owner could be persecuted for witchcraft.

Mandrake root is a powerful astral thickener. His characteristic human form indicates special qualities and outstanding energy. This form served as the basis for the crazy theories of some magicians who wanted to find a life elixir in it or make fake teraphim (fortune telling devices).

There was a belief that if you consecrate with water the root of the Adam's head, collected on the day of Ivan Kupala, and put it on or under the throne in the church, and after forty days take it for yourself, then you can see the evil spirits, in order, for example, to steal the invisibility hat from the goblin. as believed in the Vologda province. It was believed that if you give an infusion of this herb to drink to a person, then he “denounces” “which person is spoiled and who spoils”.

It was also believed that Adam's head heals wounds, facilitates childbirth, strengthens mill dams and inspires courage. In the Perm province, together with the Peter's cross, they sewed it into an amulet, which was hung around the neck of a cow to protect it from the plague. In the Nizhny Novgorod province, Adam's head and Peter's cross, in order to protect themselves from diseases, were sewn into a shirt at the seams or the cross was trimmed. The hunters fumigated the Adam's head, collected on the day of Ivan Kupala and stored until Maundy Thursday, bullets and snares.

Adam's head in different regions was described in different ways, respectively, it is identified as:

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Excerpt from Adam's head (plant)

- Yes, that is so, - Prince Vasily continued impatiently, rubbing his bald head and again angrily pulling the table that was pulled back to him, - but finally ... finally the point is, you yourself know that last winter the count wrote a will, according to which he had the entire estate , in addition to direct heirs and us, he gave to Pierre.
- You never know he wrote wills! - said the princess calmly. - But he could not bequeathed to Pierre. Pierre is illegal.
“Ma chere,” Prince Vasily said suddenly, pressing the table to him, perking up and starting to speak quickly, “but what if the letter was written to the emperor, and the count asks to adopt Pierre? You see, according to the count's merits, his request will be respected ...
The princess smiled, as do people who think that they know the business more than those with whom they are talking.
“I’ll tell you more,” Prince Vasily continued, grabbing her hand, “the letter was written, although it was not sent, and the emperor knew about it. The only question is whether it was destroyed or not. If not, then how soon everything will end - Prince Vasily sighed, making it clear that he meant everything would end by words - and the count's papers will be opened, the will with the letter will be handed over to the emperor, and his request will probably be respected. Pierre, as a legitimate son, will receive everything.
- And our part? - asked the princess, smiling ironically, as if everything, but not this, could happen.
- Mais, ma pauvre Catiche, c "est clair, comme le jour. [But, my dear Katish, this is as clear as day.] Then he is the only legitimate heir to everything, and you will not get any of this. You should know, my dear, were the will and the letter written, and were they destroyed. And if for some reason they are forgotten, then you must know where they are and find them, because ...
- It was just lacking! - the princess interrupted him, smiling sardonically and without changing the expression of her eyes. - I am a woman; according to you we are all stupid; but I know so well that an illegitimate son cannot inherit ... Un batard, [Illegal,] - she added, believing with this translation to finally show the prince his groundlessness.
- How do you not understand, finally, Katish! You are so smart: how do you not understand - if the count wrote a letter to the emperor, in which he asks him to recognize his son as legitimate, therefore, Pierre will not be Pierre, but Count Bezukhoi, and then he will receive everything according to his will? And if the will and the letter are not destroyed, then you, except for the consolation that you were virtuous et tout ce qui s "en suit, [and everything that follows from this] will have nothing left. This is true.
- I know that the will has been written; but I also know that it is not valid, and you seem to regard me as a complete fool, mon cousin, ”said the princess with the expression with which women speak, believing that they have said something witty and insulting.
“My dear Princess Katerina Semyonovna,” Prince Vasily began impatiently. - I came to you not to dive with you, but to talk about your interests as with a dear, good, kind, true dear. I tell you for the tenth time that if the letter to the sovereign and the will in favor of Pierre is in the count's papers, then you, my dear, and your sisters, are not the heiress. If you don’t believe me, then believe people who know: I just spoke with Dmitry Onufriich (he was a lawyer at home), he said the same. Adam's head Adam's head - according to Russian beliefs - is a magic herb. IN AND. Dahl identifies this plant (without noting its magical properties) as mandrake or black thistle Centaurea scabiosa.

