Pulling The Mandrake Root

an historical essay

Traditional European lore makes much of the humble looking mandrake. First of all, the plant is a genuine medicinal herb related to tobacco. Its narcotic chemicals are concentrated in the tissues of the root and prescriptions for rejuvenating preparations of that substance have quite ancient standing.

But in the years between the Roman age and modern days – through some transformation of the popular imagination – this ordinary forest weed rose in human reckoning to the very apex of the vegetable world. Taken from Germanic languages, this name we have for it today means "humanish dragon".

And indeed; elaborate precautions were required to extract it from the ground. The living virtues in the little plant were said to be so strongly concentrated that whatever creature pulled it up would very likely be struck dead by its automatic blast of self-protective psychic emanations. Therefore the rope, thrown across some overhanging limb, was harnessed to a dog. The dog would then be startled up to run by the bugle which was blown to neutralize this little vegetative dragon's horrifying audible scream of protest at the violation.

Then what kills can cure in equal measure. A physician with it tamed in hand would find all dangers amply compensated. Any shortage of vitality in a human body's zones and fluids obviously would be a candidate for careful ministration of such medicine. And most of all, of course, this potent root was good for strengthening the most supremely vital human function. Mandrake was very dearly sought indeed for rejuvenating sexual passion.