THE FLOWERS OF SATAN

"The hour approacheth, when, as their stems incline,

The flowers evaporate like an incense urn…"1
"So spake Rhea. And rich-crowned Demeter did not refuse but straightway made fruit spring up
from the rich lands, so that the whole wide earth was laden with leaves and flowers… she
showed the conduct of her rites and taught them all her mysteries… awful mysteries which no
one may in any way transgress or pry into or utter, for deep awe of the gods checks the voice." 2

On the Day of Blood, during the rites of Attis, the Galli castrated themselves in a frenzy of
ecstasy and offered the severed parts to the goddess. "During these days they are made Galli.
As the Galli sing and celebrate their orgies, frenzy falls on many of them and many who had
come as mere spectators afterwards are found to have committed the great act. I will narrate
what they do. Any young man who has resolved on this action, strips off his clothes, and with a
loud shout bursts into the midst of the crowd, and picks up a sword from a number of swords
which I suppose have been kept ready for many years for this purpose. He takes it and castrates
himself and then runs wild through the city, bearing in his hands what he has cut off." 3

These parts were symbolized by the pomegranate with its blood-red flesh that encased the
multiple seeds. Human genitalia in both the mysteries of the Great Mother and Attis and also
those of Eleusis represent the receptacles of seeds. "These broken instruments of fertility were
afterwards reverently wrapt up and buried in the earth or in subterranean chambers sacred to
Cybele, where, like the offering of blood, they may have been deemed instrumental in recalling
Attis to life and hastening the general resurrection of nature, which was then bursting into leaf
and blossom in the vernal sunshine. Some confirmation of this conjecture is furnished by the
savage story that the mother of Attis conceived by putting in her bosom a pomegranate sprung
from the severed genitals of a man-monster named Agdestis, a sort of double of Attis." 4

The vernal equinox of spring marked the resurrection of Attis from the underworld. Human
fertility is linked with the process of nature’s cycle of decay and rebirth. Attis castrates himself
under a pine tree saying: "'Take these Acdestis (Agdestis), for which you have stirred up so great
and terribly perilous commotions.' With the streaming blood his life flies; but the Great Mother
of the gods gathers the parts which had been cut off, and throws earth on them, having first
covered them in the garment of the dead. From the blood which had flowed springs a flower,
the violet, and with this the tree is girt."5

From the blood that was shed during the act of castration committed by Attis violets spring
forth. This was a colour that was associated with the bruising of the skin and ultimately with
death. Violets had a funerary colour and were used in wreaths that were presented to the
deities. The theme of transformation or metamorphosis is here related to resurrection. Zeus
had ordained that the body of Attis should not be corrupted in death. The act of castration is
therefore linked to a transaction with the deities that ultimately purifies the mortal nature of
humans.

"Varro has not spoken of that Atys, nor sought out any interpretation for him, in memory of
whose being loved by Ceres the Gallus is mutilated. But the learned Greeks have by no means
been silent about an interpretation so illustrious. The celebrated philosopher Porphyry has said
that Atys signifies the flowers of spring which is the most beautiful season, and therefore was
mutilated because the flower falls before the fruit appears. They have not, then, compared the
man himself, or rather that semblance of a man they call Atys, to the flower, but his male organs
- these, indeed, fell while he was living."6

The concepts of violent castration and resurrection also formed part of the myths of Dionysus.
These relate that, in similar fashion to Osiris, the body of the god was brutally torn apart.
Diodorus Siculus compares the tearing apart of the body of Dionysus to the harvesting and
pressing of grapes to make wine. It is apparent that it is the testicles of the deity that are seen
as equivalent to the grapes. The picking, pressing and boiling of the grapes have an equivalence
to the castration of Attis and the Galli. Dionysus has a first birth in the growth of the vine, a
second birth in the clusters of the grapes, and a third birth by being contained in the alcoholic
nature of wine. The deity is torn apart but reborn in the human consuming the wine.

"... the sons of Gaia tore to pieces the god, who was a son of Zeus and Demeter, and boiled him,
but his members were brought together again by Demeter and he experienced a new birth as if
for the first time, such accounts as this they trace back to certain causes found in nature." 7

Therefore the presence of the deity within the wine and subsequently in the human body is
related to resurrection. Diodorus Siculus states that these concepts are linked to the mysteries
and cannot be further revealed due to the prohibitions that are enforced on the uninitiated. In
the context of the parallel myths about the Great Mother and Attis the text only makes sense if
the term 'members' refers specifically to the testicles of the deity. Only these parts can be seen
as equivalent to grapes containing the essence, the seed or semen, of the god.

