Mandrake Magic, a Witchy Wednesday article.
Mandrakes have always fascinated me since I saw Mandrake roots at the Witchcraft Museum in Cornwall way back in the hazy days of the late 1970's! In those days Mandrakes were only really known to those who had been lucky enough to have visited the Witch Museum or had an interest in botany and witchcraft. Now of course children and adults alike know of them thanks to being featured in the film Harry Potter and chamber of secrets. A really memorable and extremely hilarious scene involving the repotting of screaming Mandrakes!
The joy of this scene is of course that even though this was created from the clever imagination of JK Rawlings and the clever puppetry of the special effects department there is a very interesting historical background to Mandrakes.
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| Some real mandrakes on show at the Witchcraft Museum in Boscastle Cornwall. This was the same Museum I saw my first Mandrake many years ago as a kid. |
Here is a fabulous online article explaining some of the history of Mandrakes and their association with Witchcraft.
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| The Witch and the Mandrake. 1812 etching by Henry Fuseli. Image courtesy of the British Museum. This piece of art is currently not on display. © The Trustees of the British Museum |
Various historical images of Mandrakes.
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| A real mandrake root, resembling a human form, the Science Museum in London. The specimen root was carved to enhance it's human resemblance. Estimated date England 1501-1700. The Science Museum holds are great collection of interesting artifacts. They also have a great online collection of ethnography and folk medicine which you can view via this web link. https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/search/categories/ethnography-and-folk-medicine |
Links to interesting articles on Mandrakes and other magical plants.
https://www.europeana.eu/en/exhibitions/magical-mystical-and-medicinal/mandrake
🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸Some website links listed may contain Adult material which may not be suitable for children so I would advise visiting them before showing or allowing access to younger viewers.🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿
