Sexy Cedric on Aphrodisiacs? Not Bloody Likely! /Ebook Giveaway

Your host with the most, Cedric MacKinnon

Hello, my lovelies!  I took a hiatus last weekend to spend a little time with my darling Mia.  The woman is demanding, let me tell you, but I rose valiantly to the occasion.  She asked if, in my former profession of sacred courtesan, 

I ever employed aphrodisiacs.  

Well, it helped to know all sorts of ways to rouse a lover.  I was indeed trained in the use of aphrodisiacs.  Even extraordinarily beautiful and skilled practitioners like the adepts of the ancient arts sometimes resort to exotic herbal concoctions to coax the desired state from a lover, just as many humans employ drugs such as Viagra to boost their capabilities.

Of course, yours truly never has those problems, either in the arousing or arousal areas, but it is a fascinating subject.  Today, I'll share a few cautionary tidbits.

Aphrodisiacs

The word aphrodisiac is derived from the name of the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite.  This randy lady is known for her numerous affairs and the ability to inspire lust in all men.  Throughout history, men and women have employed magical, chemical, animal and herbal remedies to enhance sexual desire.  However, these weren’t always used to attain sexual pleasure.  Sometimes the user was looking to increase fertility or to partake in mystical rites. 

Here is a list of ten notorious and strange forms of aphrodisiacs I’ve run across in my reading:

1. Bufo Toad Skin- The toxin bufotenin is secreted by the cane toad and found in its skin.  It is chemically is related to the neurotransmitter, serotonin.  The secretion is sometimes used as a psychedelic drug with effects similar to mescaline and LSD and is often employed as an aphrodisiac.  It is highly dangerous as it is toxic in rather small doses, especially if taken intravenously.  The chemical can naturally occur in human beings, and a 2010 study linked a high concentration of bufotenin excreted in urine to mental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. 

2. Spanish Fly is a bright green blister beetle, Lytta vesicatoria, and one of the oldest-known aphrodisiacs. The insect produces cantharidin, a substance that produces blisters on the skin of creatures that come in contact with it.  If ingested, the compound basically irritates the genitals.  I suppose some people find that arousing, but if one takes too much of this stuff, it can also act as a poison.  I’d beware any lover who swears by its use.  The Marquis de Sade was once said to serve Spanish Fly-laced candies to prostitutes at an orgy.  Some party.  Yet, the lowly beetle does have a beneficial effect--in the treatment of warts.

3. Panax Ginseng is a Northern Hemisphere plant found only in North America and eastern Asia.  Scientific research has shown it to contain phytoestrogens, and it may cause the pituitary gland to produce gonadotropins.  Some studies have shown it to affect the estrus cycle and sperm production in mice. 

4. Sparrow Brains-In Greek Mythology, Aphrodite considered the sparrow a sacred bird.  To the ancient Greeks, the sparrow was looked upon as a lustful creature, much in the way people today think of rabbits.  The Greeks believed ingesting the sparrow’s brains would increase libido.

5. Oysters-These mollusks were thought to have aphrodisiacal qualities because they resemble the female genitals.  Personally, I don’t see the resemblance.  I mean, really?  I find oysters to be tasty, but rather unattractive creatures.  To equate something slimy and grey with something as delightful as female parts is missing the point to me.  And would oysters even work in same-sex trysts?  Some of us like to swing both ways.  I say, leave the oysters to the realm of appetizer, not aphrodisiac. 

6. Mandrake root was also said to resemble a woman’s anatomy and thus was believed by many cultures to boost a woman’s fertility.  It’s a member of the nightshade family like potatoes and tomatoes and other more notorious plants like Jimson weed.  It looks nothing like the ugly, muddy babies in Harry Potter, more like a couple of intertwined parsnips, and it doesn’t scream when pulled from the earth.  However, it is poisonous and has been used throughout history as a hallucinogen.  It is called the “love plant” in Jewish scriptures. 

7. Deer’s Penis- in China and Taipei, deer penis is often served in restaurants or even soaked in alcohol to make “deer penis wine”.  Because of the prodigious size of the organ, it is believed to enhance male virility.  Tiger’s penis is also used this way.  Okay, let’s leave the lovely animals intact so they can create little animals.  Surely there must be a better way to increase one’s randiness?

8. Horny Goat Weed (Epimedium grandiflorum) is a flower in the barberry family found in China, Japan and Korea.  It contains icarin, a flavonol, that shares some properties of drugs used to treat impotence.  The plant is used commonly in Chinese herbal medicine to treat erectile dysfunction.  I can’t get past the name.

9.  Ambergris is in fact the sick of a sperm whale.  It is a waxy, odorous substance produced in the whale’s digestive tract and was widely used as a preservative base for perfumes, although some people ingested it as an aphrodisiac.  Whale’s vomit?  I’d have to be pretty desperate to go that route.

10. Arugula (rocket or garden rocket)- yes, that peppery, somewhat bitter salad green has been considered an aphrodisiac in the Mediterranean since Roman times.  This one, along with the oysters, the most innocuous and tasty solution.  Perhaps there is no real aphrodisiacal quality than the sensual delight of a good meal of varied tastes, textures, colors and aromas.  Interesting that eating arugula was called “elitist” by political pundits during the 2008 American presidential election, when this humble herb was eaten by peasants for centuries. 

Maybe “arugula eaters” had the right idea all along.

Now, do you see a common thread among these so-called aphrodisiacs?  Most are either poisonous or in some way repugnant.  The biggest problem in the loss of libido in humans is illness or stress.  First, see a doctor to see if there is some illness underlying the condition.  If you are just stressed out, make some time to re-connect with your lover.  Take a walk on the beach or in the woods and commune with nature.  Have a good meal with wine.  Play the right music.  My advice is to steer clear of ingesting dubious herbal remedies and drugs and employ more innocuous forms of arousal—like erotic books, films or images.

Hmm… I have a wee suggestion.  Not erotica in the strictest sense, but steamy, like the hero.

Leave a comment for me with a contact email address or url, and I'll send you a link and coupon code for a free ebook of short tales featuring Mia, Kurt and me!

Until next time, my darlings!

Love and dark kisses,

Cedric MacKinnon

@cedricmackinnon

http://www.facebook.com/cedricvampire