Potions

No, we don’t have to worry that certain amphibians were relieved of their occipital orbs and had two of their cranial nerves severed by the cunning folk, or actual witches of centuries ago with the ingredient dubbed ‘eye of newt’. While there may have been a sinister few that found some sort of sadistic pleasure in actually going through with this mini-surgery, ‘eye of newt’ was simply a colloquialism, or local code for ‘mustard seed.’ The same goes for ‘tongue of dog’, ‘wing of bat’ and any number of other oddities that seem remarkably grotesque and eccentric. Those that considered themselves actual witches, in order to perpetuate their reputation, may have used this type of language deception, or code. However, the fact that mustard seed was tossed into their concoction, or shall we say ‘brew’, makes their overall scheme no less devious. Herbs and botanicals were used in a pseudo-scientific way; some to simply relieve indigestion or anxiety, but others to induce sedation and hypnosis, or even to cast their victimized partakers into a ‘trance’. No, witches did not shove little German boys and girls into ovens, but they did use mushrooms, opiates, and other natural pharmaceuticals to control others, usually to do their bidding or exert their so-called mystical powers over someone they wished to have revenge on. Yes, spells were invoked as well. While they did not necessarily involve hovering a club over a troll’s head to subsequently induce an altered state of conscious, they did involve manipulating the physical environment or mental state of others, again, to control reality. One of the earliest ‘spells’ written down we know of involves dispelling a swarm of bees, away from oneself or to a victim. The base of it all was the idea that one could manipulate or control one’s own reality, to the fullest extent. That is the heart of witchcraft – playing sovereign.