The Cup of Lethe is a special and advanced potion belonging to the witches, particularly in the possession of Grandma Harman (and later Blaise Harman). It is a particularly powerful brew capable of obliterating memories (likely of specific events in the drinker's life). However, because it is advanced spellwork and appears to only be used in dire times, the Cup of Lethe is kept from most witches and is kept sealed until needed.
Uses[]
Spellbinder[]
The Cup of Lethe makes its only appearance in this book. It is alluded to early on along with its primary effects, as Blaise Harman seeks to use it on boys she wants to make forget certain things. It is implied to be a spell reserved only for elder witches as Thea Harman reacts with extreme shock at Blaise's suggestion of using the Cup.
The Cup is at last put into action at the end of the novel; seeing no other option to remain with her soulmate, Eric, Thea proposes using the Cup of Lethe to forget her identity as a witch and erase Eric's own memories of this as well. The Inner Circle agrees somewhat reluctantly to Thea's suggestion, as they regret losing her, but as Thea discovers when drinking the potion, to spare her cousin, Blaise had switched the actual potion with iced tea. As Blaise is highly skilled at crafting seals and other waxworks, she was successful in removing the true Cup of Lethe and storing it elsewhere until needed.
Notable Users and Owners[]
- Blaise Harman (stolen from Grandma Harman)
Trivia[]
- The Cup of Lethe is based on a special freshwater spring or river in Greek Mythology. Located in the Underworld, the spring of Lethe makes anyone, living or dead, who drink its waters lose all memories of their life. Before passing on to their eternal afterlife, the spirits of the dead must drink this water to forget their old lives on Earth. The only antidote to the spring's effects is a second freshwater spring, the spring of Mnemosyne, which will restore all the memories lost to the drinker.
- The word Lethe means "forgetfulness" or "oblivion". An alternative word for Lethe was "Ameles" (not minding).