Post by D.eadly N.ightshade on Mar 1, 2007 7:52:59 GMT -5
Deadly Nightshade (Atropa Belladonna):
translation: Atropos (the Fate who cuts the thread of life); beautiful lady.
synonyms: Belladonna, Devil's Herb, Devil's Cherries, Naughty Man's Cherries, Black Cherry, Dwale, Divale, Dwayberry, Great Morel.
definition: dark thoughts; bitter truth; sorcery.
In Chaucer's days Deadly Nightshade was known as Dwale, perhaps from the Scandinavian dool, meaning delay or sleep, or from the French, deuil, grief, a reference to its fatal properties. According to legend, the plant belongs to the devil, who goes about trimming and tending it. He can only be diverted from its care one night in the year, on Walpurgis, when he is preparing for the witches' sabbath. Some hold that the apples of Sodom are the berries of Nightshade. The name Belladonna may have come from the old superstition that at times the plant would take on the appearance of an enchantress of exceeding loveliness. More generally it is said that the name came from the practice of Italian ladies to use its juice to give their eyes greater brilliancy, by dilating the pupil of the eye. Priests also used to drink an infusion of Belladonna when invoking the aid of Bellona, the Goddess of War, also it was referred to as the Wine of Circe. The generic name, Atropa, is derived from the Greek Atropos, the Fate who cut the thread of human life. Poisoning by Belladonna has symptoms of a complete loss of voice, frequent bending forward of the trunk and continual motion of the hands and fingers, and the pupils of the eyes becoming very dilated. Deadly Nightshade is one of the four classic poisons, along with Aconite, Hemlock, and Hellebore.
Taken
Aconite (Aconitum Napellus):
translation: cliff or rocky, or Aconae, its supposed place of origin; little turnip, in allusion to the shape of the roots.
synonyms: Wolfsbane, Monkshood, Helmet Flower, Mourning Bride, Blue Rocket, Thor's Hat, Soldier's Cap, Friar's Cap, Auld Wife's Huid.
definition: misanthropy; treachery; deciet; a deadly foe is near; chivalry; knight-errantry.
First called thung, a general name for a poisonous plant, in Anglo-Saxon vocabularies, later it gained the name Aconite. It was given the name Wolf's Bane because of the idea that arrows tipped with the juice, or baits annointed with it, would kill wolves. In the Middle Ages it became known as Monkshood and Helmet Flower, from the shape of the flower, Monkshood was the ordinary name in Shakespeare's time. Aconite is applied topically on the skin to diminish the pain of neuralgia, lumbago and rheumatism. Internally, Aconite diminishes the rate and force of the pulse in the early stages of fever and slight local inflammations. It relieves the pain of neuralgia, pleurisy and aneurism. It has been used with success in cardiac failure and its prevention, and is also a treatment for acute tonsillitis. Symptoms of poisoning include tingling, a sensation of ants crawling over the body, a numbness of tongue and mouth, nausea and vomiting, laboured breathing, irregular and weak pulse, and cold and clammy skin. The juice applied to a wounded finger affects the whole system, not only causing pains in the limbs, but a sense of suffocation and syncope. Aconite is said to be the invention of Hecate from the foam of Cerberus. Aconite is also supposed to have been the poison Medea prepared for Theseus. Aconite and Belladonna were said to be the ingredients in the witches' “Flying ointments,” Aconite causing irregular activity to the heart, and Belladonna producing delirium, to combine to give a sensation of flying. Aconite is one of the four classic poisons, along with Deadly Nightshade, Hemlock, and Hellebore.
Hemlock (Conium Maculatum):
translation: whirl about; spotted.
synonyms: False Parsley, Poison Parsley, Herb Bennet, Spotted Corobane, Musquash Root, Beaver Poison, Poison Hemlock, Spotted Hemlock, Kex, Kecksies.
definition: you will be my death.
