Aromatic Love Magic

“Purple the Sails, and so perfumed that the wind was love-sick with them.”
– Shakespeare

Our ancestors considered incense, perfumes, and other aromatics an important part of religious observance. Solomon felt that pomades (scented creams) rejoiced the heart, and Mohammed encouraged the use of aromatics among his followers. Greek writings describe many gods and goddesses as anointed, or sprinkled with fragrant oils. Anything that so pleased the gods must also have pleased their devout followers! Perfumery was a common occupation in Moses’ time.

Scentual Love Magick

Scents were mysterious and exotic, and those who could afford them were regarded similarly as mysterious and exotic creatures. Aromatics were also thought to be healthful. This belief is possibly accurate, considering that medieval workers in French perfumeries showed a drastically lower incidence of the plague than their neighbors.

In some cultures, perfume making was a sacred art, performed by priests and priestesses. Some aromas healed, others banished ghosts and curses. Still, others were considered magically potent for pleasing, teasing, and increasing attractive energies.

The human need to feel handsome or beautiful is strongly connected to love’s quest. Aromatics are one way we can affect how others perceive us. With a little magic, we can accentuate inner attractiveness and, in turn, our potential to love and be loved.

In working with each of these recipes, feel free to experiment, but always record any changes you see so you don’t lose the keys to favorite combinations. Remember, magic always flows better when you align it with your own personality, spiritual path, and personal agenda.

Handmade Magickal Aromatic Tips

Making homemade aromatics takes a little practice before achieving satisfying results. The way herbs and flowers integrate depends on several factors including heat, light, exposure, the amount of aromatic oil in the plant, any mold or dirt present, and the tools used, to name a few. Be patient, recognizing that an unacceptable aroma may not have been your fault.

Start with very simple compounds. Don’t use more than two or three aromatics at a time and notice how they blend. Fewer components in a recipe don’t lessen the magic. Also, while it might be tempting to try many products at once, this is a long journey. The skills acquired in perfecting each creation will flow into your next effort.

Basic Aromatic Components for Love Magic (Magick)

• Beauty: Lavender, rosemary, mint, thyme
• Clear intention: Bergamot, lavender
• Communication: Almond, bergamot, anise, mint
• Decreased Negativity: Lemon rind, frankincense, myrrh
• Departure (banishing) : Bay, clove, mint, rosemary, mugwort, pine, vetiver
• Love: Apple, lemon, rose, dill, mace, clove, ginger
• Passion: Cinnamon, mint, patchouli, allspice, orange, violet, vanilla, dill
• Stability: Honeysuckle, patchouli, magnolia

Magick Air Fresheners

Begin with a cup of beeswax to which you add 1/4 cup finely powdered herbs and 5 to 10 drops of essential oil(s). Let this cool, stirring periodically until you can handle the warm wax in your hand. Shape the wax around a wick gently shaping as you go. Add an incantation if you wish.

For a happy home:

“As the sun warms this heart, negativity depart.

by my will, the magic begins.”

Let the wax finish cooling, then hang the charm in a sunny window.

Magickal Baths

The Romans were among the first people to raise bathing to an art form. The Roman baths were lavish and typically scented with lavender. Make your aromatic bath by bundling symbolic herbs into a sachet. Toss it in the water, and you’re good to go. (hint: this also works in the washing machine). While you bathe, relax and allow the worries of the day to dissolve.

Breath Fresheners

“Tis her breathing that perfumes the chamber.” – Shakespeare

It’s hard to be approachable when your breath smells of fish, coffee, garlic, or other strong food. Two natural breath fresheners, mint leaves and ginger root, work wonders. Ginger root in candied form makes a refreshing sweet; mint leaves can be chewed just as they are. Weave this spell over your choice:

Inspire a Kiss!

“Let words linger sweetly on my lips

and bring about a kiss!”

Magick Candles

Candlelight sets the mood for love and romance; candles can also impart aroma into the atmosphere. Rather than making your own candles, which can be time-consuming, just dab a little aromatic oil on a candle with a scent that matches your magical goal. Gently rub a couple of drops on the surface of the wax, adding an invocation such as,

“While this burns, so too my heart.

Through this room, romance impart.”

