A potion is a liquid "that contains medicine, poison, or something that is supposed to have magic powers." It derives from the Latin word potio which refers to a drink or the act of drinking. The term philtre is also used, often specifically for a love potion, a potion that is supposed to create feelings of love or attraction in the one who drinks it.
Throughout history there have been several types of potions for a range of purposes. Reasons for taking potions ranged from curing an illness, to securing immortality to trying to induce love. These potions, while often ineffective or poisonous, occasionally had some degree of medicinal success depending on what they sought to fix and the type and amount of ingredients used. Some popular ingredients used in potions across history include Spanish fly, nightshade plants, cannabis, and opium.
A bottle of colored liquid labelled as a love potion
A quack or charlatan doctor selling potions from his caravan in 19th century Ireland
1773 painting of a witch reciting a spell over a cauldron
Contemporary portrait engraving of 17th century sorceress and poisoner Catherine Monvoison "La Voisin" - Guillaume Chasteau after Antoine Coypel
The elixir of life, also known as elixir of immortality, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker eternal life and/or eternal youth. This elixir was also said to cure all diseases. Alchemists in various ages and cultures sought the means of formulating the elixir.
The mythological White Hare from Chinese mythology, brewing the elixir of life on the Moon
Xu Fu's first expedition to the Mount of the immortals. By Utagawa Kuniyoshi.
Mohini, the female form of Vishnu, holding the pot of amrita, which she distributes amongst all the devas, leaving the asuras without it. Darasuram, Tamil Nadu, India
Dell' elixir vitae, 1624