The Ancients were familiar with Hemlock, which is mentioned in early Greek literature. The juice of Hemlock was frequently administered to criminals, and this was the fatal poison Socrates was condemned to drink. The generic name of Conium was the classical Greek name, and was derived from the Greek word Konas, meaning to whirl about, because the plant, when eaten, causes vertigo, and death. The Latin Maculatum means spotted, and refers to the purple-red stem markings, which according to an old English legend represent the brand put on Cain's brow after he commited the first murder. All parts of the plant are poisonous, though it is stated to be less strong in the root. Poisoning has occured from eating the leaves as parsley, the roots as parsnips, and the seeds as anise seeds. Many children have suffered by using whistles made from the hollow stem of Hemlock. Certain animals however, can eat Hemlock with impunity, though they may in turn contain enough of the poison to poison whoever eats them. Donkeys having eaten hemlock will often fall into a deep sleep, so deep in fact that they are thought by their owners to be dead, and have their skins flayed off, yet they awaken after the plant has gone through their system. In poisonous doses Hemlock produces complete paralysis and loss of speech, and depressed respiratory function that ultimately ceases altogether, death results from asphyxia. The mind remains unaffected to the last. In case of poisoning by Hemlock, the antidotes are tannic acid, stimulants and coffee, emetics of zinc, or mustard and castor oil, and, if necessary, artificial respiration. It is essential to keep up the temperature of the body. Like many other poisonous plants, Hemlock loses much of its poisonous properties when cut and dried, and cooking entirely destroys them. Its disagreeable odour has prevented its fatal use as a vegetable in its raw state. Hemlock is one of the four classic poisons, along with Deadly Nightshade, Aconite, and Hellebore.
Hellebore (Helleborus Niger):
translation: injure food; black, from the roots.
synonyms: Black Rose of Christmas, Christmas Rose, Christ Herbe, Melampode.
definition: calumny; scandal.
Hellebore blooms in the winter, and so is referred to as Christmas Rose. Atalus III, who was one of the great poison fanciers in history, had a fondness for hellebore, as the poison “racked the nerves and caused the victim to swell.” Pliny described a ritual for harvesting the roots of the plnt. A sword was used to draw a circle around the plant. The collector then prayed to the east for permission to dig up the plant. The collector would look to see if an eagle was flying nearby, for if an eagle was spotted, it foretold the death of the collector within the year. He also stated that Black Hellebore was used as a purgative in mania by Melampus, a soothsayer and physician 1,400 years before Christ. The plant was used to bless cattle and protect them from evil spells. Gerard, in his famous Herball, said of it that “a purgation of hellebore is good for mad and furious men, for melancholy, dull and heavie persons, and briefly for all those that are troubled with blacke choler, and molested with melancholy.” Hellebore is one of the four classic poisons, along with Deadly Nightshade, Aconite, and Hemlock.
Taken
translation: Atropos (the Fate who cuts the thread of life); beautiful lady.
synonyms: Belladonna, Devil's Herb, Devil's Cherries, Naughty Man's Cherries, Black Cherry, Dwale, Divale, Dwayberry, Great Morel.
definition: dark thoughts; bitter truth; sorcery.
In Chaucer's days Deadly Nightshade was known as Dwale, perhaps from the Scandinavian dool, meaning delay or sleep, or from the French, deuil, grief, a reference to its fatal properties. According to legend, the plant belongs to the devil, who goes about trimming and tending it. He can only be diverted from its care one night in the year, on Walpurgis, when he is preparing for the witches' sabbath. Some hold that the apples of Sodom are the berries of Nightshade. The name Belladonna may have come from the old superstition that at times the plant would take on the appearance of an enchantress of exceeding loveliness. More generally it is said that the name came from the practice of Italian ladies to use its juice to give their eyes greater brilliancy, by dilating the pupil of the eye. Priests also used to drink an infusion of Belladonna when invoking the aid of Bellona, the Goddess of War, also it was referred to as the Wine of Circe. The generic name, Atropa, is derived from the Greek Atropos, the Fate who cut the thread of human life. Poisoning by Belladonna has symptoms of a complete loss of voice, frequent bending forward of the trunk and continual motion of the hands and fingers, and the pupils of the eyes becoming very dilated. Deadly Nightshade is one of the four classic poisons, along with Aconite, Hemlock, and Hellebore.
Taken
Aconite (Aconitum Napellus):
translation: cliff or rocky, or Aconae, its supposed place of origin; little turnip, in allusion to the shape of the roots.
synonyms: Wolfsbane, Monkshood, Helmet Flower, Mourning Bride, Blue Rocket, Thor's Hat, Soldier's Cap, Friar's Cap, Auld Wife's Huid.
definition: misanthropy; treachery; deciet; a deadly foe is near; chivalry; knight-errantry.
