Citronella oil

How to Use It

Witchcraft & Folk Magick

• Add a few drops to a diffuser or a bowl of warm water to clear stale energy from a room.
• Anoint a yellow candle before study or work that needs a clear head.

Hoodoo & Rootwork

• Mix a few drops into a floor wash and scrub from the back of the house out the front door to clean away crossed conditions.
• Dress a white candle on an uncrossing petition, alongside lemongrass or Van Van oil.

Ceremonial & Occult Magick

• Anoint the boundary candles of a circle before banishing work.
• Dress tools of Air, such as a feather fan or a censer.

A Simple Working

• Fill a bucket with warm water and a small handful of salt.
• Add several drops of citronella oil and stir it counterclockwise.
• Dress a white chime candle with the oil and light it in the centre of the house.
• Wash your floors and doorsteps from the back of the home toward the front.
• Throw the used water out the front door or onto a crossroads.
• Let the candle finish burning while you air the house.

Pairs Well With

• Lemongrass, citronella’s cousin and the base of Van Van.
• Salt, the simplest cleansing agent.
• A white candle, for purification.
• Rosemary, for clearing and protection.
• Florida Water, for a quick follow-up cleanse.

What You Receive

Citronella oil, available in 2 dram and 16 oz bottles.

Origin & Lore

This is a single-note oil named for citronella grass, Cymbopogon nardus, grown in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia and distilled for its oil since the nineteenth century. Its close relative lemongrass is the key herb of Van Van oil in hoodoo, and citronella shares that bright, cleansing character in spellwork.

Citronella is a tall tropical grass, a near cousin of lemongrass, and the sharp lemon scent that keeps insects away has long been used to clear spaces of other unwanted things too.

Citronella oil was distilled commercially in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, from the mid-1800s, and became one of the most traded essential oils of the colonial era. In hoodoo, lemon grasses are prized for cleansing and luck, and Van Van formulas built on them are among the oldest named oils in the tradition.