often recreated and drunk by emperors, nobles and officials. In India, there is a myth of the potion amrita, a drink of immortality made out of nectar. Hallucinogenic potions Ayahuasca Ayahuasca, is a hallucinogenic plant-based potion used in many parts of the world. It was first created by indigenous South Americans from the Amazon basin as a spiritual medicine. The potion was often administered by a shaman during a ceremony. The potion contains the boiled stems of the ayahuasca vine and leaves from the chacruna plant. Chacruna contains dimethyltryptamine (also known as DMT), a psychedelic drug. The potion caused users to vomit or 'purge' and induced hallucinations. Folklore Potions or mixtures are common within many of local mythologies. In particular, references to love potions are common in many cultures. Yusufzai witches, for example, would bathe a recently deceased leatherworker and sell the water to those seeking a male partner; this practice is said to exist in a modified form in modern times. Famous potions in literature Potions have played a critical role in many pieces of literature. Shakespeare wrote potions into many of his plays including a love potion in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, poison in Hamlet, and Juliet takes a potion to fake her death in Romeo and Juliet. In the Harry Potter series, potions also play a main role. The students are required to attend potion classes and knowledge of potions often becomes a factor for many of the characters. In the fairytale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen, the Little Mermaid wishes to become human and have an immortal soul. She visits the Sea Witch who sells her a potion, in exchange for which she cuts out the Little Mermaid's tongue. The Sea Witch makes the potion using her own blood that she cuts from her breast. She warns the Little Mermaid that it will feel as if she had been cut with a sword when her fin becomes legs, that she will never be able to become a mermaid again, and risks turning into seafoam and not having an immortal soul if she fails to win the Prince's love. The Little Mermaid decides to take the potion which successfully turns her into a human so that she can try to win the love of the Prince and an immortal soul. In the novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis