Spanish fly, holy bread and mashed worms: history's weirdest aphrodisiacs and love potions

Spanish fly

Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the deadly insect known as the Spanish fly has been used in love potions. A type of blister beetle, the emerald green insect was popularly crushed with herbs and made into tonics. It could cause feelings of warmth to course through the body, but this was normally due to inflammation rather than desire.

The toxic bug was incredibly dangerous and its use was rumoured to have caused the death of Ferdinand II of Aragon. After the death of his wife Isabella I of Castile, Ferdinand swiftly married the much younger Germaine of Foix. It’s thought that, due to his advancing years and their desire to have a male heir, Ferdinand may have resorted to potions to improve his virility. He died in January 1516 after a steady decline in health, and it was well documented in his court at the time that he had ingested many suspicious elixirs and drinks that may have contained Spanish fly.

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Lizard necks

Animal parts have been used in medicine and witchcraft for centuries. Native Americans would use lizard tails in their love potions, and lizard necks were deployed in traditional Nigerian spells. In some cultures, though, a drowned lizard was thought to have the opposite effect in love. Rhino horns have often been believed to possess aphrodisiac properties, as well as being valuable in traditional medicines – a combination that has led to the animal being poached to near-extinction.

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Flowers

Flowers have long been associated with romance, so it’s no surprise that for centuries desperate lovers have turned to them when looking to snare their heart’s desire. A common love-charm method was to plant marigolds in the footsteps where the object of your affections had walked. The Datura plant was a popular ingredient in ancient Indian potions, and was thought to be a powerful aphrodisiac – but was also a deadly hallucinogen. In ancient Colombia, it had an even darker purpose, allegedly being used to drug the wives of dead chieftains so they that could be buried alive alongside their husbands.

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In classical Greece, one type of orchid, known as the Satyrion, was picked so much for its purported magical properties that it allegedly went extinct. The German alchemist, writer and later saint Albertus Magnus wrote that affection between a man and wife could be created with the periwinkle and crushed up worms. Flowers, it seems, had unlimited uses when it came to love.

Mashed worms and herbs

During the 17th century in colonial New Mexico, the settled Spanish would trade goods and customs with the local Native Americans. Inquisition records show that a number of women were convicted of witchcraft after administering potions they had obtained from indigenous peoples. Some of these would involve mashed worms, herbs and bodily fluids, which were to be spread on the chest of the one whose love you hoped to gain.

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Sacramental bread

In the Roman Catholic Church, the consecrated communion host (sacramental bread) is believed to turn into the body of Jesus Christ during the rite of the Eucharist. As a result, some believed it held magical properties. In medieval Italy, a pining lover sought the advice of a wise woman in order to regain her long-lost sweetheart. She was advised to steal the consecrated host to use for a potion. The lover claimed that when she got home with her stolen host, it had transformed into a bleeding piece of flesh. It is still held at the Cathedral of Alatri and was declared a miracle.

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Prayers to St Luke

Religion and witchcraft don’t usually go hand-in-hand but those in search of true love might have resorted to a mixture of the divine and devilish in the medieval period. Saint Luke – patron saint of artists, physicians and bachelors – was often called upon to help people find their soulmates.

An old wives’ tale required that on the saint’s feast day – 18 October – a mixture of herbs, honey and vinegar should be anointed on the head before going to bed. The following prayer to St Luke would then be said and, consequently, one’s beloved would be seen in a dream: “St Luke, St Luke, be kind to me, in my dreams let me my true-love see”.

Sweaty cakes

Some of the less appetising love potions used throughout history involved human ingredients. Some medieval recipes called for cakes to be made from sweat, blood and other bodily fluids, which could be presented to an intended lover – the hope being that these baked goods would instantly make them fall head over heels in love. Bits of skin and hair from an intended couple could also be whipped up into a brew to promote amorous stirrings.

Emma Slattery Williams is BBC History Revealed's staff writer

This content first appeared in the February 2020 issue of BBC History Revealed