Magick Carpet Fresheners

Carpet fresheners enhance the ambiance of an entire room (something very useful for pet owners). They also make perfect cleansers to banish any unwanted lingering energies. Begin with a cup of baking soda. Add 1 teaspoon each of finely powdered lemon rind, orange rind, and ground allspice. Sprinkle this mix onto the carpet, saying,

“Sprinkle magic all about.

Love goes in, negativity goes out!”

Leave the mixture on the rug for 10 to 15 minutes, then vacuum it up.

Magick Beauty Creams

Aromatic creams are more than mere skin conditioners. They can be added to bath water, dabbed on light bulbs, or rubbed into wood (specifically in clothing drawers).

Basic Cream:

2 parts vegetable oil

1 part herb (strain)

1/4 teaspoon benzoin powder (as a fixative)

1 part beeswax

Warm the oil in a pan that you won’t need for cooking again. Add the desired magical love herb(s) and benzoin. Stir until the wax is melted. Strain and let the blend cool until a film forms on the surface. Beat the mixture by hand until it has cooled completely. The result will be similar to cold cream. Remember to stir clockwise for positive energy, counterclockwise for banishing negativity. This is an excellent time to add a chant such as:

“Round and round, the wheel it turns,

so begins my magic spell.”

Keep repeating this until you’re finished making the cream. Store in an airtight container.

Magickal Incense

“Soft roll your incense, herbs and fruits and flowers in mingled clouds.” – James Thomson

Incense was among the first aromatics used regularly for religious purposes. The Grecian oracles and other seers used specially prepared incense for creating an altered state of consciousness. In other settings, people would sit near the smoke from incense to purify and perfume themselves. The smoke generated by incense represents prayers and wishes rising to the heavens.

Basic Incense Recipe

1 cup powdered wood (sandalwood, cedar, or pine)

1/4- 1/2 cup dried herb(s)

up to 12 drops essential oil

1 teaspoon orris root or benzoin powder (as a fixative)

1 to 2 teaspoons honey, wine, or aromatic water

Mix the wood powder, dried herbs, and fixative together in an earthenware dish. Equally, disperse the essential oils and other ingredients over the top. Stir and fold constantly until well-blended. Leave this mixture out in the open air until completely dry. Store in a dark, airtight container kept in a cool place. This incense requires self-lighting charcoal to burn. Us about ½ Teaspoon for starters.

Some blends to consider for love include:

• Blessing: Red sandalwood base with cinnamon, bay, frankincense, wine, and honey
• Commitment: Cedar base with cinnamon, juniper, and frank· incense
• Communication: Pine base with lavender and wormwood
• Decreased Negativity: Sandalwood base with dill, frankincense, sage, nutmeg, rosemary, myrrh, and fern
• Departure (banishing): Cedar base with rue, fennel, and dill
• Faithfulness: Pine base with linden flower, basil, bayberry, and clove
• God Aspect: Sandalwood base with bay, myrrh, cinnamon, ginger, patchouli, and ginger
• Goddess Aspect: Cedar base with cinnamon, violet, vetiver, and rose
• Loving Home: Juniper wood base with orange, rose, basil, dragon blood, gardenia, and lavender
• Luck in Love: Cedar base with allspice and clove. Add a dried four-leaf clover or a five-petaled lilac, if you have one.
• Passion: Sandalwood base with musk, dragon blood, saffron, and carnation
• Promises: Sandalwood base with mace and pine needles
• Romance: Sandalwood base with jasmine, gardenia, lotus, bay, and rose

Magickal Oils

The ancients originally used aromatic oils for religious purposes, specifically for anointing themselves before entering sacred spaces. The oil blessed the priest/ess or petitioner and pleased the gods. Today, the Kitchen Witch creates magically empowered oils that serve as signature colognes, perfumes, flavored cooking oils, anointing oils for amulets, and so on.

To make your own aromatic oils, you need a good quality base with a texture you enjoy. Almond oil, virgin olive oil, and safflower oil all have a long shelf life and a lightweight body. These edible oils work for preparing love’s foods too.

Steep the herbs in a base oil. Begin with one handful of herbs or flower petals, and cover completely with warmed oil. Steep for 48 hours in sunlight. Strain and repeat, adding more herbs or petals until you like the intensity. Bottle and label for storage in a cool, dark place.

