We often hear in movies, in shows, in stories or read in books about spells with strange, hard to find, disgusting and… often imaginary ingredients, such as "mouse's tail", "lizard's tongue", "snake's milk" and other such abominations. The impression has been wrongly created that all this is taken literally... that there really are filters and "concoctions" with such materials.
The truth is that all of these are nothing more than "code" names for herbs! These strange names were first given because of the occurrence of some plants and later to protect the knowledge from the ignorant who intended to corrupt it or use it for evil purpose. Thus, strange and often imaginary things were given names to discourage the attempt to create filters by the unskilled and unlearned.
I am listing here some of the occult names of the plants along with their real names:
Wild Blackberry (white) = Doll Eyes
Horseradish = Pig's Snout
Alpha-Alpha = Mare's Leg
Amaranth = Feather Prince or Blood of Love & Hate
Antirrhino = Calf's Mound or Frog
Aron or Fidohorto or Dracontio = Dragon's Blood
Balsamine the Gardener = Page from the Bible
Basil = Geni Archonta
Vetoniki = Queen's Lace or Snowflake
Fangtooth Violet = Viper's Tongue
Thistle or St. John's Wort = Saint's Thorn
Clove = Viper's Mouth or Viper's Meat
Gerani = Crow's Foot or Pigeon's Foot
Tree Ivy = Deer Horn
Hellevoros = Bear's Foot
Euphorbio or Galatsida or Phlomos = Snake Milk or Snake Milk
Echion to koionon or Lykopsis or Vouglosso = Bull's Tongue
Sunflower or Nodule = Devil's Milk
Iris = Wand of Angel
Kaltha the Elocharis = Bull's Eye or Gay's Wings
Capsule or Shepherd's Valantio or Wild Cardamom = Mother's Heart
Ground Ivy = Cat's Milk or Cat's Paw
Kollitsida or Platomadila = Beggar's Buttons
Crowweed or Swallowweed = Bloody Fingers or Fairy Fingers
Barley = Foxtail
Mandrake = Goose's Foot or Duck's Foot
Muscles or Lycopodium = Wolf's Claw
Buttercup or Buttercup = Frog's Leg
Neragato = Gypsy's Comb
Pentaneuro or Musa = Lamb's Tongue
Pentaphyllo or Potentilli or Vasanaki = Flesh & Blood
Rooster Herb = Beggar's Wand
Polygon the two-stroke or Perikokladi = Serpent's Tongue
Polycobi = Horse's Tail
Pulikaria or Psyllohorto = Cow's Tail
Primula = Bear's Ear or Tears of the Sun
Rinanthos = Leiri Peteinos
Rice = Castor Bean
Sedon the Drimy = Rat's Tail
Spiraea or pteloidea or Filipendula or ulmaria or Hortostreido = Cat's Gut or Goat's Gut
Chicory or Ranunculus = Cardinal Monkey
Symphyton or Stekouli = Donkey's Ear
Dandelion or Wild Lettuce or Wild Radish = Lion's Tooth
Clover = Hare's Foot or Mouse's Foot
Yoskyamos = Old Man's Blood or Doctor's Blood
Ivory grass = Negro's Head
Flamouria or Melia = Bird's Tongue
Fumaria = Geni Gerou
Prickly Pear = Devil's Tongue
Elm = Jew's Ear
Fern = Horse Tongue
Vanilla Leaves = Hound's Tongue
Chamoleuki or Bihani = Bull's Leg
Tortoisegrass = Snake's Head or Tortoise's Head
False Horn = Unicorn Horn
Psorastro = Cat's Eye
These are of course only a few of the many names. Also, the names vary from place to place, depending on local beliefs and traditions. However, the next time you hear something strange as a potion ingredient, know that it is nothing more than the occult name of a plant.