"Again, the account of his members, which the ‘earth-born’ treated with despite, being brought
together again and restored to their former natural state, shows forth that the vine, which has
been stripped of its fruit and pruned at the yearly seasons, is restored by the earth to the high
level of fruitfulness which it had before. For, in general, the ancient poets and writers of myths
spoke of Demeter as Ge Meter (Earth Mother). And with these stories the teachings agree
which are set forth in the Orphic poems and are introduced into their rites, but it is not lawful to
recount them in detail to the uninitiated."8

From the blood shed by the mutilation of Dionysus pomegranates spring to life. "Pomegranates
were supposed to have sprung from the blood of Dionysus, as anemones from the blood of
Adonis and violets from the blood of Attis; hence women refrained from eating seeds of
pomegranates at the festival of Thesmophoria."9

These myths reflect those of Persephone as outlined in the Hymn to Demeter. Adonis is shared
between Aphrodite and the Queen of Hades, Persephone, thus spending part of the year
underground as metaphorical seed that is resurrected in the spring. "But when Persephone got
a glimpse of Adonis, she refused to return him (to Aphrodite). When the matter was brought to
Zeus for arbitration, he divided the year into three parts and decreed that Adonis would spend
one third of the year by himself, one third with Persephone, and the rest with Aphrodite. But
Adonis added his own portion to Aphrodite's."10
The blood-red flower of the anemone that symbolizes Adonis is likened to the flower of the
pomegranate. The cutting away of the petals of the anemone by the action of the wind reflects
the theme of mutilation which gives birth to the seed of the flower. Thus the cycle of
resurrection and mutilation is endlessly replicated. Adonis is genitally gored by a wild boar but
the goddess intervenes by sprinkling nectar on the blood that soaks the earth. The lifeless body
of Adonis is reborn as the anemone.
"... a blood-red flower arose, like the rich bloom of pomegranates which in a stubborn rind
conceal their seeds; yet its beauty is brief, so lightly cling its petals, falling so soon, when the
winds (anemoi) blow that give the flower its name (anemone)." 11

Pausanias states that the image or statue of the goddess in the sanctuary of Aphrodite at Sicyon
holds in one hand an apple and in the other a poppy. The relationship of the poppy to the
goddess and ultimately to the mysteries is revealed in this description of the image. "The image,
which is seated, was made by the Sicyonian Canachus, who also fashioned the Apollo at Didyma
of the Milesians, and the Ismenian Apollo for the Thebans. It is made of gold and ivory, having
on its head a polos, and carrying in one hand a poppy and in the other an apple." 12

This indicates the fluid classification in antiquity between the generic term of the pomegranate
(pomum granatum - apple having multiple seeds) and the poppy. Both plants have hard-skinned
containers or vials of seeds. "In less than an hour, a flower, of the colour of blood, was created
such as pomegranates carry, that hide their seeds under a tough rind."13

When extracted from the seed container of the poppy the whitish liquid that emerged would
have been seen as equivalent to the semen of the plant. This was the semen of the gods that
coursed through the universe. The Greek word opos meaning 'juice' was applied to this seminal
extract from the poppy container. From this etymology comes the term 'opium.' This substance
was the ultimate form of deified semen and was a catalyst for the mysteries of Eleusis and the
Eucharist of the Christian church which is derived from these mysteries.

Pliny describes the process involved in the extraction of this seminal "juice" by making an
incision into the "head and calix of the plant" and thus effectively castrating, mutilating or
decapitating the plant to extract the contents.

"This is done at the third hour, in a clear, still, day, or, in other words, when the dew has
thoroughly dried upon the poppy. It is recommended to make the incision just beneath the
head and calix of the plant… If obtained from the poppy in sufficiently large quantities, this juice
thickens, after which it is kneaded out into lozenges, and dried in the shade. This juice is
possessed not only of certain soporific qualities, but, if taken in too large quantities, is
productive of sleep unto death even: the name given to it is 'opium.'"14

