What is Florida Water
It is the American version of Eau De Cologne (Cologne Water), which is a lemony citrus cologne. Florida Water differs slightly by having a sweet orange base instead of a lemon base.
It was initially used as a gender-neutral cologne but quickly became a staple of barbershops and drugstores throughout America. Barbershops used it for aftershave, and drugstores used it to treat everything from headaches to fevers.
Florida water soon became popular with voodoo and witchcraft practitioners and was used for cleansing, removing negative energy, and protection. Florida water even became a replacement for holy water for many magick practitioners.
Florida Water Origin
Florida water was surprisingly made in New York and not Florida, as the name might imply. Robert Murray introduced Florida water in 1808 as a cure for many things.
Murray named his creation Florida Water because of his modest early claims that it was a cure for pretty much everything. Florida Water is called for La Florida, the home of Juan Ponce de Leon's fabled Fountain of Youth.
Can I Drink Florida Water
Eww, it would depend on what recipe you decide to use, and most of the recipes I know call for Vodka and various dried herbs. My answer would be yes. You can drink Florida Water as long as all the ingredients were safe to consume.
Florida Water Uses
You can use Florida Water for so many different situations. I made a quick list of Florida Water uses from the top of my head. If you can think of other uses, please leave a comment and share it with me. I would love to hear what you use it for, especially if it is not on this list.
To remove negative energy from an area.
It can be used as a cleaning solution to purify your home.
Use it as an offering to your ancestors or deities.
Florida Water makes a great cleansing solution for your magkical tools and crystals.
You can use it as a substitute for Holy Water. It is often used for purification and cleansing rituals.
Make a protection spray using Florida Water, Sea Water, and three drops of Myrrh Oil.
Wash your hands with Florida water after coming in contact or shaking hands with negative people.
You can add Florida Water to a spiritual cleansing bath.
Florida Water VS Moon Water
Not surprisingly, new witches get confused when hearing about different magickal water types and ask about the differences.
The first two types of magickal water I learned about was Moon water and Florida water. I remember getting confused. I didn't understand why I would need to make different water types if they could be used for almost the same things.
You can combine herbs and crystals to both of them to add distinct magickal properties, so why bother making different ones?
What it comes down to is which one do you find works best for you. I like working with moon water better, but I feel Florida Water is more powerful and complicated to make.
I will usually use Moon water for my everyday use or regular cleansing baths. I use Florida Water for anything I feel is profound.
I believe Florida water is more potent because I generally charge Florida water with Moon energy. It's not possible to charge Moon water with Florida water.
Florida Water Ingredients
You can make Florida water with Vodka, herbs, spices, plants, crystals, and essential oils. You can even use the sun or the moon to charge it to make it even more potent.
When selecting what ingredients to use when making Florida water, the goal is to know your intent and which components will add to the water's magickal properties to achieve your objective.
Here is what I consider the traditional recipe for Florida Water. I would use this to cleanse my home, my magickal tools, crystals, and even add some to a cleansing bath to purify myself.
If you examine the ingredients, you will notice it has strong magickal properties in purification and protection.
Traditional Florida Water Recipe
6 Cups Vodka: Magickal attributes: Fire, Strength, Courage, Motivation, Stability, Power, and purification.
1/2 Cup Dried Sweetgrass: Magickal attributes: Peace, unity, purification, and protection.
1/2 Cup Dried Lavender: Magickal attributes: Love, healing, happiness, sleep, tranquility, protection, and purification.
1/2 Cup Dried Sage: Magickal attributes: Healing, longevity, good health, psychic awareness, purification, and protection.
1/2 Cup Dried Cedar: Magickal attributes: healing, purification, protection, and prosperity.
You will need a glass jar with an airtight lid.
How to Make Florida Water
The first step is to determine what your intent is and select the appropriate herbs. If you are unsure, you can use the traditional recipe that I provided for cleansing. If you want to use it for protection, I would recommend adding a protection crystal. I suggest using crystal chips so they will fit easier into your container.
Now you will need a glass jar with an airtight lid. Go ahead and add the ingredients to the container. It is time to add six cups of Vodka to the container.
The next step is to let the ingredients infuse for 14 days. Keep the container stored at room temperature. You can put it on the window sill to energize it with the sun or moon's energy.
After the 14 days have passed, remove the lid and pour the water into another glass container for storage. Use a cloth, paper towel, or something else that will allow you to strain out the ingredients. You want to add the liquid into the new container.
Congratulations, you made Florida Water if you have any questions feel free to ask in the comment section or send me an e-mail.