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These plants, funghi and insect illustrations
are part of my botanical oracle deck

Atropa belladonna | Deadly Nightshade

Botanical Overview:

  • Family: Solanaceae

  • Common Names: Deadly Nightshade, Belladonna, Beautiful Lady, Devil’s Berries

  • Plant Type: Perennial herbaceous plant

  • Native Range: Native to Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia

  • Key Identifiers:

    • Tall, bushy plant with purple bell-shaped flowers

    • Dark green, ovate, and lobed leaves with a soft, fuzzy texture

    • Produces shiny black or dark purple berries that are highly toxic

    • Can grow up to 1.5 meters in height

    • Known for its pungent odor, particularly when flowering


Properties:

  • Active Compounds: Tropane alkaloids (atropine, scopolamine, hyoscyamine), solanine, tannins

  • Pharmacological Actions: Anticholinergic, antispasmodic, sedative, analgesic, deliriant, hallucinogenic


Distribution and Habitat:

  • Commonly found in shady areas, such as woodlands, hedgerows, and disturbed grounds in temperate regions

  • Prefers moist, fertile soils and partial to full shade

  • Grows in regions of Europe, parts of Asia, and North Africa; it is often considered invasive in some areas


Medicinal Uses:

  • Historical Uses: Used in traditional medicine for pain relief, to treat motion sickness, and as a sedative

  • Anticholinergic Effects: Due to the atropine and scopolamine content, Atropa belladonna has been used in small, controlled doses to treat conditions like motion sickness, peptic ulcers, and bradycardia (slow heart rate)

  • Muscle Relaxant: The plant’s alkaloids act as antispasmodics, which can help relax smooth muscles, making it useful in treating colicky pain or gastrointestinal spasms

  • Pupil Dilation: Atropine, derived from Atropa belladonna, has been historically used to dilate the pupils for medical examinations or in eye surgery

  • Caution: Due to the plant’s highly toxic nature, it is considered dangerous for self-medication, and overdoses can cause severe toxicity, including delirium, hallucinations, and death


Psychoactive Properties and Effects:

  • Psychoactive Nature:

    • Atropa belladonna contains tropane alkaloids, which have potent psychoactive effects, particularly at higher doses

    • Deliriant and Hallucinogenic: Ingesting the berries, leaves, or roots of Atropa belladonna can cause delirium, hallucinations, and confusion due to the anticholinergic effects of atropine and scopolamine

    • Sedation and Disorientation: The plant induces deep sedation, often leading to a state of unconsciousness or a trance-like state, though this can be dangerously disorienting

    • The hallucinatory experiences are typically disorganized and confusing, lacking the structured nature of a psychedelic experience, and often accompanied by negative symptoms such as agitation, nausea, and memory loss

    • Toxicity: The plant is highly toxic, and even small doses can cause severe poisoning, including dilated pupils, tachycardia, dry mouth, urinary retention, and in extreme cases, death


Magical Correspondences and Uses:

  • Element: Water

  • Planetary Association: Saturn, Mars

  • Magical Uses:

    • Atropa belladonna has long been associated with witchcraft, used in potions and ointments for flying or astral projection (though the effects are dangerous and unpredictable)

    • Often included in protective magic, particularly for warding off negative influences or for psychic defense

    • The plant’s connection to the underworld and the darker side of the spiritual world makes it a powerful tool for divination, especially when seeking contact with spirits or the deceased

    • Used in love magic, though its association with Venus is more complex due to the plant’s toxicity and the themes of power and control inherent in its use

    • It has also been associated with hexes, curses, and other forms of banishing magic due to its toxic and deadly nature


Folklore and Mythology:

  • Association with Witches: Atropa belladonna has a long history of use in European witchcraft, especially as a key ingredient in flying ointments. These potions were said to allow witches to fly or enter trance-like states, often with the aid of other psychoactive plants

  • Symbol of Death and Rebirth: The plant’s association with poison and death also connects it to the cycle of life, death, and rebirth in various mythologies. In some cultures, Atropa belladonna was seen as a symbol of the underworld, transformation, and the crossing of thresholds

  • The “Beautiful Lady”: The common name "belladonna" is derived from the Italian words "bella donna," meaning "beautiful lady." This name refers to its historical use by women to dilate their pupils for an enhanced appearance, though the practice was dangerous

  • Connection to the Goddess: In ancient mythology, Atropa belladonna was often linked to goddesses of death, transformation, and magic, such as Hecate, the Greek goddess of witchcraft and the underworld

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