Ephesian 6:12

In the beginning of S2E4, titled Evil Spirits in Heavenly Places, Ethan has insisted that Vanessa tell the others her story about the Cut-Wife, and that they are fighting against Nightcomers. Ethan quotes a rendition of Ephesian 6:12. He says:

“For thee are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against mighty powers in this dark realm”

Then Vanessa finishes the verse, saying:

“And against evil spirits in Heavenly places”

However, the actual verse from Ephesian 6:12 is:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Leviticus 20:27 Medium and Necromancers

In S2E3 (44:28), the pastor of the moor town, and Sir Geoffrey gather the townspeople into a pub to convince them to burn Joan Clayton alive. In order to convince and rile the crowd, the pastor quotes Leviticus 20:27

“A man or woman who is a medium or necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, their blood shall be upon them”

Macbeth–”Something wicked this way comes”

In S2E3 (17:54), the Cut-Wife quotes Macbeth when telling Vanessa that she could feel her coming all the way across the moor. The Cut-Wife tells Vanessa that she wanted to curl up in her little bed and sleep and sleep, but Vanessa continued to come closer. The Cut-Wife then quotes Macbeth:

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes”

Act 4, Scene 1

Auguries of Innocence by William Blake

In S2E2 (14:54), Vanessa meets John Clare in the underground homeless shelter and soup kitchen. The two sit and talk of nuns, religion, and their belief (or lack thereof for John Clare) in heaven. John Clare says he does not need to believe in Heaven, because “this life, and the creatures within it have always been enough”. John Clare then recites the first stanza of William Blake’s Auguries of Innocence, published in 1863.

To see a world in a grain of sand,

And a heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour…

Madame Kali’s Prayer to Lucifer

At the end of S2E1 (45:38), both Madame Kali and Vanessa pray; Vanessa to her God, and Madame Kali to her Master, Lucifer. Here is what Madame Kali says to Lucifer:

“Master. My beloved Lucifer, I have found her for you, and she shall be yours. I shall assault her days and her nights, her dreams, and her prayers. No corner of her soul shall be safe. Every beat of her heart, she shall know only suffering. I will not fail you. I will not fail you. I will not fail you.”

Memento Mori

Memento Mori, “To This Favour”, 1879, William Michael Harnett

The idea of Memento Mori, the Latin expression “remember you have to die” is a large theme within Season 2. The bones and symbols of death that decorate Madame Kali’s castle double as Memento Mori. In S2E1, around 44 minutes into the episode, Madame Kali tells the story of a Roman general who came back victorious from battle, and a slave saw the general’s arrogance, and told him “remember, death comes for us all”. From that day it become a custom in Rome that a slave stand in the chariot behind every General returning in victory, holding a skull, and whispering into his ear:

“Look behind you. Remember that you are a man. Remember that you will die.”

In S2E8 , titled Memento Mori, Madame Kali seems particularly preoccupied with the thought of her own death, as she begs Sir Malcolm to “walk quietly” with her until the end of time (47:17). Sir Malcolm says he would only do this if Madame Kali would leave Vanessa alone. That is the only thing that Madame Kali cannot do, for Lucifer wants Vanessa above all other things.

Eventually, once Vanessa defeats Lucifer, yet again, in the season 2 finale, Madame Kali ages rapidly before the viewers’ eyes, and perishes (15:46).

Memento Mori.

Paphiopedilum rothschildianum–Rothschild’s Slipper

Scientific Name Paphiopedilum rothschildianum

Common Name Rothschild’s Slipper, Gold of Kinabalu Orchid

Botanical Family Name Orchidaceae

In S1E5, Dorian Gray shows Vanessa the Rothschild’s Slipper flower within the botanical garden greenhouse. Mr. Gray tells Vanessa that the plant takes 15 years to bloom. When Vanessa asks if it is poisonousness, Mr. Gray responds, “Like all beautiful things, I hope so”.

Paphiopedilum rothschildianum occurs only on Mt. Kinabalu on the island of Borneo. It was collected and introduced into cultivation in Europe and Britain in 1887. It can bloom up to 6 flowers at a time. Unfortunately for Mr. Gray, I cannot find any information indicating that the plant is poisonousness.

Due to the plant being a relatively new discovery, and still very mysterious, there is not much commonly known folklore surrounding it.

 

 

 

 

Atropa belladonna–Deadly Nightshade

Scientific Name Atropa belladonna

Common Name Belladonna, Deadly Nightshade

Botanical Family Solanaceae

A. belladonna is the plant that Dorian Gray had Vanessa smell and describe in S1E4 as they walk through a botanical garden greenhouse. The genus name comes from Atropos, who was 1 of the 3 goddesses of fate or destiny in Greek mythology. Atropos was the oldest of the 3 goddesses, and known for her inflexibility and her inevitability. The name bella donna comes from the Italian for “pretty woman” or “beautiful lady”, because the herb was used to dilate the pupils of women’s eyes for cosmetic purposes, something that Madame Kali mentions in season 2. The plant is a herbaceous perennial, native to Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia.

It is one of the most toxic plants found in the Eastern Hemisphere, as it has tropane alkaloids in all parts of the plant. The symptoms of belladonna poisoning include dilated pupils, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, tachycardia, loss of balance, staggering, headache, rash, flushing, severely dry mouth and throat, slurred speech, urinary retention, constipation, confusion, hallucinations, delirium, and convulsions.

