Like most vines, the Grape is sacred to Dionysos who, among many things, is the god of revelry and credited with bringing wine cultivation to the Greeks. Joyful in its essence, the Grape is a vine of merriment, celebration, and communion. The Grape is also a teacher of fertility, lack of inhibition, and the divine union that results from the dissolving of boundaries.

The Ivy is a hardy, evergreen, perennial vine with dark green leaves, greenish-yellow flowers in autumn, and purple-black berries in winter. Sacred to the god Dionysos, the Ivy features in nearly all iconography of the god and his retinue. Worn as crowns, wrapped around the thyrsus, and possibly even consumed by the Maenads in celebration of the Dionysiac Mysteries, the Ivy teaches ecstatic release and abandon. In the hands of the Maenads, the Ivy encourages the abandonment of social convention, the leaving behind of “sane” behavior, and the expansion of what we would consider reality.

The Poppy is an herbaceous, springtime flower that quickly gives way to a distinctive smooth capsule. Several species grow in Greece, including the wild, red Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas) and the cultivated Opium Poppy (P. somniferum). Sacred to Nyx, goddess of Night, and Hypnos, god of Sleep, the Poppy was said to grow in the cave of Hypnos where the Underworld River Lethe (Oblivion) flowed. Highly controversial and even illegal in some countries, the Opium Poppy in particular has been used since ancient times as a powerful sedative and painkiller; ingesting Opium (the latex harvested from the P. somniferum capsule) is often accompanied by visions or altered states of consciousness. However, Opium can be highly addictive and an overdose can result in death. For this reason, the Poppy is a chthonic teacher of the importance of cultivating intentional relationships with the forces of Nature.