When I was in high school, I bought some “love” oil to use in spells. (I considered myself a little witch at the time.) With the pungent scent of jasmine flower, Rose, petals and herbs swimming around in a bottle, this tiny jar of oil was one of my first magical tools. That was over 20 years ago, and I still keep the bottle on my altar. There’s only a little oil left, so I’ll open it up once just to get a little bit. Although it has no practical effect on me now, the way it can take me back to when I was 15 years old almost makes oil a magic for time travel. That, or it just shows how strong the scent is.
“Smell is our oldest sense,” says Marissa Zappas, perfumer and creator of his eponymous perfume brand. “Perfume — oils, resins, perfumes, floral essences, etc. — has been used from the beginning for many reasons: to seduce, comfort, even kill. I think there’s something about the way that scent penetrates our unconscious that makes it divine.”
Cosmetics have long been associated with mystery. In the Middle Ages, the cosmetics-hating Church believed that wearing lipstick meant you were in a relationship with the devil. (Rich women, of course, are exempt from this.) Even the word seduction is derived from a Scottish term meaning “charm.” Today, beauty brands are known for offering their lipsticks and eyeshadows with confusing monikers, while some infuse crystals into their products to boost positive energy. But perfume has its own magical history.
Bri Luna says: “Perfume in ancient times has always been associated with protection from evil as well as charm and witchcraft. Hoodwitch. “Using flowers, wild herbs, resins and making them into the best perfumes and balms is a way for women to disguise body odor, thus turning them into ‘witches’ and ‘cheats’. ” for self-care and stress relief, derived from mysticism. The ancient Egyptians used fragrance in spells and rituals, and in The scent of ancient magicAuthor Britta K. Ager writes how Greco-Roman magicians “used scent extensively as part of their rituals”.
In various modern magical practices, aromatic oils are used to apply candles to make spells, and Florida countryA light and citrusy fragrance by Murray & Lanman dating from 1808, renowned in magic circles as a product suitable for cleansing and protection.
