The culmination of more than 30 years of cultural, anthropological and scientific research, this encyclopaedia examines the botany, pharmacology, history, preparation, dosage and practical use of more than 400 erotically stimulating substances from antiquity to the present day. From plants and animals that enhance fertility and virility, like celery, snails or oysters, to substances that induce arousal, like ephedra, opium or cannabis, the encyclopaedia is richly illustrated with more than 800 colour photographs - many of which are from the authors' extensive fieldwork around the world. Exploring individual, medicinal and ritual use through historic and contemporary artwork, personal accounts and literature as well as ayurvedic, tantric, shamanic and European folklore practices and recent pharmacological research, the authors look at the revolving cycle of acceptance and condemnation of aphrodisiacs, the qualities that incur the label of "aphrodisiac," the role of mind and setting and the different ways aphrodisiacs stimulate desire - either physically, through the senses and vital organs or mentally, through heightened awareness and altered consciousness.
This comprehensive guide reveals these "remedies of the love goddess" as holy remedies whose proper use can help re-establish harmony with oneself, one's partner and the universe. . Details the use, preparation and dosage of more than 400 plant, animal, mineral and synthetic substances, both common and exotic, as well as their botany, science and legal status . Explores the historical and present use of aphrodisiacs and their role in sexual practices, culture and art . Richly illustrated throughout with more than 800 colour photographs "An elegant, unsentimental, and extraordinary book. From photographs of African fertility dances to full tantrik instructions, from French phallic ancient stone monuments to a discussion of pheromones, this is the best of its kind I've seen. Highly recommended." -Yellow Silk
Author Biography:
CHRISTIAN RÄTSCH, Ph.D. (1957 – 2022), was a world-renowned anthropologist and ethnopharmacologist who specialized in the shamanic uses of plants for spiritual as well as medicinal purposes. He studied Mesoamerican languages and cultures and anthropology at the University of Hamburg, receiving his doctorate with a thesis on healing spells and incantations of the Lacandon-Maya people after three years of fieldwork among the Lacandon in Chiapas, Mexico. In addition to his work in Mexico, his numerous fieldworks have included research in Thailand, Bali, the Seychelles, and, with coauthor Claudia Müller-Ebeling, a long-term 18-year study on shamanism in Nepal combined with expeditions to Korea and the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon. Before becoming a full-time author and internationally renowned lecturer, Rätsch worked as professor of anthropology at the University of Bremen and served as consultant advisor for many German museums. Because of his extensive collection of shells, fossils, artifacts and entheopharmacological items, he had numerous museum expositions on these topics. A former president of the Association of Ethnomedicine, he is the author of numerous articles and more than 40 books, including The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants and Marijuana Medicine, and is a coauthor of Plants of the Gods. CLAUDIA MÜLLER-EBELING, Ph.D., is an art historian and anthropologist and coauthor, with Christian Rätsch, of Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas, Witchcraft Medicine, and Pagan Christmas as well as a number of articles and books in German. In addition to her long-term anthropological fieldwork in Nepal, Korea, and the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon, she has worked as an art historian at the Hamburg Museum of Arts and Crafts and taught at the Hamburg Institute of Ethnology. She is one of the founders of Psycho Activity, an organization based in Amsterdam that seeks to preserve ancestral shamanic traditions by working with elders from around the world and distributing their wisdom globally. Both authors are former members of the board of advisors of the European College for the Study of Consciousness and regularly gave lectures throughout the world on shamanism, ethnobotany, and indigenous spiritual and healing traditions. Claudia lives in Hamburg, Germany.
