Ylang Ylang oil

In parts of Indonesia, ylang ylang flowers are scattered over the bed of a newly married couple on their wedding night.

Origin & Traditional Use

Ylang ylang is the flower of the cananga tree (Cananga odorata) of the Philippines and Indonesia, with long, drooping yellow petals and a heavy, sweet perfume. Its name is usually traced to the Tagalog ‘ilang-ilang’. The flowers were worn in the hair and strung into garlands, and the distilled scent became a core note in nineteenth-century and modern perfumery.

Uses by Tradition

Witchcraft & Folk Magick

• Love and passion: dress a red or pink candle with ylang ylang for romance with heat behind it.
• Glamour: wear a drop on the throat and in the hair before an evening out, in the old island custom of flowers worn in the hair.
• Peace between partners: a few drops in an oil burner in the bedroom to soften tension.

A Simple Working

• On a Friday evening, set a red chime candle on a plate.
• Scatter a few dried rose petals around it.
• Dress the candle from the middle out to both ends with ylang ylang oil.
• Dab a drop of the oil on your own throat and wrists.
• Light the candle and say what you want to stir between you and your lover.
• Let it burn down, then sprinkle the petals across the bed.

Pairs Well With

• Rose oil: for a deeper romantic blend.
• A red chime candle: for passion.
• Dried rose petals: to scatter across the bed.
• Dark musk oil: for a heavier, more sensual note.

Lore & History

Ylang ylang was one of the ingredients in Macassar oil, a popular nineteenth-century hair oil, and so many chairs were stained by it that households draped them with cloth ‘antimacassars’. Modern correspondences, following Cunningham’s book on oils, place ylang ylang under Venus and Water for love and passion.

What You Receive

Ylang Ylang oil in 2 dram and 16 oz (1 lb) sizes.