How I Use Spiritual Anointing Oils, and So Can You
At least once a week, someone asks me how to use an oil that they’ve ordered. I’m always happy to help! It’s really not hard, though. Oils are easy. Most of them can be used in similar ways. It’s your intent and focus that change depending on which oil you’re using and the outcome that you desire. Once you’re comfortable using oils, you’ll really learn to trust your instincts.
This is sort of a long read, and I don’t get into a lot of super-specific details here. It's more of a mini primer on oils, how I make them, and how they’re used. In the coming weeks, I’ll have more focused posts about using oils in specific ways.
First, What’s Inside the Bottle?
Each of my oils looks a little different from one to the next. I have two old formularies that I work from, and some oils are my own formulas. Sometimes the oil inside a bottle is clear. It's just essential oils with the carrier oil. Carrier oils are important. They dilute concentrated essential oils so they won't burn your skin (or melt your nail polish -- yes, that can happen!). Sometimes there are herbs, or root matter, or maybe resins inside with the essential oils and carrier. Sometimes the bottle is packed with herbs, and sometimes there’s just a pinch. Some oils have a little bit of color. And some have a shimmery look, or a little glitter, or both. Every ingredient has a spiritual purpose.
Fabled Crow Love oil, for example, has rose petals, jasmine flowers, several different essential oils, and also a small amount of light musk. Love oil is also pink, and the carrier oil is either grapeseed or another light oil.
Roses are traditionally connected to love and romance. Jasmine flowers are too, and they also relate to beauty. Musk is known for arousing love, romance, and passion. The color pink is more related to love than to passion. The essential oils that I use are also traditionally believed to match the energy of love.
When glitter or a shimmery mica is used in an oil, that’s also for a reason. A lot of oils for money, abundance, and overall prosperity have gold glitter, which represents the shine of precious gold. Visuals such as glitter are powerful aids that help your mind focus. I have some friends who also believe the sparkle of glitter captures the attention of beneficial spirits that can help you with your work.
Blended together, you have a focused tool for your ritual. If an oil has glitter but you don't want any on your hands, that's easy. The oil is pre-blended when you get it. Just don't shake it up. Or if you do shake it up, let the glitter settle to the bottom again before you open it.
What Does Anointing Really Mean?
Depending on who makes the oil, it might be a spiritual oil, a magick (or magic) oil, an anointing oil, a hand rub, or something else entirely. But they’re all made for the same purpose — to anoint something or infuse something with the power of the oil's ingredients.
Anointing just means to rub the oil onto something. In a metaphysical application, you rub the oil onto the object (or person) with purpose and focus.
Think about a candle. There is a certain way to anoint candles for manifesting or for banishing, but I’m going to talk about anointing them in general.
If you’re working a banishing spell, you might choose a black candle. Black candles are believed to absorb negative energy and influences, and send them back out into the universe where the energy can't harm you.
A banishing oil helps you claim that black candle as yours and get rid of anyone else's energy who has touched it before you. In other words, it helps you cleanse and charge your black candle to make it more powerful for you. While you rub the oil into the sides of the candle, think about what you’re trying to do. Hold the candle and focus your energy on it. When you’re done, the candle has gone from a plain black candle to your black candle that’s charged with your energy for your unique situation and purpose. Nobody can charge a candle for you better than you can.
It works the same for any oil. If you’re working a love spell, you’d probably choose a pink or red candle and rub the oil into it, focusing your energy along the way to charge it.
You can get very complex with it. You can carve symbols into the candle, then rub herbs into the sides, place it in a dish surrounded by crystals and herbs, and all sorts of things. But the basics never change — anoint the candle and focus your energy to charge it. It really is that simple.
What About Anointing Other Objects?
Spiritual oils aren’t just for candles. You can anoint nearly anything with them. Just be careful about which oil you’re using and what you want to accomplish.
You can anoint crystals with oils. A clear quartz crystal is handy for just about any type of working. It known to balance, cleanse, and also to neutralize negative energy. But for other crystals, you’d probably choose ones that relate specifically to your work. For example, rose quartz for love or malachite for money.
You can also anoint talismans, altar tools, poppets, and anything that you want to use in your work. You can even "feed" a mojo bag with a few drops. Sometimes I write out my desire on a piece of parchment or plain white paper, then anoint each corner of the paper with the oil. I might even anoint the pen that I use to write with. Add a drop of oil to some dragon’s blood ink and write out your desire with a quill pen to ramp up your magick.
You can also anoint your home. With a drop of oil on your finger, draw a protection or prosperity symbol on your doors and windows. You might even sprinkle a few drops on the ground outside your home.
What About a Ritual Bath?
Ritual baths, in my opinion, should be a part of everyone’s regular practice. I try to have one at least once a week, and sometimes more often than that. And don’t let the name fool you. Even if you don’t have a bathtub or don’t like using one, you can still take a ritual “bath.” Just mix up your bath using herbs, oils, or both in a bowl or pitcher. After you strain out the herbs, pour the water over your head instead of adding it to bathwater.
Many anointing oils are great for ritual baths, but there are some exceptions. Nearly any work that you’re doing on yourself can be incorporated into a spiritual bath. If the work involves someone else, it gets trickier.
Love, prosperity, luck, jinx removing, and healing oils are all great for your bathwater. So are protection and cleansing oils.
On the flip side, I wouldn’t advise using hexing oil in your own spiritual bath because the work you’re doing is on someone else. If you’re working a hexing (I’m not here to judge!), you might consider a protection bath for yourself. Use the hexing oil only within the confines of your altar.
Do You Trust Your Intuition?
I’ve been amazed by the creative ways people have used my oils. One of my friends recently told me that she uses Come to Me oil to attract money. That surprised me. Come to Me was formulated generations ago for one purpose — to attract a lover. But when you look at the ingredients in Come to Me oil, you can see how it can work for other purposes.
Damiana -- traditionally used as an aphrodisiac. However, it also calms the nerves and improves psychic abilities. Those are great for working any spell, right?
Rue / ruda -- powerful for removing bad luck, jinxes, and getting out of negative cycles.
Cinnamon -- adds power and haste to any spell. Think of it as an amplifier and energizer.
Jasmine -- famous for attracting love. But did you know that it’s also great for attracting money?
On and on, the list of Come to Me ingredients aligns with attracting money as much as attracting love. Sometimes, it’s all in how you use it. She trusted her instincts, and so should you.
Anointing oils have so many uses, it would be impossible to touch on all of them here. Just remember that they are tools to help you. While there are spells-in-a-bottle on the market, I’ve never used any of them and I can’t speak on their effectiveness. In my world, magick is kind of like baking a cake. Just because you have all of the ingredients doesn’t mean you have a cake. You have to add your own energy and skill to turn raw ingredients into something that you desire.
Although it’s tempting to start with a super-specific oil such as Fast Luck or Be Gone, I recommend Fabled Crow All-Purpose anointing oil or Abramelin oil to anyone starting out. That's because they're so versatile.
Abramelin is an ancient formula. Some newer recipes call for a blend of essential oils, but I make mine the old way with no essential oils. I add the dry ingredients to pure olive oil in a large, corked “mother bottle” and let that rest until the oil is infused. That's what I decant from until I make a new bottle. It has a very faint cinnamon scent. All-Purpose oil is similar to Abramelin, but it has a few more ingredients, including essential oils. It contains frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon, hyssop, galangal, and a few others.
Right now, my oils are only available on eBay, where I’ve had a little shop for several years. No matter which one you choose, I’m always just a message away. Drop me a line to ask anything, and I’ll do my best to help.
XOXO
~ Carole