The stronger and more incomprehensible the plant acted, the more magical properties were attributed to it. Too much fame turned out to be sad for the mandrake: two of its species, especially appreciated, almost disappeared from the face of the earth. The search for the healing roots of the mandrake was accompanied by a very strange ritual, about which detailed records have been preserved.
According to legends, the one who hears the groan emitted by the mandrake when it is dug out of the ground must die. To avoid the death of a person and at the same time satisfy the thirst for blood, supposedly inherent in mandrake, when digging out its root, a dog was tied to it by the tail. She was shown a piece of meat, a hungry dog rushed to him with all his might, the root flew out of the ground, and the dog died in agony.
There was a belief that the mandrake should be sought under the gallows on which the innocent was executed. Mandrake seemed to grow on the wet man's emission, therefore it had an exciting power and contributed to the conception of the fetus. In the Old Testament, Leah and Rachel use the fruit of the mandrake (mandrake apples) to ensure conception (Genesis, 30, 14-23).
The Greeks associated the mandrake with Aphrodite, and Circe, with the magic potion from the mandrake, aroused love in people. The young men wore love amulets from her root.
Too great power was attributed to Mandragora, and at the end of the 16th century she disappeared from pharmacies and from the European market, persecuted 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 was very difficult to find the mandrake, they began to replace it with various fakes.
From the roots of bryony, ginseng, ginger, and belladonna, they cut out figures that looked like little men, inserted barley or millet grains into their heads and buried them in wet sand. The grains were sprouting, and the head of the "man" was covered with green "hair."
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The figurines were washed in wine, dressed up like dolls and sold for big money, claiming 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 drug. It was used by the Germans to depict domestic gods - Alruns. The sorcerers used it to go to the Sabbath. This root is a powerful astral thickener. His characteristic human shape 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). Collected on Midsummer and kept secretly until Maundy Thursday. If you fumigate a weapon on this day, the hunt will be successful.
In Greece and other countries, mandrake is considered an irreplaceable remedy against witchcraft and the surest way to fulfill love desires."
In the 18th century, Karl Linnaeus called it "healing mandrake". In 1902, the search for mandrake was unexpectedly 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. The Himalayan species was introduced into the culture in the Moscow region. Carnioli scopoly grows in the Western Caucasus in shady deciduous mountain forests, in Western Ukraine, in the spurs of the Carpathians, in Moldavia.
With great difficulty, they managed to find the magical mandrake. Two of its types: medicinal and autumn grow in southern Europe and the Middle East. They say that one; the species is found in the mountains of Turkmenistan.
A study of the chemical composition of mandrake roots showed the content of atropine, hyoscyamine, scopolamine and mandrake, an alkaloid characteristic only of this plant. The collection of these alkaloids is quite suitable for its action - to induce hallucinations, sleep, madness, love, etc. - in order to consider the mandrake associated with the devil.
In Arabia, it is believed that it glows at night, and therefore there it is called "the candle of the devil." This "flower of witches" (as it was called in Europe) is capable of depriving a person not only; reason, but also beauty, bewitch, cause harm. At the same time, they believed that it makes a person invulnerable, helps to find treasures, and is used for predictions.