- 4711 Cologne Cleansing Ritual - January 4, 2025
- List of Orishas, Lwa, and Other African and Diaspora Deities - January 4, 2025
- Oshun Incense and Oil Recipes - December 26, 2024
Oya Oil
Smoke is taboo for some traditions of Oya, so for observances, her devotional oil should be diffused on water, not straight on the burner.
You will need:
- a stick of cinnamon for Eshu
- 1/2 liter of olive oil (for a war Goddess type energy) or sunflower oil if you want it with a gentler energy
- 9 raw chocolate beans, cracked or crushed, or 9 spoons cocoa powder or nibs
- 9 spoons sesame seeds
- a handful of dry corn for popcorn
- 9 blades of sweetgrass, bison grass or hay, or a heaping tablespoon of a couple of different “grassy” herbs such as lawn grass clippings, parsley
- a handful of litchen
- a handful of dried cyclamen flowers and leaves, whatever you can get hold of
- a handful of dried blue lotus flowers or stamens
Instructions:
Put the cinnamon stick, and then the other dry ingredients into a jar or bottle. Pour the oil over all. Take the open jar or bottle outside and let it get some wind. Then close it and put it in a cool, dark place for at least 3 months. Take it out and shake it every week on whichever day is sacred to Oya in your tradition (usually Friday in the diaspora), or every 9 days from the time you make it. Once a month or so, it should also get some air.
Bear in mind that Oya items tend to fly, so for the sake of your floors and other areas of your room that you may want to keep clean, store them above the ground, but in a low place because they can jump off of shelves.
Oya Potpourri
You will need:
- a broken up stick of cinnamon or a vanilla bean cut into a multiple of 3 pieces for Eshu
- a handful of cut up sweetgrass, grass clippings, or bison grass
- a handful of dried cyclamen flowers and cut up leaves
- a good tablespoon dried blue lotus
- 9 cucaracha or purple heart plant flowers and/or leaves
- a handful of bits of litchen
You can go by the seasons, or add other seasonal grasses that smell nice and fresh. Just put these with some water in the pot of a potpourri burner or cauldron over a flame.
China Rain
In the diaspora, Oya is said to adore China Rain. This fresh, rain-like scent just happened to express her energy well, and became a part of many observances and magickal fomulas. You can buy the original from Terranova, pick one of the many versions made by African scentologists in shops and stands in major cities, or make your own.
