Hair - Most of the human body is covered with hair: it has an infinite number of erotic possibilities. The minute, unseen hairs on the smooth areas of our skin are the sensory conductors which make stroking and light massage so pleasurable. Stroking of the head hair is also pleasing, especially for women. Long hair can be brushed or lightly tugged; but the most exquisite sensations in both sexes come from caressing the fine downy hair on the neck. Hair is also a scent trap and disperser. Head hair is particulary important, but so are genital and armpit hair. In very hot climates it has often been the practice for both sexes to shave body hair, and in some but not all Western cultures it is fashionable for women to shave their armpits. All depilation reduces the cassolette effect in women and disarms a potentially deadly erotic weapon (see Cassolette). Hair fashion and styling, with all its related products and services, is a vast industry. It follows the same patterns of change as clothing fashions for much the same reasons: the related goals of more effective aphrodisiac quality and greater profit. Hair has a powerful visual impact both negatively and positively. Some women find shaven male heads sexy; some men are excited by the look (and feel) of shaven vulvas. Beards are attractive for some women and repel others: a strong negative reaction mey be connected with attitudes towards sexuality since facial hair and lips are analogous to the female genitals. The triangle of a woman's pubic hair is a very stimulating visual signal for men. The fashion for removing underarm tufts means that millions of opportunities for potentially aphrodisiac display are lost every day, since underarm hair is both consciously and unconsciously associated with pubic hair. Western culture tends to exaggerate the importance of head hair to the exclusion of its other manifestations on the human body. (This was not always so. During periods when head wigs were fashionable so were pubic wigs for women.) This fragment from an Afghan poem shows better understanding of the complex erotic possibilities of hair: 'Last night my kisses drowned in the softness of black hair, And my kisses like bees went plundering the softness of black hair. Last night my hands were thrust in the mystery of black hair, And my kisses like bees went plundering the sweetness of pomegranites'. (See also Cassolette; Clothing and Fashion)

Hare - Supposedly aphrodisiac - as is most game - and traditionally identified with the love goddess Aphrodite.

Hazelnut - Many nuts are considered to be sexual stimulants. Gathering hazelnuts in traditional rural communities in Europe was closely associated with sex and going 'a-nutting' in England was a euphemism for fornicating. This may be a relic of forgotten fertility rituals or it could be that the gathering of 'filberts' (on St. Philbert's Day in August) was simply an opportunity for young men and women to go into the woods together.

Homosexual - (See Same Sex Relationships)

Honey - In all cultures where aphrodisiacs have been popular, honey has been among the most frequently used ingredients. Galen - the Greek physician of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius - recommended 'honey at bedtime' as a sexual stimulant. The medieval Arab doctor Avicenna prescribed honey mixed with ginger and a little pepper. Other products of honey have been used as aphrodisiacs. Marigold petals steeped in mead was a popular aphrodisiac drink among the Anglo-Saxons as was 'honey wine' which was traditionally taken by newly-wed couples for a month after their marriage and is the origin of 'honeymoon'. Attila the Hun - whom we had always suspected of over-compensating - drank so much honey wine at his wedding that he died. Honey is easily digested and therefore an excellent source of immediate energy. It is also rich in vitamins and minerals. Traditionally the best honey comes from Hymettus, the mountain near Athens, where it has been collected since ancient times. To this day Hymettus honey is scented with flowers and heady with wild thyme. Honey has also been used as an interesting 'anointment' in oral sexual practices and as a means of achieving better friction in lovemaking at those times when the woman may be lubricating heavily. (See also: Thyme)

Honeysuckle - The unmistakable scent of honeysuckle is said to be sexually exciting for women. In folk magic lonely maidens were advised to place a sprig of honeysuckle under their pilow to induce erotic and prophetic dreams. (See also: Sex Magic)

Hops - In addition to its use as a flavouring in beer, this widely-dispersed plant can also be eaten as a vegetable by boiling the young shoots in water like asparagus. The aphrodisiac reputation of hops applies only to women. Although its most famous product, beer, is one of the bastions of machismo in some cultures the hop has a well-attested estrogenic action. When consumed in very large quantities hops have a feminizing and anaphrodisiac effect. (See also Alcohol)

Horse - The idea that horse-riding is sexually stimulating is not simply a male fantasy: it is a well-documented fact which also happens to be the subject of male fantasy. Female anatomy is obviously better suited to direct stimulation by riding but sitting in a saddle also stimulates the male perineum. Horses also offer a range of other erotic stimuli. It is no accident that 'riding' is a sexual term: the rhythms and attitudes are strongly suggestive. Breeches are necessarily tight and usually pale in color. When combined with the most erotic of all color signals - red (as in hunting pink) - they constitute a mating display which the most outré bird might envy. Horses themselves are visually exciting. Reduced to its components - prominent buttocks, sleek surface, long hair, swinging gait - a horse has many of the features associated with a sexually-attractive woman. The enthusiasm with which racegoers visit the paddock is as much to do with aesthetics as the arcana of gambling. Horses are also sexual 'symbols' for women. They are powerful and elegant. In horse cultures of all periods (Aryans, Normans etc.) an intimate relationship, working at many different levels, developed between horse and human. The Arab Sheikh Nefzawi recommends watching horses mate as a powerful aphrodisiac. The Borgia Pope, Alexander VI, is said to have seduced Lucretzia, his daughter, after a similar display at the Vatican. The early Sanskrit poet Mayura left an intriguing fragment: 'You went to bathe in the river, and I took new interest in the king's stallion. He roared for the quick mares to be brought to him, he drummed with his forelegs upon them. Oh woman moist with a boy's love!'.

Horseradish - Culinary and medicinal use has been made of this perennial herb since the first millenium BC. The Greeks valued it as an aphrodisiac; the Romans included it in the spicy sauces which they served with both fish and meat. Dried or pre-prepared horseradish does not compare with the natural root which is now becoming more widely available. Grated into thick cream or yougurt with a little vinegar and a pinch of salt it makes an excellent sauce for either beef or smoked and pickled fish. Combined with a tomato and wine vinegar base it makes the best possible dip for large prawns. Sprinkle chopped coriander on top for both taste and 'aphrodisiac' value.

Hyacinth - Generally included with those flowers whose perfume is said to excite women, the phallic hyacinth has quite different associations in Greek mythology. The beautiful young man Hyacinth was accidentally killed by his boisterous lover the god Apollo. In his grief he turned the boy into a flower which would eternally echo his beauty. (See also: Perfume and Scent, Sense of Smell)

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