Lotus Flowers with an Illustrator Card Design زنبق الماء الأزرق او زهور اللوتس

Lotus flower has often been described as the most exquisite wishes of the Mother Nature for the mankind. 

The Meaning Of The World Lotus

Lotus flowers have been influential in cultures across the world from ancient times until today,
from ancient Egypt and India to all across Asia. They have been associated with the human soul, gods and goddesses and featured in stories and legends.  
To the ancient Egyptians, a lotus bud was a symbol of rebirth and fertility. It closes in the evening and falls to the water, but in the morning it opens and is lifted above the surface.Its behavior emulates that of the sun. Because of this rising and setting, it is also a symbol of death and rebirth . 

The lotus( The blue water lily) was commonly used in art as a symbol of Upper Egypt. It was combined with  the long stems papyrus flower (the symbol of Lower Egypt) as a representation of the unification of the two lands ( Upper and Lower Egypt).It  was shown throughout Egypt in tombs and temples to symbolize the union of Upper and Lower Egypt, but the blue water lily had a much deeper significance to the Egyptian people.

The god of the blue water lily was Nefertem, a god not just linked to the sun but to beautification and healing.It was he who brought a water lily to the sun god Ra, to help ease the suffering of his aging body. The perfume of this flower was not only pleasing to the Egyptians, but they saw it as healing as well .Scenes show women holding the water lily and people being offered the flower at parties, smelling its divine fragrance. Some people today believe that the Egyptians used this plant as a narcotic both for its healing qualities and as a recreational drug when soaked in wine, though this is a hotly debated topic.

The blue water lily was possibly also a symbol of sexuality -  the flower "has a sort of Viagra effect". Women were wooed with the blue water lily.

The flower wasn't just used at parties, but it was used at funerals.Tutankhamen's innermost gold coffin had blue water lily petals scattered over it along with a few other floral tributes.The Egyptians looked forward to their souls coming to life "like a water lily reopening", thinking that the deceased died as the water lily closed awaiting opening with the morning sun. The Book of the Dead has a spell to allow the deceased to transform into one of these flowers.
 
As a general The Lotus flower basically symbolizes the clarity of heart as well as the mind. In other words the Lotus flower represents strength, good luck, long life as well as honor and respect. Some scholars have even talked of the lotus flower being a universal representation of the spiritual presence in human lives. 


The Appearance:
 In Egypt, two native species of lotus grew, the white lotus and the blue lotus. A third type, the pink lotus was introduced to the country from Persia during the Late period. All three species were depicted in Egyptian art the pink lotus showed up in Hellenistic artworks, however the sacred blue lotus was the flower most commonly used and the one depicted in the hieroglyph. 

طالما ما وصفت زهور اللوتس بانها رمز للامنيات الرائعه والرومانسيه الحالمه

معنى زهرة اللوتس 

كانت و مازالت زهرة اللوتس صاحبة تأثيرا في الثقافات في جميع أنحاء العالم من العصور القديمه و حتى يومنا هذا وخاصه عند المصريين القدماء و الهنود و تقريبا كل الآسيويين لارتباطهم بالروح و الآلهه و الأساطير 

عند المصريين القدماء كان برعم الزهره يرمز الى الخصوبه و الى ولادة جديده وهذا بسبب الطبيعه الخلابه للزهره ففى الليل تغلق الزهره اوراقها ونهبط الى مخدعها تحت سطح الماء فى النهر اما فى الصباح الناكر مع شروق الشمس تخرج الزهره من جديد من تحت الماء وتفتح اوراقها مستبشره باليوم الجديد و لهذا كانت رمزا للتفاؤل و العوده للحياه بعد الموت كما هو فى الاستيقاظ بعد النوم و قد شابه سلوك زهره اللوتس الشمس من حيث الزهورنهارا و الاختفاء ليلا 

زهرة اللوتس أو زنبق الماء الأزرق كان يشيع استخدامها في الفن باعتباره رمزا لمصر العليا-صعيد مصر حاليا- ولكن بعد توحيد القطرين الشمالى و الجنوبى اتحدت زهرة اللوتس مع زهرة البردى طويلة الساق لتكون رمزا موحدا لمصر القديمه ولكن كان زنبق الماء الأزرق دلالة أعمق بكثير للشعب المصرى والاقرب الى قلوبهم 

لم يكن عطر هذه الزهره مدعاة للسرور بالنسبه للمصرى القديم فقط وانما كان سببا للشفاء كذلك 

وهناك لوحات قديمه تظهر نساء يقدمن اللوتس للناس و آخرين يشتمون عطرها 

 يعتقد بعض الناس اليوم ان المصريين القدماء قد استعملوا هذا النبات كمهدئ او مخدر بسبب قدراته العلاجيه 

لم تستعمل زهرة اللوتس فى الحفلات فقط ولكن استعملت فى الجنائز ايضا عند المصريين القدماءفقد احتوى التابوت الداخلى لتوت عنخ آمون على بتلات زنبق الماء الأزرق مع بعض الزهور الأخرى فقد اعتقد المصريون القدماء فى عودة الروح الى جسد المتوفى بعد الدفن تشابها مع زهرة اللوتس 

وبصفه عامه فان زهرة اللوتس ترمز الى الصفاء فى النفس و القلب والعقل كما ترمز الى القوة، وحسن الحظ، و طول العمر، فضلا عن الشرف والاحترام 

وكان لبعض علماء اللوتس راى اعم و اروع فهم يعتقدون انها التمثيل العالمي للوجود .

الروحي في حياة الإنسان

The Card Design
This is Illustrator design.
The new today is How to apply round corner to the text. 

To add Round Corners( Effect Menu > stylize> round corners)

•  Select the style you like to add to your card from the Graphic styles panel just click it , it will come to the document. Here I had selected Arched Aqua .
• Select the symbol you like from the Symbols Panel .Here I had chosen the lotus flower [ Symbols libraries menu-flowers -lotus] .
• Change the color of the flower if you like I had a video to help you doing that in my videos page The name of the video is Assign new colors to selected artwork in Illustrator. 
• Ad your text with the Type Tool . Add rounded corners to the text [ Effect Menu > stylize > round corners. and select the amount you like - OK] .
• Save your work . 

Thanks 
Manal Raafat