Mardi: Herbal-Wise

Last week, in talking about the various magickal uses for garlic, vetivert came up as one of the ingredients in Four Thieves Vinegar. Vetivert is a grass from Asia and is the most highly scented among its relatives including citronella and lemon grass. It is used in hoodoo and other magickal disciplines to turn away jinxes, inspire love and draw cash.

Vetivert is frequently sold distilled as an essential oil. It has a musky scent whose connection to sex and sex appeal can be readily understood. The herbal form can be steeped in cologne such as Florida Water and then sprinkled on the clean sheets of a marital bed to insure faithfulness.

Bathing in vetivert to draw love and/or sex is also common. Scott Cunningham recommends adding vetivert tea to a bath and then air drying thereafter to make yourself more attractive to the opposite sex. There is also a legendary hoodoo “Virgin’s Ritual” that includes vetivert and is said to ensure a positive first sexual experience for a woman. The woman in question should take a bath to which mint tea has been added, rub herself with vetivert essential oil and then drink a cup of sage tea to which whiskey has been added. I’ve no personal experience with this trick but if it helps there is surely no harm.

Dried vetivert root burned on charcoal is said to lift crossed conditions. Business will burn the root the same way to prevent theft and keeping some dried vetivert in the cash register is said to bring in business. A person who carries a vetivert root as a pocket piece is thought to attract luck. Bon chance ~

Header: In the Orchard by Franz Dvorak c 1911