The plant was used at one time for cosmetic purposes, but due to its toxicity, it is no longer commonly used for that purpose. Putting  A. belladonna in the eyes to dilate the pupils, would over time, lead to blindness, and possibly, death. Medicinally, A. belladonna has been used for centuries as a pain reliever, muscle relaxer, and inflammatory mediation, among many other common ailments. There is at least one surviving example of the prepration of A. belladonna to use on a patient, from a 19th century eclectic medicine journal.

“Take of recently dried Belladonna leaves, four ounces; Diluted Alcohol, two pints. Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper…Dose, ten to thirty drops.” From Officinal Preparations by Joseph R. Buchanan and R.S. Newton (1854).

The above description is on how to make a Belladonna tincture, which is typically an alcoholic extract of plant or animal material. The tincture would be prepared and then drank.

Atropa belladonna and related plants, such as jimson weed have been occasionally used as recreational drugs because of the vivid hallucinations and delirium they produce. However, the hallucinations are often considered to be highly unpleasant, and the use extremely dangerous, because it is easy to overdose.

Folklore

Within folklore, Belladonna is associated with witches, who would supposedly mix the plant with other toxic and poisonous plants and apply the mixture to themselves, to make a flying ointment, which would enable them to fly their gatherings. These flying ointments were typically made out of hallucinogenic plants and herbs. Apparently, the practice of making flying ointment was documented by Alice Kyteler, the first recorded person condemned for witchcraft in Ireland in 1324.

“In rifleing the closet of the ladie, they found a Pipe of oyntment, wherewith she greased a staffe, upon wich she ambled and galloped through thick and thin, when and in what manner she listed” From Stairways to Heaven: Drugs in American Religious History by Robert C. Fuller.

Sometimes the Belladonna was combined with opium poppy to create this flying ointment, and some scholars have argued that the true use of this ointment was to create a dream-like waking state. The combination of opium poppy and Belladonna would have created this state, because of the antagonism between tropane alkaloids and opiate alkaloids.

References

Cummins BM, Obetz SW, Wilson MR (June 1968). “Belladonna poisoning as a facet of pschyodelia”. JAMA204 (11): 1011. doi:10.1001/jama.204.11.1011.PMID 5694682

“Belladonna.—Belladonna”. Henrietta’s Herbal. Retrieved 2008-07-08.

Joseph R. Buchanan, R.S. Newton (1854). Wm. Phillips and co., ed. “Officinal preparations”. The Eclectic Medical Journal (Wm. Phillips and co.)

Kuklin, Alexander (February 1999). How Do Witches Fly?. DNA Press.

 

 

 

Stachys officinalis–Wood Betony

Scientific Name Stachys officinalis

Common Name Wood Betony, Purple Betony, Bishopwart

Botanical Family Lamiaceae

In S2E7 (11:48), as Vanessa and Ethan are walking along the moor and collecting berries and plants, Vanessa points out Wood Betony, telling Ethan that it attracts bees for honey, and when crushed and put into your pillow, it prevents nightmares.

The idea that S. officinalis can cure bad dreams and nightmares actually comes from an Anglo Saxon Herbal (a “herbal” is a collection of plant descriptions put together for medicinal purposes, much like Dioscorides’s De Materia Medica). A Welsh tradition tells us to use S. offincialis to prevent bad dreams by hanging the leaves around your neck, or drinking the juice of the flower before going to bed. The flower is a perennial grassland herb, and in the British Isles, it is common in England and Wales, but rare in Ireland and Northern Scotland.

Supposedly, the first reference to the plant was made by Antonius Musa, a Roman physician, who believed that S. officinalis was effective against sorcery.

References

Bonser Wilfrid, “Magical Practices against Elves” Folklore, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Dec. 31, 1926), pp. 350-363.

United States Natural Resources and Conservation Service

 

 

 

 

Solanum nigrum–European Black Nightshade

Scientific Name Solanum nigrum

Common Name European Black Nightshade, Garden Nightshade, Hound’s Berry

Botanical Family Solanaceae

Joan Clayton points out Solanum nigrum and tells Vanessa to remember it (S2E3, 15:29). It is yet another Nightshade mentioned in the show, and is native to Eurasia, but has been introduced in the Americas, Australia, and South Africa. It is a common herb, or short-lived perennial shrub found in many wooded areas. Sometimes the flower of S. nigrum can be confused with Atropa belladonna, or the deadly nightshade. The photo on the left is S. nigrum while the photo on the right is Atropa belladonna. When Vanessa walks the botanical gardens with Dorian Gray, he shows her an Atropa belladonna plant, which Vanessa is shocked to hear is very poisonous. She was most likely feigning ignorance about the flower around Mr. Gray, for she surely learned all about the Nightshade family from Joan Clayton.

 

Despite some forms and parts of the plant being toxic, the berries of S. nigrum have been eaten and used in the culinary arts for several hundred years. The fruit was recorded as a famine food in 15th century China. The ripe black berries are described as sweet and salty, with hints of liquorice and melon. Many different cultures all around the world prepare and eat the berries of the plant.

The plant also has a long history of medicinal usage, dating back to ancient Greece, where is was used to help cure dropsy, or edema. It is a traditional European medicine, mainly used as a strong narcotic and sedative. It is also an important medicinal flower in Indian medicine, as infusions were used to treat dysentery, stomach complaints, and fever. Like with Mandragora, Dioscorides recorded uses S. nigrum as well, including headache, heartburn, skin inflammation, venereal disease, and “womanish flux”.

References

Defelice, Michael S. (2003). “The Black Nightshades, Solanum nigrum L. et al.–Poison, Poultice, and Pie”. In Intriguing World of Weeds, Vol. 17. pp. 421-427.

Solanium Nigrum Factsheet