Florida Water

Today we are going to discuss Florida Water and not just what it is, but the deeper cultural, historical, and spiritual implications woven into its use.

Florida Water, as we know it today, draws its name from the legend of the “Fountain of Youth.” In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León arrived in what is now Florida, seeking this mythical spring said to restore vitality and cure aging; this mythological search is what inspired the imagery on the cologne bottle today. Florida Water is a unisex eau de cologne that was originally created by Robert Murray and is now produced by Lanman & Kemp.

During the 19th century in the Victorian era strong smells were highly frowned upon in the upper-class American society. This became so deeply ingrained in the local culture that it was referenced in the novel Gone With the Wind. 

Florida Water as sold in stores contains citrus, floral notes, and bergamot. These ingredients are associated with purification, renewal, and spiritual clarity. It was created as a unisex cologne in the early 19th century, meant to be a lighter alternative to the overpowering perfumes of the day. Its fresh scent made it ideal for daily wear by both men and women.

This cologne became extremely popular for its subtle, clean, and not overbearing scent. If you think of many of the sprays we use today, they often are extremely overpowering. I’m sure you’ve all heard the phrase “something smelling like a locker room” meaning it smells like lots of competing scents and sprays. Instead, during this time, the usage of Florida Water was highly popularized because it was not so overpowering, and it was accessible and affordable. Where it started as an upper-class cologne turned into a daily household item. 

While the idea of Florida Water goes back further than just its commercialized cologne, Lanman & Kemp’s version is the one that became a success and has been on the shelves for more than 200 years. This is the version most commonly found today in drugstores, botanicas, and metaphysical shops alike. While this originated as a cologne it began to integrate itself further into the local culture being used as a tincture that was placed in baths, so that the scent would soak into the skin, enslaved African Americans would use it to clean bed linen and floors. Florida Water would be used to soak into the skin, into floor washes to uplift and scent the home as the summer temperature would heat up the floor and the scent would linger in the house, and to cleanse door frames and entries. 

Looking deeper into the uses of Florida Water will help us to truly understand whether Florida Water falls into open or closed spiritual practice, we must examine its historical and cultural context. With this being a widely accessible cologne, used by upper-class and enslaved alike, both as a household item and as it’s intended purpose of a cologne it is used both in the mundane and ritualistic sense. Giving us a deeper look into the cologne, it has been incorporated into some closed practices such as communing with their local ancestors, Florida Water is not inherently only recognized by closed practices. 

Florida is named for its abundance of flora, as “florida” means “flowery” in Spanish. The state of Florida was a significant entry point during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and named for its abundance of flowers in the location. Enslaved peoples were not allowed to practice their cultural heritage largely due to the Roman Catholic Church, they were often persecuted for their ancestral practices. 

With this the enslaved peoples were forced to practice in secret, using what was available to them in the local area, they were hidden, transformed, reincorporated into acceptable practices through cunning, care, and intention. Florida Water became a popular and acceptable tool, as it had a multitude of uses and was praised for its light fragrance. While Florida water was marketed as a pleasant cologne it was adopted into eclectic practices, as the ingredients are widely recognized for its cleansing and purification properties. While Florida Water was used in ways that may seem non-traditional, this adaptability is actually very common with eclectic practitioners. We see practitioners often incorporate new tools or ingredients based on need, accessibility, or symbolic resonance. For example, some modern witches even use Lysol as a cleansing agent—not because it’s traditional, but because its germ-killing properties symbolically align with the concept of banishing negativity or unwanted energy.

This is very similar to how we suggest using Italian seasoning in your satchels or herbal creations. Italian seasoning is typically a blend of Oregano, Basil, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Parsley, and Marjoram. With each of these herbs carrying properties such as protection, cleansing, healing, and a few others sprinkled throughout.

Many of the ingredients in Florida Water are associated with banishing, healing, blessing, and purification thus mirroring spiritual applications in various folk magic traditions. It was used in Voodoo, Hoodoo, Santería, and even in Catholic folk practices, though it’s important to remember that these systems often developed independently of each other while sharing the same colonial landscapes.

So is using Florida Water inherently a closed practice tradition? 

The short answer is no, not inherently.

Florida Water, in its base form, is not tied to a specific closed religion or initiatory path. It’s a tool—much like a broom, a candle, or a cup of tea—whose meaning and use depend on the intention and the context. It becomes part of a closed practice only when it is used in rituals or ceremonies that are initiated, inherited, or protected within a specific spiritual lineage.

If you are using Florida Water to emulate Voodoo or Hoodoo without being part of those communities or lineages, that’s something to critically examine. That veers into appropriation and you should be critically analyzing why you are choosing to use this in your practice. Remember to make the choice based on your own personal needs and that of your practice. If you are using Florida Water as a form of emulation of closed practices, you’re being harmful. However, if the goal is to use what is available or because you like the scent, convenience, or even respect for the history of Florida Water then that practice is done honestly, and is the most important aspect to consider. 

With Florida Water being deeply rooted in many southern states near Florida, Louisiana, or other locations where it is readily available, it’s possible you may have been taught to use it in local practices, it is important to review those practices, and the reasons behind them, and if you discover that you were taught out of emulation instead of practicality or what I’ve previously mentioned, this is how appropriation occurs. 

It’s much like using pine for cleansing if you live in an area where pine trees are abundant, rather than sourcing white sage from a region and culture that considers it sacred and protected. It’s about intention, respect, and resourcefulness.

Florida Water also has roots in other cultures, such as other products like Agua de Kananga, or the Peruvian variation Agua de Florida. Agua de Kananga, or Kananga Water was a similar cologne that is based on the oil of a Ylang Ylang flower. Plantations for producing kananga water was established by the British in Jamaica during the same time period, with its practices being used in a similar way to Florida Water. Used for cleansing, particularly spiritual cleansing and appeasing of the spirits of the deceased. 

Florida Water has also been used in place of Holy Water in Catholic practices, it is a staple in Voodoo, Hoodoo, and Santeria practices. Sometimes additional spices or herbs are mixed in such as additional citrus oils, lavender, and other fragrances and natural herbs. 

Spiritual floor washes became popular amongst the enslaved people, believed to open you up spiritually as well as cleansing and purification.Such a ritual included adding Florida Water to the floor wash, when the sun rose it would heat up the floor causing the pleasant scent to evaporate into the air and create that beautiful aroma and continue the cycle of cleansing and purification. This is a great way to use science and the elements for cleansing. Instead of burning sage or similar herbs, the evaporation acts in a similar manner to smoke cleansing.

The enslaved people believed it would open you up spiritually as well as cleansing and purification. This became popular and spread throughout the Caribbean, and was even claimed to help as a lotion for headaches, and other medicinal capacities. This was also rather cheap and easily accessible to anyone. Florida water was used even as mouthwashes and deodorant.

So to conclude, Florida Water can be a powerful ingredient, and many practitioners choose to use it. It is not appropriation, or closed practice to use Florida Water, but you must be honest and truthful on how you use this, to be sure that you’re respecting the boundaries of other practitioners and not accidentally appropriating. Make sure that you are using it for your practice and needs, putting intention and understanding behind every application. 

So now, I’ll leave you with a few reflective questions:

Have you ever used Florida Water, and if so—what for?

What local plants or traditions could you weave into your own cleansing waters?

And most importantly—what is your intention when you use it?