How I used Blue Lotus to space out and have weird dreams

This post departs from my usual nutrition and productivity enhancements, but don’t be alarmed as I’ve had more “recreational” substances in my backlog for some time as well. I’m currently working on a book for general male health, so keep an eye out for that in January.

Sacred blue lily

Today I’m going to talk about blue lotus.

It’s a name for a simple flower and isn’t slang for anything more illicit than that. Blue lotus (nymphaea caerulea), also known as the Egyptian water lily, is a flowering water-lily native to Egypt but may be found growing in other parts of the world.

Of interest to you and I are its psychoactive effects — the effects of the lotus on the mind.

In ancient Egypt, the blue lotus was a facet of the mythos, and was revered for its properties and was often depicted in “party” scenes and in religious rites. In some experiences on the blue lotus some have it compared to MDMA or the comedown effect from certain psychedelics like lysergic acid. It naturally contains small amounts of alkaloids highly similar to those used for sedative and anticonvulsant purposes.

How to take the lotus

Wikipedia says the blue lotus may have been one of several candidates for the lotus consumed by the lotus-eaters in Homer’s Odyssey. I’m going to say that it’s plausible as it does have an effect and an interesting one at that, but it’s not quite the couch glue that cannabis is.

There are three ways people have taken the blue lotus:

1. Smoked
2. Brewed as tea
3. Tinctured/steeped in wine or other alcohol for weeks

For smoking, the lotus parts are hard to roll into a smokable form. Plus the amount that can be rolled and smoked is nowhere near the recommended amount that is advised to be taken in tea form (5 gram minimum).

I would say that the smoke did have an effect, but it was very mild, probably no stronger than if I had held my breath for 1 minute. The feeling lingered for at least an hour.

A tea brewed from blue lotus seems to be the best candidate for experiencing the flower’s psychoactive effects.

To prepare it, boil 1 or 2 cups of water, then add 5 grams of dried blue lotus petals and bulb and steep for about 20 minutes. Drink, and you’ll start to feel it in about 30 minutes. You could add more petals, maybe 5 to 10 grams more, if you want to feel extra relaxed.

On my first brewing of the tea, after getting past this buzzing feeling in my head in the first 10 minutes, I found that it has a very noticeable sedative effect. Not necessarily sleep-inducing, but it’s definitely conducive to sleep.

When awake, it puts you into a very dreamlike state, as if consciousness itself were a lucid dream and the mind is set free floating into lofty skies. Thoughts float effortlessly and actions arise from smoother deliberation. The tea itself isn’t too bad, it tastes very light and flowery.

I’d say that it’s got aphrodisiac potential, and tastes good with sweetener and a hint of lemon. More than one report I’ve read explains that sex with this stuff is definitely worth the experience for both parties.

Steeped in alcohol is another way to have the blue lotus. I put cheap wine into a double-boiler with blue lotus petals and prepared it in a similar way to the tea (without boiling the wine) and drank it. Aside from the depressant effects of the alcohol, it had similar marked effects as the water-extracted hot tea made previously.

One thing is for certain: I had very vivid dreams when I went to sleep with the blue lotus tea and the wine.

Final verdict on blue lotus

I enjoyed blue lotus in the tea form. I wouldn’t waste my time smoking it. In alcohol, I didn’t get to soak it for two weeks so I’m mum on that.

As tea, blue lotus is very good for relaxing, dreaming, and for creative thought. Not as common as chamomile but more potent. It makes the mind more fluid and free-flowing but is not stupefying like alcohol. All in all, worth trying at the least if you’ve got a night to kill.

One more thing: don’t do it every day or it loses its potency. Just once in a while is fine.

• If you’re interested in learning more, check out the Erowid page on lotus.
• My recommended supplier for blue lotus petals is Bouncing Bear Botanicals.