In some herbalists "Adam's head" is called "the king in all herbs." According to ancient herbalists, "the grass of Adam's head ... grows near strong Ramenskoe swamps, and grows in bushes of 8, 6, 9 and 12 in a leaf an inch tall, the color of crimson, round, and the Velmi blooms well - jugs of every kind ". Like other wonderful herbs, "Adam's head", according to the healers, should have been collected with a cross and prayer: "And tear that herb with the cross of the Lord and say: Our Father, God have mercy on me ...".

The grass "Adam's head" has long been used as a talisman and medicine for many diseases. In some places, a decoction from it was given to people who had been spoiled, as well as to pregnant women who had come to give birth (to facilitate childbirth). It was used as a powder for wounds: three days will heal. " In the Nizhny Novgorod province. "Adam's head" together with the grass root "Peter's cross" was sewn into the shirt at the seams and especially into the collar, and they also tied these herbs to the pectoral cross, considering it a universal remedy for any disease. In the Perm province. "Adam's head" together with the "Peter's cross" was sewn into an amulet together with grass and hung around the neck of cows "as a warning against the plague."

According to the beliefs of different places, the grass "Adam's head" inspires courage and relieves the fear of heights: "who wants to climb high - there is no fear with it and the earth seems close." Collected on Midsummer's Day and secretly preserved until Maundy Thursday, the "Adam's head" fumigated their hunting equipment (snares, nets and guns with bullets), believing that after that it would be reliably protected from damage and no prey would leave the hunter. In some places, the "Adam's head" was also used in the construction of dams and mills: it was laid "on a pillow to the dam", believing that after that "the dam will be indestructible forever."

In addition, the grass "Adam's head" was used by the people in order to gain a certain power over unclean spirits. The peasants believed that a person who wants to see all the "lost power" should insist the root of this herb on consecrated water and drink the resulting infusion, and also put the grass "Adam's head" in the church under the throne and leave it there for forty days, after which it , according to popular belief, will acquire such miraculous power that if you hold it in your hand, you can see the devil, devils or demons: "And who wants to see the devil or a heretic, and take that root with water, consecrate, and put it on the throne and not for 40 days and those days will pass with you - behold the water and air demons. And if you want to keep water or set up mills, keep it with you. "

At the same time, in some places, such a rite of consecration was advised to be performed not over the grass, but over the flower of the "Adam's head" blooming on St. unclean spirits: "then you can tear off the hat from the devil (that is, the invisible hat, which, according to legends, unclean spirits possess - the devil, bannik, etc.), put on yourself and you will become as invisible as the devil."

"The king of all herbs" - so respectfully called a plant called Adam's head or mandrake, as it was called in Western Europe. They said that “whoever wants to see a heretic or a devil, take the root of a mandrake, consecrate it and put it on the throne in the temple. In forty days, take it and carry it with you - you will recognize water and air demons. And when someone is wounded, apply it to the wound, and immediately everything will heal. "

In Russia, hunters mainly believed in the magical effect of Adam's head. Before going to the forest to hunt, it was supposed to fumigate the leaves of the plant with the hunting equipment, and it acquired strength and luck. And on this day, hunting was always good, especially for wild ducks.
According to legends, you need to look for the mandrake with extreme caution. It was necessary to turn to face the west, outline three times with a knife the place where you are looking for the plant. Then tie Adam's head to the tail of the black dog and force it to pull out the root. At the same time, at the moment of pulling out, a terrible cry was heard. If you try to pluck a plant yourself without a dog, then death is inevitable.

Adam's head, according to I. P. Sakharov, “is in great respect among the villagers. The sorcerers collect it on Midsummer's Day and keep it secretly until Maundy Thursday. According to the popular concept, the sorcerous power of the Adam's head extends only to the ducks. Hunters, who received this herb from the hands of a noteworthy sorcerer, fumigate all the shells they use when catching ducks in the Great Four. "

Tyrlich or Witch's Potion is an herb that is considered demonic. On the eve of the holiday of Ivan Kupala, witches and sorceresses go to Lysaya Gora to collect tirlich grass. Juice is squeezed out of the grass, with which the witches lubricate their hands and feet. This helps with enchanting. Whoever is completely rubbed with grass becomes a werewolf and can turn into anyone. If a simple peasant finds this herb and does the same, he will be able to communicate with witches and ghouls. Knowing this, the sorceresses try to protect those places where tyrlich grows from ordinary people, in every possible way leading them astray.

