Damiana (Turnera diffusa) is a small shrub native to the subtropical regions of the Americas, particularly Mexico and Central America. Its leaves have been used traditionally as a mild aphrodisiac and tonic. Cannabis Indica, a subspecies of Cannabis sativa, is known for its sedative, euphoric, and physically relaxing properties. [[Anhalonium]] is an archaic genus name for the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii), a small, spineless cactus containing the psychoactive alkaloid mescaline, revered for its visionary and entheogenic effects. In the context of Liber 777, these three plants are grouped together under a single heading, indicating their shared correspondence to the sphere of Netzach on the Tree of Life.

Position on the Tree of Life

This entry is assigned to Netzach (Victory), the seventh Sephirah. Netzach is the sphere of Venus, representing love, beauty, emotion, instinct, and the natural world. It is the seat of the lower, emotional self and is associated with the drive for pleasure, connection, and sensory experience. The grouping of these plants under Netzach highlights their use in stimulating the senses, enhancing emotional states, and facilitating a connection to the natural and instinctual realms.

Astrological and Planetary Correspondence

Netzach is governed by the planet Venus. The plants in this entry—Damiana, Cannabis Indica, and Anhalonium—all possess qualities that resonate with Venusian themes: pleasure, sensuality, and the expansion of emotional and sensory awareness. Damiana is a classic aphrodisiac, directly aligning with Venus's domain of love and desire. Cannabis Indica, in its euphoric and relaxing effects, can heighten sensory perception and promote a state of receptive, passive pleasure. Anhalonium (peyote), while more complex, is also used to induce states of profound emotional and visionary experience, often within a ritual context that seeks union with the divine—a higher expression of Venusian love.

Historical Context

The grouping of these three distinct plants into a single entry reflects the synthetic, comparative approach of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley's later work. Each plant has a rich individual history.

Damiana has been used for centuries by the Maya and other indigenous peoples of Central America as a tonic, aphrodisiac, and remedy for various ailments. It was introduced to Western herbalism in the late 19th century and became a popular ingredient in patent medicines and liqueurs.

Cannabis Indica was formally classified by the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1785, distinguishing it from Cannabis sativa based on its shorter, bushier stature and more potent psychoactive effects. Its use as an inebriant and medicine has a long history in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and it became a subject of intense study and controversy in the West during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Anhalonium (peyote) has been used for millennia by indigenous peoples of Mexico and the Southwestern United States, most notably the Huichol and the Native American Church, as a sacred sacrament in religious ceremonies. Its visionary alkaloid, mescaline, was first isolated in 1897 by Arthur Heffter, and it was later studied by psychologists and mystics, including Aldous Huxley, who wrote about its effects in The Doors of Perception.

Crowley's inclusion of these three plants under a single Netzach heading in Liber 777 is a deliberate act of magical taxonomy. It groups them not by chemical structure or botanical family, but by their shared effect on the emotional and sensory spheres of the human psyche, aligning them with the Venusian principle of pleasure, expansion, and the dissolution of boundaries.

In the table of Liber 777, the entry "Damiana, Cannabis Indica [[Anhalonium]]" appears in the "Vegetable Drugs" column at the step of Netzach (7). This placement indicates that for the magician working with the correspondences of the seventh Sephirah, any of these three plants can serve as a suitable vegetable drug for ritual use, particularly in operations concerning love, pleasure, emotional healing, or the expansion of sensory and aesthetic awareness.