Love Potions Over Time (with giveaway) By Donna Schlachter

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With February being the Love Month, I thought I’d look at the history of love potions, which are simply aphrodisiacs by another name. Originally named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, there were attempts by ancient civilizations to control something they didn’t understand. In fact, even today, while scientists can explain what happens when two people are attracted in an amorous fashion, they still struggle to explain why.  

 

The first recorded potions were memorialized as far back in time as 4000 BC, when the witch doctor or shaman or other member of a tribe or clan prepared various concoctions to increase libido. This is understandable, since cultures depended on multiplying their numbers through their offspring. No sexual desire, no babies. That was a fact of life and survival.

Ancient Greeks, known for their refined and genteel ways, believed that ground up orchids that were then added to wine solved any sexual dysfunction in both men and women. This became so popular and widespread that for a time, the orchid plant became extinct. It didn’t help the availability of the plant when the ancient Romans also adopted the use of the orchid, this time brewing it into a delicately aromatic tea. Perhaps one solution to this scarcity was the introduction of insects, such as Spanish Fly or Blister Beetle, into love potions.

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Ancient Egyptians associated seafood with sexual potency, and so banned all seafood from consumption by their celibate priests. Imagine a life without lobster or flounder.

Natives of the Orient thought garlic contained special properties that encouraged romantic relationships and promoted its use widely throughout their part of the world.

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During the Middle Ages, the focus of those trying to increase amorous advances changed, often incorporating more personal and increasingly bizarre ingredients, such as human sweat, reproductive organs from male animals, and even by-products of the birthing process. Often, these ingredients were mixed with wine to make them more palatable. As if anything could.

Love potions can be found in literature from the Middle Ages and beyond. However, perhaps in keeping with the tragedy of the story and the facts that most didn’t work, these often-magical experiments rarely worked. The Celtic story Tristan and Isolde includes a successful ingestion of the potion, leading to the infatuation of the couple. Which might be thought as a success, except she was already engaged to another.

Midsummer Night’s Dream includes the tale of Titania, who unknowingly consumes a potion in her sleep. Her estranged husband perpetrated this evil deed, hoping she’d fall back in love with him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t there when she opened her eyes, and instead she falls for another.

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In the 1600s, magical poems became popular—perhaps because nobody wanted to drink the potions. An instruction book was released entitled The Book of Secrets of Albertus Magnus, which told the reader to crush earthworms with periwinkle and feed it to the afflicted spouse. Other recipes included the fat of a snake, the head of a sparrow, the blood of a bat, or the heart of a pigeon.

The need—or shall I say desire—for such potions spread to the New World and the Old. In Mexico, the story went that if a wife sprinkled crushed basil on her chest, her husband wouldn’t cheat on her. American Indians used hallucinogens such as peyote and psilocybin, derived from cactus and mushrooms respectively, to heighten romantic pleasure. And in India, wives intent on prolonging intimacy powdered their bodies with crushed henna leaves.

While certain foods such as oysters, onions, and honey are legendary in the aphrodisiac category, perhaps the genuine excitement came from the fact these foods were scarce and expensive. This meant if your date fed you with these, they must really think you’re special. Which ultimately could arouse amorous feelings for them. If you’re impressed by that sort of thing.

Plants, herbs, and flowers have been used over the years because they are easy to collect in native habitats. Apart from the once-near-extinct orchid, no other reports of over-harvesting were noted in researching this article.

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In reality, any amorous feelings generated by these potions were likely circumstantial. In a culture limited by tribal or social norms, romance in general may have been just as awkward then as it can be now. Let’s face it—expressing your feelings to the object of your desire is like stepping out onto a diving board without knowing if the pool is full. You could be getting in over your head, or preparing to take a fall.

But with an entire month dedicated to love, surely there is hope for all to achieve their happily-ever-after.