The blood flower of the poppy is comparable to the flower of the pomegranate which mutates
into a seed capsule with a hard rind protecting the soft internal flesh. Pomegranate seeds
formed part of the Eleusinian Mysteries where the concept of natural mortality is followed by
resurrection in the spring. In these myths Persephone consumes pomegranate seed and is
compelled to inhabit the underworld for the duration of the gestation of the seed. In the archaic
‘Hymn to Demeter’ the goddess demands to know if Persephone has tasted the food of the
underworld during her imprisonment there.
"... but if you have tasted food, you must go back again beneath the secret places of the earth,
there to dwell a third part of the seasons every year: yet for the two parts you shall be with me
and the other deathless gods. But when the earth shall bloom with the fragrant flowers of
spring in every kind, then from the realm of darkness and gloom thou shalt come up once more
to be a wonder for gods and mortal men… Then beautiful Persephone answered her thus… he
secretly put in my mouth sweet food, a pomegranate seed, and forced me to taste against my
will."15

The process of burying an object in the earth which engenders some kind of birth or rebirth is
an indication that the mysteries are being referenced. Porphyry describes the doctrines of
Pythagoras whereby humans are born from an alchemical process involving the fermentation of
beans that are buried in the ground.

"Beans were interdicted, it is said, because the particular plants grow and individualize only
after (the earth) which is the principle and origin of all things, is mixed together, so that many
things underground are confused, and coalesce; after which everything rots together. Then
living creatures were produced together with plants, so that both men and beans arose out of
putrefaction whereof he (Pythagoras) alleged many manifest arguments."16

Putrefaction is one of the stages of alchemy and the statement that "both men and beans arose
out of putrefaction" seems to have an alchemical genesis. The synthesis of vegetative fertility
and human reproduction is a known feature of the Eleusinian Mysteries. These mysteries can be
recognized in the description of the ritual process of burying beans in an earthen container
which then gives birth to human infants or human sexual organs.

"For if anyone should chew a bean, and having ground it to a pulp with his teeth, and should
expose that pulp to the warm sun, for a short while, and then return to it, he will perceive the
scent of human blood. Moreover, if at the time when beans bloom, one should take a little of
the flower, which then is black, and should put it into an earthen vessel, and cover it closely,
then bury it in the ground for ninety days, and at the end thereof take it up, and uncover it,
instead of the bean he will find either the head of an infant, or the pudenda of a woman." 17
Hippolytus deviates from an otherwise similar interpretation of this myth by emphasizing the
connection between beans and human semen. This foregrounds the relationship between
human seed or semen and the testicular appearance of beans. "And of this he mentions the
following indication, that if any one, after having chewed a bean without the husk, places it
opposite the sun for a certain period - for this immediately will aid in the result - it yields the
smell of human seed (semen)."18

Diogenes Laertius states that the physical appearance of beans and human testicles were
referenced by Aristotle with an additional connection to the gates of Hades. Thus a further
Eleusinian reference is added by incorporating Persephone's descent into the earth through the
gates of Hades. "According to Aristotle in his work 'On the Pythagoreans,' Pythagoras counselled
abstinence from beans either because they are like the genitals, or because they are like the
gates of Hades…"19

This is usually understood to be a reference to a prohibition against the broad (fava) bean.
However the castor bean plant (Ricinus communis) grew prolifically along the banks of the Nile.
Although the seed of the plant is not technically a bean it resembles a bean and is called a
castor bean to this day. Consequently the castor bean cannot be excluded from the cast of
prohibited beans in antiquity.

The essential difference in the context of prohibitions is that the castor bean plant contains ricin
and is fatally poisonous to humans. It was cultivated by the Egyptians for the oil as is attested by
both Herodotus and Pliny. "The Egyptians who live around the marshes use an oil from the
castor-berry which they call kiki. They sow this plant which grows wild in Hellas, on the banks of
the rivers and lakes; sown in Egypt, it produces abundant fruit, though malodorous; when they
gather this, some bruise and press it, others boil after roasting it, and collect the liquid that
comes from it. This is thick and useful as oil for lamps, and gives off a strong odour." 20
The use of castor oil in medicinal and embalming applications in ancient Egypt is extensively
documented in the Ebers Papyrus. There is also evidence in the Bible that the castor bean plant
was associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries. In the biblical tale of Jonah and the whale there
has been a mistranslation from the Hebrew script. The Hebrew refers to a plant called the
‘kikayon’ that God created to provide shelter to Jonah.

"And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a
shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief… But God prepared a worm when the
morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered." 21

The word gourd, or vine in other versions of the Bible, is a mistranslation from the original
Hebrew which has kikayon. This is a corruption or a direct allusion to the kykeon, the
sacramental brew associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries. Kikayon in contemporary Hebrew is
still used to refer to the castor bean plant. The basic ingredients of kykeon are revealed in
Homer’s 'Odyssey.'