Some good blends to consider are:

• Attraction: Patchouli and clove
• Blessing: Cinnamon, myrrh, and a touch of saffron
• Decreased Negativity: Rose, gardenia, lavender, and orange
• Departure (banishing) : Rosemary, lily, and vervain
• Energy: Pine, lemon, mint, clove, and sage
• God Aspect: Musk, patchouli, cinnamon, ambergris, clove, and allspice
• Goddess Aspect: Gardenia, rose, jasmine, lotus, and violet
• Heartache: Basil, marjoram, and rosemary
• Loving Home: Bergamot, lavender, clove, musk, and vanilla
• Passion: Musk, frankincense, patchouli, pine, cedar, vanilla, jasmine, and coriander
• Romance: Sandalwood, lemon, rose, and vanilla

Store your oils in glass containers with airtight lids, away from heat and heat and light. If they turn cloudy, discard them.

Magickal Potpourri

Cleopatra sprinkled her floor with rose petals before Marc Anthony’s arrival, hoping the aroma would encourage his love. The strewing of flowers, leaves, and aromatic herbs has historically marked festival days in churches and at public celebrations. It is to this tradition that potpourri owes its origins.

Potpourri begins with chopped pieces of aromatic plants, such as bark, flower petals, fruit peels, or tree resins. Mix and match these ingredients, then add essential oils to intensify the aroma. Some examples include:

• Devotion: Magnolia petals, nutmeg beans, lemon peel
• Joyful relationship: Lavender flowers, dried morning glories, spearmint leaves, orange rind
• Love: Whole dried roses, cinnamon sticks, apple peel
• Passion: Cinnamon sticks, dried daisies, hibiscus petals, violet petals, and violet-scented oil
• Pure intentions: French lavender flowers, vervain, coconut scented oil

Magickal Powders



To make a scented body or foot powder, begin with a base of cornstarch, baking soda, arrowroot, or unscented talc. To each cup of base add approximately 10 drops of essential oil and up to 1/2 cup powdered herb. Keep this mixture in a sealed container and mix it regularly for two weeks. Afterward, sift the mixture with a flour sifter or fine mesh wire. This will separate out any large pieces, leaving you with a fine blend ready for use.

Magickal Sachets



Sachets were called “sweet bags” during the Middle Ages. Sachets can be placed inside dream pillows, bundles for clothing drawers, pincushions, and so on. The beauty of sachets lies in their simplicity. Begin with a piece of cloth that is large enough for gathering and tying around a handful of herbs. Choose a color aligned with your magical goal. Place the dried herbs and a little essential oil in the middle of the cloth. Secure it with colored ribbon or string. That’s all there is to it.

For a lover’s dream pillow, use jasmine petals, marigold petals, rose petals, and balsam needles. To create a romance bundle for clothing drawers, try basil, cloves, rose oil, lavender, lemon peel, and orange peel. For a pincushion that will draw passion to you, combine cinnamon, mint, rosemary, and violet petals. Heal a broken heart with allspice, apple, lemon balm, cedar, mint, thistle, and willow. Have luck in love by using allspice, heather, nutmeg, orange rind, rose, and violet

Magickal Soaps



Soaps naturally engender a feeling of freshness and cleanliness. In love magic, this association translates to cleaning, refreshing, and energizing our auras. Soap can also wash away any self-doubt, tension, or other concerns, replacing them with positive magic. Soap is porous and will slowly absorb the scent. Each day as the soap sits, visualize the box being permeated with reddish-pink light (colors of love), and say something like:

“Within this soap, my magic bind.

A true love, I soon shall find.

Away all fears, all insecurity erased,

Within my aura, by confidence placed.”

As with any incantation, change the words to express your intentions, making sure you feel comfortable when you say them. Some choices for love soaps include:

Auric Cleansing and Balance: Coconut oil soap with lemon

Body Beautiful: Avocado soap with lily and geranium oil

Negativity Chaser: White soap with vetiver and wintergreen

Personal Passion: White soap with cinnamon, mint, and vanilla

Sensitivity and Intuition: Aloe soap with sandalwood and honeysuckle oil

Making soap at home is somewhat labor-intensive. Instead, buy unscented soap and add the aroma to it. Start with a wooden box lined with a linen or cotton cloth. Dab 1 to 3 essential oils all over the cloth’s surface while considering the magickal aroma correspondences above. Lay the unwrapped soap in the box. Fold the cloth over the soap and sprinkle more oil on it. Cover the box and let it sit for one month. Repeat the process whenever necessary!

Based on the “Little Book of Love Magic by Patricia Telesco,” All rights reserved.