Post by Professor Amanda Stark on Aug 15, 2007 14:05:48 GMT -5
Name: Poppy (Specifically: Opium Poppy)
Proper Name: Papavar Somniferum
Location: Afghanistan predominantly
Muggle Use: This particular breed of poppy is used by Muggles for types of pain medication and as an ingredient in some foods; it is also used to make a powerful and highly addictive narcotic called heroin. Poppy seeds are often used in desert foods such as muffins, donuts and cakes.
Mythological/Historical Relevance: Throughout Afghanistan the opium poppy is produced for illegal trafficking as well as the supply of medication in the country. The plant has been banned and controlled off and on in the country in recent years. However, due to large market for narcotics, and high selling price, very little poppies that are grown are used for anything other than heroin production in Afghanistan, and the Muggles there are suffering a shortage of strong pain-relief medicines such as morphine and codeine.
Symbolically, the poppy is an image of sleep, and oftentimes death; the ancient Greeks and Romans used poppies as offerings to the dead. Still today poppies can be found on tombstones to represent eternal sleep and the promise of resurrection or another life after dying.
Historically, the Red Corn Poppy is seen as the symbol of wartime remembrance as it was the only flower that would grow on a field disturbed by recent battles. It covered fields littered with the bodies and blood of the dead, and World War II veterans often wear paper replicas of the flower to remember their fallen comrades.
Magical Use: The Opium Poppy is a useful amplifier for a sleeping potion I will be teaching more advanced students in their later years, but the spell you will learn today does not focus on the poppy’s sleeping powers. The spell today was discovered by early wizards quiet by accident. When lit with the spell Incendio, the opium poppy glows with a bright light that is invisible to all but the caster of the spell, allowing the caster to see in the dark and still keep themselves out of sight. It was thought at first that the fire was simply a hallucination, an after-effect of burning a plant used to make narcotics. After it became common knowledge, philosophers speculated that the light is the light of the dead, for the light burns brighter for those who are emotionally close to someone that has died. Perhaps consequently, legions of the dead and undead present when the spell is performed can see the light, and are temporarily blinded by its brightness. It is considered polite to allow any friendly spirits to leave the area before using the spell, and can be a defensive weapon if the user is being followed by a rather annoying ghost, or attacked by inferi, zombies, vampires or any other creature dead or undead.
Misuse/Abuse: There are obvious ways in which the Opium Poppy can be misused when taking into account it’s byproduct heroin’s mind-altering effects. Magical practitioners have been known to use the plant to induce visions and dreams, ignoring the warnings of dangerous side-effects. It is true that opium can induce dreams and sometimes help with Divination, but there are much safer plants, some of which you will learn about in your later years with my class. Another misuse that is more dangerous for the caster than it is anyone else is the misconception about what creatures are undead, and which are simply magical. A few creatures the spell would work against include zombies, inferi, ghosts and the occasional cursed mummy. The spell would have no effect on werewolves or thestrals because--while these creatures can be ghastly--they are not in fact dead.
Voluntary Assignment: Identify an undead/dead creature that you find particularly interesting and list a few ways besides this spell that are effective in defending yourself from them.
**IMPORTANT: Homework from Lessons 1 through 4 are due tomorrow by midnight my time which means you have about thirty-four hours to complete these assignments! If you need more time or have questions, PM me and I will see what we can do to keep you from losing points! Voluntary assignments may still be turned in through the 19th of August!**
Proper Name: Papavar Somniferum
Location: Afghanistan predominantly
Muggle Use: This particular breed of poppy is used by Muggles for types of pain medication and as an ingredient in some foods; it is also used to make a powerful and highly addictive narcotic called heroin. Poppy seeds are often used in desert foods such as muffins, donuts and cakes.
Mythological/Historical Relevance: Throughout Afghanistan the opium poppy is produced for illegal trafficking as well as the supply of medication in the country. The plant has been banned and controlled off and on in the country in recent years. However, due to large market for narcotics, and high selling price, very little poppies that are grown are used for anything other than heroin production in Afghanistan, and the Muggles there are suffering a shortage of strong pain-relief medicines such as morphine and codeine.
Symbolically, the poppy is an image of sleep, and oftentimes death; the ancient Greeks and Romans used poppies as offerings to the dead. Still today poppies can be found on tombstones to represent eternal sleep and the promise of resurrection or another life after dying.
Historically, the Red Corn Poppy is seen as the symbol of wartime remembrance as it was the only flower that would grow on a field disturbed by recent battles. It covered fields littered with the bodies and blood of the dead, and World War II veterans often wear paper replicas of the flower to remember their fallen comrades.
Magical Use: The Opium Poppy is a useful amplifier for a sleeping potion I will be teaching more advanced students in their later years, but the spell you will learn today does not focus on the poppy’s sleeping powers. The spell today was discovered by early wizards quiet by accident. When lit with the spell Incendio, the opium poppy glows with a bright light that is invisible to all but the caster of the spell, allowing the caster to see in the dark and still keep themselves out of sight. It was thought at first that the fire was simply a hallucination, an after-effect of burning a plant used to make narcotics. After it became common knowledge, philosophers speculated that the light is the light of the dead, for the light burns brighter for those who are emotionally close to someone that has died. Perhaps consequently, legions of the dead and undead present when the spell is performed can see the light, and are temporarily blinded by its brightness. It is considered polite to allow any friendly spirits to leave the area before using the spell, and can be a defensive weapon if the user is being followed by a rather annoying ghost, or attacked by inferi, zombies, vampires or any other creature dead or undead.
Misuse/Abuse: There are obvious ways in which the Opium Poppy can be misused when taking into account it’s byproduct heroin’s mind-altering effects. Magical practitioners have been known to use the plant to induce visions and dreams, ignoring the warnings of dangerous side-effects. It is true that opium can induce dreams and sometimes help with Divination, but there are much safer plants, some of which you will learn about in your later years with my class. Another misuse that is more dangerous for the caster than it is anyone else is the misconception about what creatures are undead, and which are simply magical. A few creatures the spell would work against include zombies, inferi, ghosts and the occasional cursed mummy. The spell would have no effect on werewolves or thestrals because--while these creatures can be ghastly--they are not in fact dead.
Voluntary Assignment: Identify an undead/dead creature that you find particularly interesting and list a few ways besides this spell that are effective in defending yourself from them.
**IMPORTANT: Homework from Lessons 1 through 4 are due tomorrow by midnight my time which means you have about thirty-four hours to complete these assignments! If you need more time or have questions, PM me and I will see what we can do to keep you from losing points! Voluntary assignments may still be turned in through the 19th of August!**