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From the earliest finds, opium appears to have had ritual significance, and anthropologists have speculated ancient priests may have used the drug as a proof of healing power. [71] In Egypt, the use of opium was generally restricted to priests, magicians, and warriors, its invention is credited to Thoth, and it was said to have been given by ...
The word potion has its origins in the Latin word potus, an irregular past participle of potare, meaning "to drink". This evolved to the word potionem (nominative potio) meaning either "a potion, a drinking" or a "poisonous draught, magic potion". [2] In Ancient Greek, the word for both drugs and potions was "pharmaka" or "pharmakon".
An apothecary in the 15th century. Apothecary (/ ə ˈ p ɒ θ ə k ər i /) is an archaic English term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients.
A Venefica was a Roman sorceress who used drugs, potions, and poison for several reasons. Venefica means "a female who poisons" in Latin. The word appears in Roman authors such as Cicero and Horace. Ovid uses it of Medea the sorceress in his Metamorphoses. Later it appears in one of Sir Francis Bacon's Essays,"Of Friendship" in the following lines:
The toxic berry of Atropa belladonna which contains the tropane deliriants scopolamine, atropine, and hyoscyamine.. Deliriants are a subclass of hallucinogen.The term was coined in the early 1980s to distinguish these drugs from psychedelics such as LSD and dissociatives such as ketamine, due to their primary effect of causing delirium, as opposed to the more lucid (i.e. rational thought is ...
The terms esoteric and arcane can also be used to describe the occult, [4] [5] in addition to their meanings unrelated to the supernatural. The term occult sciences was used in the 16th century to refer to astrology, alchemy, and natural magic, which today are considered pseudosciences.
Laws prohibiting various forms of witchcraft and divination can be found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. These include the following (as translated in the Revised JPS, 2023 : Exodus 22:18 – You shall not tolerate a sorceress. [1] Leviticus 19:26 – You shall not eat anything with its blood. You shall not practice ...
Witchcraft is the use of alleged supernatural powers of magic. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic or supernatural powers to inflict harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. [1]