Quick Specs
- Brand: 1618 Gold
- Type: Dried herb, cut leaf (Aloysia triphylla)
- Size/Quantity: 1oz packet
- Best for: Personal Van Van oil ingredient, purification sachet, love-drawing powder
- Sourcing: SQF & Kosher certified supplier
I source this herb from a supplier that’s both SQF, Safe Quality Food, certified and Kosher certified, meeting real, audited quality standards rather than just a label. What’s in this packet is suitable for your kitchen, a cup of tea, your altar, and your spell jar.
Lemon Verbena as a Van Van Oil Ingredient and Purification Herb
Lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla) is native to South America, where it was used by indigenous peoples and later by Spanish colonists who brought it back to Europe in the seventeenth century. It arrived in North American folk magic primarily through New Orleans Voodoo and hoodoo traditions, where its bright, penetrating citrus scent and Mercury correspondence made it a natural fit for road-opening and purification work. It’s most widely recognized today as one of the core ingredients in Van Van oil, the iconic hoodoo formula developed in New Orleans for clearing obstacles, drawing luck, and opening roads to opportunity.
In hoodoo, Van Van oil is applied to candles, mopped into floor washes, worn on the body, and used to dress petition papers. Lemon verbena contributes its cleansing, Mercury-ruled energy to the formula, working alongside lemongrass and palmarosa to create the characteristic bright, cutting scent that signals the formula’s road-opening intent. Outside of Van Van work, lemon verbena functions well as a stand-alone purification herb in sachets, as a love-drawing ingredient paired with rose petals, and as a charm-boosting addition to any working that calls for Mercury-aligned plant energy. Browse my Espiritu oils collection for pre-made ritual oil formulas including Van Van.
Personal Sachet and Herb-Infused Oil Use
The 1oz format is practical for lemon verbena’s most common applications. Infusing a tablespoon in a small quantity of carrier oil gives you enough herb-based Van Van oil ingredient for multiple dressings. A purification sachet calls for a teaspoon or less, and a love-drawing powder uses even smaller amounts. One ounce covers all three applications with material to spare, making it an efficient starter quantity for a practitioner building a Van Van formula from scratch or experimenting with Mercury herb work for the first time. This is Aloysia triphylla, dried cut leaf, sold for ritual use only.
How to Use Lemon Verbena 1oz
Three practical applications for a 1oz packet of lemon verbena in Van Van work, purification, and love magic.
- Herb-Infused Van Van Oil Base
Add a tablespoon of dried lemon verbena to a carrier oil such as olive oil, let it infuse for two weeks, then strain. Use the resulting herb-infused oil as a base ingredient in a personal Van Van recipe, blending it with lemongrass and palmarosa.
- Personal Purification Sachet
To make a purification sachet, combine lemon verbena with white sage and a pinch of sea salt inside a white cloth pouch. Keep it in a drawer, locker, or bag to clear out stale or heavy energy from personal belongings between uses.
- Love-Drawing Powder
For a love-drawing powder, grind dried lemon verbena finely and mix with powdered orris root. Dust the blend lightly onto stationery before writing a love petition, or sprinkle a pinch near an entry point to draw a desired person closer to you.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stock lemon verbena in a 1oz packet specifically for practitioners who want to build a Van Van formula from scratch or explore Mercury herb work without buying in bulk. The 1618 Gold cut leaf quality is clean and fragrant, which is essential for an herb whose scent is central to its ritual function. For complementary herbs in road-opening and purification blends, browse my full herb collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla) is associated with Mercury and air in folk magic. It’s a key ingredient in classic Van Van oil recipes, used for road opening, purification, and love drawing in hoodoo and New Orleans Voodoo spiritual traditions.
A 1oz packet provides enough lemon verbena for a small herb-infused oil base, a purification sachet, and a love-drawing powder. It’s the right starting quantity for exploring Van Van formulas without overcommitting to a larger bulk herb purchase.
Yes, lemon verbena pairs well with lemongrass and palmarosa in Van Van oil recipes, with white sage for purification, and with rose petals for love drawing. It’s also combined with vetivert and citronella in some traditional road-opening formulas.
Lemon verbena is worked on Wednesdays (Mercury’s day) for communication, road opening, and charm work. For purification, any waning moon day is suitable. For love drawing, pair a Friday working with a pink candle dressed with the herb-infused oil.
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