"She brought them in and made them sit on chairs and seats, and made for them a potion of
cheese and barley meal and yellow honey with Pramnian wine; but in the food she mixed
baneful drugs, that they might utterly forget their native land."22

The "baneful" drugs that the goddess mixes with the kykeon does not in this case include ergot
since being intrinsic to the barley this would not have been a separate ingredient. The term
baneful (causing great distress) does not imply opium either or any drug that could be seen as
pleasurable in part. However baneful would be a precise description of ricin.

The seed or bean of the castor bean plant (Ricinus communis) contains ricin and consequently
can be fatally poisonous to humans. The plant is characterized by its black seeds or beans which
were seen as resembling blood-engorged ticks. "A third oil is that made of the fruit of the cicus,
a tree which grows in Egypt in great abundance… Our people are in the habit of calling it
'ricinus,' from the resemblance of the seed to that insect (the tick). It is boiled in water, and the
oil that swims on the surface is then skimmed off: but in Egypt, where it grows in greater
abundance, the oil is extracted without employing either fire or water for the purpose, the seed
being first sprinkled with salt, and then subjected to pressure: eaten with food this oil is
repulsive, but it is very useful for burning in lamps." 23

The seeds or beans contain potentially fatal quantities of ricin. Ricin also exists in the foliage and
the flower therefore making the plant one of the most dangerously toxic on earth. "The cicus, or
seed from which this oil is made, no animal will touch; and from the grape-like seeds wicks are
made, which burn with a peculiar brilliancy; the light, however, that is produced by the oil is
very dim, in consequence of its extreme thickness."24

The flower of the plant is without petals and resembles an intensely pink spiky ball. As this
matures the colour darkens and the seeds or beans develop within the capsule. It can therefore
be described as a black flower that harbours the most poisonous contents of any plant. A
fraction of this toxicity when added to a brew would achieve the life and death rupture and
visions that were experienced during the Eleusinian Mysteries. These involved an intense
transition from darkness to penetrating and visionary light.
Participants in the mysteries endured long periods in darkness in order to simulate the
underworld before being released into the light. The effect, achieved partly through fasting and
sensory deprivation, simulated the darkness of the underworld. It is therefore this plant that
matches, in a poetic sense, the Eleusinian conceptual device of Porphyry. Ricin exists in the
Castor flower making it one of the most poisonous on earth. This in itself suggests a dark
underside whereby it can be seen to represent the realm of Hades in the Eleusinian Mysteries.

In the 'Hymn to Demeter' the goddess takes as a sacrament a draft containing the purified and
purifying grain. The goddess "bade them mix meal and water with soft mint and give her to
drink. And Metaneira mixed the draft and gave it to the goddess as she bade. So the great
queen Deo received it to observe the sacrament…"25

"For if anyone should chew a bean, and having ground it to a pulp with his teeth, and should
expose that pulp to the warm sun, for a short while, and then return to it, he will perceive the
scent of human blood. Moreover, if at the time when beans bloom, one should take a little of
the flower, which then is black, and should put it into an earthen vessel, and cover it closely, and
bury it in the ground for ninety days, and at the end thereof take it up, and uncover it, instead
of the bean he will find either the head of an infant or the pudenda of a woman." 26

"The hour approacheth, when, as their stems incline,

The flowers evaporate like an incense urn…"27
1. Charles Baudelaire - Les Fleurs du mal - The Flowers of Evil
2. Homeric Hymn to Demeter
3. Lucian - De Dea Syria
4. James Frazer - The Golden Bough
5. Arnobius - Adversus Gentes 5.7
6. Augustine - City of God 7.25
7. Diodorus Siculus - Library of History 3.62
8. Ibid.
9. James Frazer - The Golden Bough
10. Pseudo-Apollodorus - Bibliotheca 3.183
11. Ovid - Metamorphoses 10
12. Pausanias - Description of Greece 2.10.5
13. Ovid - Metamorphoses 10
14. Pliny - Natural History 20.76
15. Homeric Hymn to Demeter
16. Porphyry - Life of Pythagoras 44
17. Ibid.
18. Hippolytus - Refutation of All Heresies 1.2
19. Diogenes Laertius - Lives of the Eminent Philosophers 8.1.34
20. Herodotus - Histories 2.94
21. Jonah 4:6-7
22. Homer - Odyssey 10.233-236
23. Pliny - Natural History 15.7
24. Ibid. 23.41
25. Homeric Hymn to Demeter
26. Porphyry - Life of Pythagoras 44
27. Charles Baudelaire - Les Fleurs du mal - The Flowers of Evil