Adam's head, Adam's beard, Adam's bone, Adam's rib, Adam's - plants and objects of unusual shape, endowed with healing or supernatural powers.

In ideas about Adamovism, the line between its real and fantastic properties is subtle: the people have a lot of extraordinary things in nature, “reminiscent of human forms,” “as well as everything that belongs to distant times is called Adam’s or Adam’sism. The poisonous plant Actaea spicata L., the most common remedy for almost all diseases in the Vyatka province, is called the Adam's rib. Blue balls (Echinops Ritro L.) are called Adam's head in Perm province. This plant is sewn into an amulet together with the Peter's cross (a grass that looks like a cross) and hung around the neck of cows as a warning against the plague. In the Nizhny Novgorod province, the following instruction is considered a universal remedy for any disease: take the root of Peter's cross and the grass of Adam's head, sew it into a shirt at the seams and especially on a collar, or put it on a cross "<Демич, 1899>.

The description of the grass of Adam's head is invariably found in ancient herbalists, where it is called “the king in all herbs”: “There is a grass, the Adam's head, grows near strong Ramenskoye swamps, and grows in bushes of 8, 6, 9 and 12, in a leaf growth in a span, the color of crimson, round, and the velma blooms well - jugs of every kind. And tear that grass with the cross of the Lord and say: Our Father, God have mercy on me.<…>And bring that herb into your house, which a man is corrupted, and who spoils, let him drink and expose him. And who wants to see the devil or a heretic, and take that root with water, consecrate, and put it on the throne (church. - M. V.) and not for 40 days and those days will pass with you - behold the water and air demons. And if you want to keep water or set up a mill, keep it with you.<…>And when someone is wounded or beaten, apply it to the wound, he will heal in three days. "

In the Vologda region, Adam's head was described a little differently: "... it grows in bushes in the elbow, 3 and 5 and 12 in height in the knee, the color is rudo-yellow, red, like a head with a mouth." This herb facilitates childbirth, strengthens the mill dams, inspires courage, and helps in witchcraft: the flower of Adam's head (Cypripedium calceolus from the orchid family), blooming on St. ". After that, the flower “receives such miraculous power that if you hold it in your hand, you will see the Devil, devils, devil, in a word - all the“ falling away ”power. Then you can rip off the devil's hat, put it on, and you will become as invisible as the devil. ”(Vologda)<Иваницкий, 1890>.

Collected on Midsummer's Day and secretly preserved until Maundy Thursday, the Adam's head was fumigated by the hunters for more successful catching of wild ducks.

The head of Adam was also called the "dead head", that is, the skull.

Adam's beard- the Asclepia plant, which has a "root with a beard". According to V. Dahl, Adamovschina (Adam's bone) (Arch., Sib.) - fossil wood and bone. In a non-petrified form, they can be called "Noahism"<Даль, 1880>.

Adam's children- devilry; brownies, gobies, etc.

“Atchavo eta lisavyi curled up, vadyanyi, palyavi, damavyi? It is true to the children of Adam that he was ashamed to show God behind him that Iago's wife has enriched a whole arava ”(Smol.).

The name goes back to the apocryphal legend about the children of Adam and Eve, who were born after the Fall: for this secrecy, he made sure that the children of the forefather would remain forever in places of concealment, where they live, multiplying like people ”(Olon.).

In the Smolensk province, they said that Eve advised Adam, before going to God, to hide some of the children in the reeds: “As Adam walked from God, think:“ Let me come in, vazma of your children are near the reeds! ”

And their titles are not even there, - we didn’t disappear, but they made a strong dark one: khazyaevs to ladies, lyasovs to forests, vadyans to ladies - the idea for whom God has made to live ”.

