From: catherine yronwode Organization: Lucky Mojo Curio Company Subject: Orange Flower Water - Marriage Date: Tue, 04 Jul 2000 19:06:35 GMT Eoghan Ballard wrote: > > In Harry M. Hyatt's "Hoodoo, Conjuration, Witchcraft, Rootwork" > Vol. Two, Pg.1503, as part of a longer interview with Madam > Lindsey of Algiers, LA, a formula appears in a brief description > of how she works with St. Martha. Hyatt describes a lamp intended > to make a relationship faithful using milk, honey and Orange-flower > water. Anyone know other uses of Orange-flower water? It is still > available in many botanicas and hoodoo drugstores, so I figured it > probably had as many uses as Hoyt's Cologne or Florida Water. Orange blossoms and their essential oil (neroli oil) are related by US custom to weddings (this is probably true in other European-influenced countries as well). Thus, aside from its culinary uses as a flavoring of cakes and candies, orange-flower water is a magical significator for faithfulness in a marriage, and is used for love spells involving fidelity and monogamy. That is its only use in African-American hoodoo, in my experience. The connection between orange-flowers and marriage is of European derivation, i believe, not African. For a corroboration from the time period that you and i are researching, i can point to a 1905 book on karezza (a form of sexual mysticism) called "Hell on Earth Made Heaven or the Marriage Secrets of a Chicago Contractor" by George Washington Savory. This was self-published by the author under the publisher's name, "The Orange Blossom Society." By referencing orange blossoms wile simultaeously using the term "Marriage Secrets" in the title, Mr. Savory, an Anglo-American Protestant Christian, who also wrote books on Bible symbolism, meant to indicate that "Hell on Earth Made Heaven" was not pornographic or erotic in nature, but dealt with what was then euphemistically called "The Ethics of Marriage" -- that is, monogamous sexual relationships between a husband and wife. This culturally-accepted link between orange blossoms and marriage vows is the reason that a Louisiana root worker would use orange-flower water in a love spell for fidelity. cat yronwode Hoodoo in Theory and Practice -- http://www.luckymojo.com/hoodoo.html No personal e-mail, please; just catch me in usenet; i read it daily. Lucky Mojo Curio Co. http://www.luckymojo.com/luckymojocatalogue.html Send e-mail with your street address to catalogue@luckymojo.com and receive our free 32 page catalogue of hoodoo supplies and amulets This post copyright 2000 catherine yronwode. All rights reserved.