First called thung, a general name for a poisonous plant, in Anglo-Saxon vocabularies, later it gained the name Aconite. It was given the name Wolf's Bane because of the idea that arrows tipped with the juice, or baits annointed with it, would kill wolves. In the Middle Ages it became known as Monkshood and Helmet Flower, from the shape of the flower, Monkshood was the ordinary name in Shakespeare's time. Aconite is applied topically on the skin to diminish the pain of neuralgia, lumbago and rheumatism. Internally, Aconite diminishes the rate and force of the pulse in the early stages of fever and slight local inflammations. It relieves the pain of neuralgia, pleurisy and aneurism. It has been used with success in cardiac failure and its prevention, and is also a treatment for acute tonsillitis. Symptoms of poisoning include tingling, a sensation of ants crawling over the body, a numbness of tongue and mouth, nausea and vomiting, laboured breathing, irregular and weak pulse, and cold and clammy skin. The juice applied to a wounded finger affects the whole system, not only causing pains in the limbs, but a sense of suffocation and syncope. Aconite is said to be the invention of Hecate from the foam of Cerberus. Aconite is also supposed to have been the poison Medea prepared for Theseus. Aconite and Belladonna were said to be the ingredients in the witches' “Flying ointments,” Aconite causing irregular activity to the heart, and Belladonna producing delirium, to combine to give a sensation of flying. Aconite is one of the four classic poisons, along with Deadly Nightshade, Hemlock, and Hellebore.
Hemlock (Conium Maculatum):
translation: whirl about; spotted.
synonyms: False Parsley, Poison Parsley, Herb Bennet, Spotted Corobane, Musquash Root, Beaver Poison, Poison Hemlock, Spotted Hemlock, Kex, Kecksies.
definition: you will be my death.
The Ancients were familiar with Hemlock, which is mentioned in early Greek literature. The juice of Hemlock was frequently administered to criminals, and this was the fatal poison Socrates was condemned to drink. The generic name of Conium was the classical Greek name, and was derived from the Greek word Konas, meaning to whirl about, because the plant, when eaten, causes vertigo, and death. The Latin Maculatum means spotted, and refers to the purple-red stem markings, which according to an old English legend represent the brand put on Cain's brow after he commited the first murder. All parts of the plant are poisonous, though it is stated to be less strong in the root. Poisoning has occured from eating the leaves as parsley, the roots as parsnips, and the seeds as anise seeds. Many children have suffered by using whistles made from the hollow stem of Hemlock. Certain animals however, can eat Hemlock with impunity, though they may in turn contain enough of the poison to poison whoever eats them. Donkeys having eaten hemlock will often fall into a deep sleep, so deep in fact that they are thought by their owners to be dead, and have their skins flayed off, yet they awaken after the plant has gone through their system. In poisonous doses Hemlock produces complete paralysis and loss of speech, and depressed respiratory function that ultimately ceases altogether, death results from asphyxia. The mind remains unaffected to the last. In case of poisoning by Hemlock, the antidotes are tannic acid, stimulants and coffee, emetics of zinc, or mustard and castor oil, and, if necessary, artificial respiration. It is essential to keep up the temperature of the body. Like many other poisonous plants, Hemlock loses much of its poisonous properties when cut and dried, and cooking entirely destroys them. Its disagreeable odour has prevented its fatal use as a vegetable in its raw state. Hemlock is one of the four classic poisons, along with Deadly Nightshade, Aconite, and Hellebore.
Hellebore (Helleborus Niger):
translation: injure food; black, from the roots.
synonyms: Black Rose of Christmas, Christmas Rose, Christ Herbe, Melampode.
definition: calumny; scandal.
Hellebore blooms in the winter, and so is referred to as Christmas Rose. Atalus III, who was one of the great poison fanciers in history, had a fondness for hellebore, as the poison “racked the nerves and caused the victim to swell.” Pliny described a ritual for harvesting the roots of the plnt. A sword was used to draw a circle around the plant. The collector then prayed to the east for permission to dig up the plant. The collector would look to see if an eagle was flying nearby, for if an eagle was spotted, it foretold the death of the collector within the year. He also stated that Black Hellebore was used as a purgative in mania by Melampus, a soothsayer and physician 1,400 years before Christ. The plant was used to bless cattle and protect them from evil spells. Gerard, in his famous Herball, said of it that “a purgation of hellebore is good for mad and furious men, for melancholy, dull and heavie persons, and briefly for all those that are troubled with blacke choler, and molested with melancholy.” Hellebore is one of the four classic poisons, along with Deadly Nightshade, Aconite, and Hemlock.
Taken