Leave a comment, and I will draw randomly for a print copy (US only) or ebook – winner’s choice – of The Mystery of Christmas Inn, Colorado. Please remember to include your email address, disguising it like: donna AT livebytheword DOT com



About The Mystery of Christmas Inn, Colorado

Matthew returns to Christmas Inn to celebrate his anniversary, intending to join his beloved Sarah, who passed on to glory the previous January. He learns that the old inn will close its doors soon. Can he save the hotel—and his memories?

Edith Cochrane, a widow, comes to Christmas Inn to escape her greedy family. Ever since her husband’s passing, she’s found herself at loose ends. A body in a wall and a kidnap attempt rejuvenate her. But will it be enough?



Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Christmas-Inn-Colorado-ebook/dp/B0779HTH9C



About Donna:

A hybrid author, Donna writes squeaky clean historical and contemporary suspense. She has been published more than 50 times in books; is a member of several writers' groups; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; ghostwrites; edits; and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, traveling extensively for both.



 

 

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Resources:

https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/love-potions-aphrodisiacs-facts-spanish-fly/

https://www.elitedaily.com/p/are-love-potions-real-heres-what-history-science-have-to-say-19298441



https://www.elitedaily.com/p/are-love-potions-real-heres-what-history-science-have-to-say-19298441

History of Mother's Day by Donna Schlachter

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Mother’s Day, although past for this year, has a long and varied history. Attributed to the ancient Greeks and Romans, the celebration of their mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele is believed to be the first references to setting aside a specific day to remember and honor the contributions of not only goddesses but also of the women in our lives.

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Early Christians, wanting to reach these pagan cultures, initiated their own festival called “Mothering Sunday”, designed to draw believers and seekers alike into local churches or ‘mother church’, and was held on the fourth Sunday in Lent.

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As with most religious celebrations, eventually secularism took hold. In the 1860s, Ann Reeves Jarvis started “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs”, where women were taught the skills needed to maintain their households, including cooking, cleaning, sewing, needlework, child-rearing, and so more. Following the Civil War, the group changed its name to “Mothers Friendship Day”, where women from both sides of the conflict were encouraged to befriend each other in hopes of aiding the country to reunite.


By 1870, Julia Ward Howe, with an eye on world peace, instituted her Mothers Day Proclamation and set June 2nd as the date for the celebration of the work of the women in her group.

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In 1905, Ann Jarvis died, and her daughter, Anna Jarvis, who never married, worked tirelessly to set aside a day each year to honor the sacrifices made by women for their children and their families. By 1908, the day was being celebrated in many towns and states, often with the support of a local department store. In 1912, the government officially set aside the second Sunday of May as Mother’s Day.

However, by 1920, Ann Jarvis was disgruntled at the commercialization of the holiday, and spent the rest of her life (she died in 1948) trying to undo all her hard work.

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Today we celebrate Mother’s Day with cards, flowers, gifts, and oftentimes a day off from cooking and other household chores.


Celebrating Around the World

In Thailand, the day is celebrated on the birthday of the current queen, which currently is in August.

In Ethiopia, a multi-day celebration is held in early Fall.



No matter its source or how you celebrate, mothers are certainly important. None of us would be here without a mother. And regardless of the number of children borne, mothers are molders, those tireless individuals who fashion us into the productive adults we all strive to become. As women, we all have an important job to do—setting the example for the next generation, and teaching other women how to fulfill their God-given calling to impact and change lives.



Resources:

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/mothers-day

https://www.shutterfly.com/ideas/mothers-day-bible-verses/

Donna lives in Denver with husband Patrick. As a hybrid author, she writes historical suspense under her own name, and contemporary suspense under her alter ego of Leeann Betts, and has been published more than 30 times in novellas, full-length novels, devotional books, and books on the writing craft.





 

 

 

 

 

www.HiStoryThruTheAges.com Stay connected so you learn about new releases, preorders, and presales, as well as check out featured authors, book reviews, and a little corner of peace. Plus: Receive a free ebook simply for signing up!

www.HiStoryThruTheAges.wordpress.com

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Books: Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ci5Xqq and Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2gZATjm

Etsy online shop of original artwork, book folding art, and gift items: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Dare2DreamUS