Potions & Ointments

One of the most common methods of magical transformation is the potion. The one to be transformed drinks a magically prepared brew that will somehow effect a change. Alternatively, as in the case of Lucius in the Golden Ass, an ointment might serve the same function. Potions can funtion in different ways. A spell maybe cast upon an ordinary drink. The spell directs that anyone who imbibes the drink will be transformed in accordance with the spell's directives. Some special ingredients (mistletoe for example) might be required to bind the magic to the drink, but there is nothing actually transformative in the liquid itself.) A second category of potion is some form of drug which will induce halucinations and delusions, maybe a state of euphoria. While it is altogether possible that someone drinking such a brew could all too easily imagine themselves to be an animal, it could also break down their natural scepticism toward such a transformation, thus providing the necessary conviction to provide the physical transformation. It has long been theorised that the mind is stronger than the body: that properly convinced, it can perform seemingly impossible acts such as levitation and healing. Why not shape-shifting? The third category involves a liquid that will somehow cause a physical and controlled transformation in the person drinking it. It is doubtful that any naturally occurring substance in the world will change someone into a horse if they imbibe it. However, compare this with the DNA manipulation in the Science section. A DNA-manipulative virus held in a liquid would be just such a potion. In the final analysis, it is our own viewpoint that determines what constitutes science and what constitutes magic.

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