For awhile now I've wanted to write something on the pharmacology of philtres, or "love potions" used in early witchcraft and herbalism

The following three recipes are paraphrased from a 16th century Italian manuscript titled "Magical and aphrodisiac recipes"

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The first recipe, start by preparing an alcohol extract or tincture of black truffle, then concentrated and mixed into a comfit with amber and sugar added

Black truffles are a source of androstenol, a putative human pheromone found in men's perspiration

The amber in this context isn't what we know as amber today, but rather ambergris, a pheromone-rich secretion of sperm whales

This potion was likely used topically similar to cologne today to enhance the natural musk/pheromones of the men that used it

The second recipe, a "balsam for the impotent," use olive oil to extract a large quantity of betel nuts, add a touch of nutmeg oil, and animal ingredients: ants, Spanish flies, and civet and oriental musk (pheromone-rich secretions from the civet cat and the Asian musk deer)

This balm is also meant to be used topically to enhance pheromonal attraction, interestingly betel nuts are a psychoactive stimulant which are normally chewed habitually in some parts of southeast Asia similar to chewing tobacco, I'm unsure if its compounds are active topically

The third recipe is much simpler, prepare "boli" (soft pills) using dried powdered cannabis flower moistened with white wine

Interestingly, this recipe is more of an enhanced oral cannabis preparation, but illustrates the psychoactive nature of many love potions of the time

The common themes seen in these three recipes carry over to many other potion formulations seen throughout history, most contain psychoactive plants, pheromones, or occasionally both combined

Pheromone sources ranged widely as I'm sure you can see from the recipes presented here

As more often than not these potions were commission to attract someone's love or lust, many recipes even include human sexual secretions, which were then enhanced with the other added smells

One of the best example of psychoactive herbs used as aphrodisiacs is alcohol

Up until fairly recently, every type of alcohol was infused with various herbs, absinthe is a good example of this, with the wormwood used containing thujone which stimulates by blocking GABA receptors

Other types of wine commonly contains aphrodisiacs/stimulants like betel or coca leaf, the source of cocaine

Originally Coca-Cola was designed to be one such herbal coca-containing wine, but prohibition led instead to the creation of the sugary drink we know today

Another example is the original Pilsener beer, which was named not for the place it was created, but after it's main ingredient Bilsenkraut, or henbane, an herbal deliriant in the same family as Datura used infused in lower doses to enhance the drink's effects

The Bible even makes multiple references to Mandrake-infused wine, also thought to be used as an aphrodisiac at the time, the story of Rachel and Leah, and the Song of Solomon are two good examples of this

Cannabis used as oil and incense also features in some part of the Bible

I find the way aphrodisiacs have changed throughout history absolutely fascinating

Most of these balms would be overwhelming compared to the perfumes or colognes we use today, and essentially all the herbal alcohol infusions I mentioned have been made illegal for various reasons

This is an excellent article for further reading: https://twitter.com/ck_eternity_/status/1274024336320532482?s=20