In the title "Adam's Children", the popular rethinking of the biblical narrative was combined with the ideas of the peasants about the host of unclean people (brownies, goblin, banniks) as special, "hidden people", ancestors, and the dead. They are connected by various (kinship, contractual, etc.) relationships with those supernatural forces and beings that, according to pre-Christian beliefs, fill the whole world - land, waters, forests.

V. Dahl adds that Adam's children are "all people in the sense of sinners"<Даль, 1880>.

Vlasova Marina. Encyclopedia of Russian superstitions

Official application

The medicinal plant Adam's head (male root; pokrik; mandrake; sleeping potion) grows in southern and central Russia, in shady places.

The properties of the root of Adam's head are poisonous, depending on the lulling sharp beginning; the smell of fresh root is unpleasant, hypnotic. The taste is bitter, sickening; root crust: sharp. When dried, the pungency is significantly weakened.

The root of Adam's head is given in small doses: to relieve pain and go to sleep, especially in convulsive manifestations, hysteria, aches and melancholy. Outside, the root is often used finely crushed and mixed with honey; as well as steaming in milk, the root of Adam's head is applied in the form of cataplasm, for breeding zygomatic tumors (parotides), cervical scrofulous scrofulous indurations, tight groins and venereal strength of the nuclei. Fresh pounded leaves of Adam's head also serve as an analgesic and diluting cataplasm.

Inside, the root of Adam's head is given in liqueurs, in very small doses, assuming 20 grains of dry crushed root in 10 ounces of boiling water, and insisting ½ hour, the strained liqueur is given in a tablespoon, several times a day. In powder, taken from 2 - 3 grains, produces a sedative effect. To tame severe aches and gouty pain, the root of Adam's head is given from 1 to 4 grains per day, mixed with honey.

Recently, while visiting an old woman I know, I accidentally brushed plastic flower pots from the window. Trying to quickly cover up the traces of the robbery, I could not help but pay attention to the unusual plant blooming with small blue flowers. More precisely, its roots were unusual, clearly repeating the human body. Out of curiosity overwhelming me, I confessed to the hostess of my fault and presented my find. The old woman smiled and told me many interesting things about this flower, which is famous for its roots.

Adam's head, or mandrake Is a legendary plant with amazing properties that have been used by the people for thousands of years.

This beautiful plant with red and orange berries is surrounded by mystery. There are legends about him. It is popularly called the Adam's head, a half-human grass, a humanoid plant, a male root ... It has been known since antiquity, for many centuries amazing people with its roots, which are surprisingly similar in shape to the human body.

He has always been credited with miraculous properties. It was claimed that the mandrake grows in the very center of paradise. True, over the centuries, more and more people appeared who believed that the mandrake, on the contrary, was a product of hell. But no matter what anyone says, for a very, very long time, the roots of the plant have been used as a remedy supposedly curing frigidity and sexual impotence.

It was believed that mandrake with its purple and blue leaves is endowed with other incredible qualities. Homeopaths are convinced that the appearance of the plant speaks of its undeniable healing power. The root, bearing an obvious divine sign, was used by them as a universal healing remedy.

In a record found in one of the Egyptian papyri, mandrake is reported as an aphrodisiac; the fruit of the plant was used to make a "love drink". Among the Assyrians, mandrake found application as an anesthetic and sleeping pill. The Greek physician Dioscorides used a mandrake extract to lull the soldiers of Nero's army during surgery.

The famous Hippocrates studied the effects of different dosage forms obtained from the plant. His conclusion: small doses have a mild stimulating effect that saves you from melancholy (antidepressant), with an increase in the dose, the effect is the opposite - soothing, sedative.

It was said that at the moment when the mandrake was uprooted from the ground, the plant uttered a terrifying cry. From this scream, a person died. Therefore, advice was given that in order to pull out a plant, you need to tie a hungry dog to it, then throw a piece of meat at a distance from the animal; the dog will rush to him, pull out the root and die ...

These are the legends of the mandrake. But what in reality? Modern doctors have found that some varieties of the plant have healing properties - and not only the roots, but also large orange and yellow berries. A number of pain relieving drugs are made from mandrake, which contains the alkaloids hyoscyamine and scopolamine. But still, the Adam's head is especially popular in folk medicine.