Magical Oils and Incense
How to Use Magical Oils
One of the common question I receive as a practicing WITCH is: Are these Magickal Oils for Pagan use only. This article briefly puts ritual oil use into a historical context, outlines the types of oils available in the marketplace and describes common methods of using magical oils. Magical Oils have been used for spiritual undertakings since ancient times:
The Bible speaks clearly of oil being used for spiritual purposes. Additionally, recipes are given for creating magical oil, perfume and incense. Ancient Egyptians used oil to anoint their Kings and Queens for protection, health and power in life and also in many afterlife rituals. Historical texts document the use of ritual oils in every culture since the beginning of time.
Magical Oil Use Today
Today, oils intended for spiritual purposes are widely available online and in botanical, occult shops and spiritual supply stores. Within the spiritual oil market, there are wide differences in price, quality and manufacturing practices. Consumers can now purchase pre- prepared oil combinations or the base materials (like herbs and essential oils) necessary to create their own magical oil. recipes for formulas are widely available in many books and on the Internet.
Spiritual oils readily available today can be easily categorized into three types based on the oil components or ingredients:
Mass Produced Spiritual Oil – An Exercise in Truth in Advertising Condition Oil When Spiritual Products became widely available In the early 1930’s by mail order catalogs, Root Workers, “Doctors” and Pharmacists, created Condition or Dressing oils based on time tested recipes. Thanks to good, old fashioned commercialism, large manufacturing companies saw an opportunity for profit with spiritual consumers and in the 1970’s began producing oils for the botanic market.For manufacturers’, the old style Condition Oil recipes had a very short shelf life. The ingredients necessitated being mixed in small batches, and required a heavy amount of essential oil and plant material to scent the base oil (usually almond, olive or mineral oils).
Somewhere along the line, manufacturers discovered that they could substitute a liquid plastic byproduct called Dimethyl Phthalate (or DP) as the base or carrier oil for magical blends. DP works well in scented oil manufacturing for numerous reasons. Because it is a chemical, it never goes rancid. It is inexpensive and picks up a scent and holds it for a very long time. Therefore, it requires fewer drops of expensive essential oil to create a very fragrant concoction, lowering the overall cost of manufacturing these oils. More importantly, it dissolves essential oil and evenly distributes it throughout the base. This means there is no separation between the essential oil and the base oil. If you have ever made your own oil formulas, you are probably aware that you have to shake the bottle of oil vigorously in order to redistribute the bottle contents each time you use it. The base oil, herbs and essential oil seem to separate very quickly when using all natural oil ingredients. This is not necessary with DP-based products. Unfortunately for consumers, DP and the whole family of Phthalate chemicals have come under much scrutiny in recent years. Animal studies have shown that DP can stifle male hormones, sperm production and may cause male infertility and birth defects – especially when burned (as on candles or incense). There are also some links to cancer. A quick search on Google will reveal many studies the reader can peruse for more information. I call DP-based oils No Oil Spiritual oil. The fact is that these manufactured oils may or may not contain any essential oil. Who knows? It is very hard to get a clear answer from their producers. I do sell a line of DP based oils in the shop from the Hysteria manufacturing company. I am going to be brutally honest here. The price point is the sole reason for carrying these oils. I cannot manufacturer hand made oil at this price. Many retail shop customers insist on purchasing their ritual oils at under $2.00 a bottle. Thanks in large part to my main local competitor, many poor, uneducated but highly spiritual folks feel that a 1/2 oz bottle of Condition oil is $1.99. If it’s more, you are trying to get over on them. Or they feel they cannot afford to pay anymore for Spiritual oils. The under two dollar price cap has stood for years. As a practitioner, this has proven quite a moral predicament for me. I want to do the right thing, but I am also running a business. If I do not carry the cheaper oil, I end up losing the candle, herb and powder sales to my competition. I have tried addressing this issue from a spiritual work perspective by instilling a need for herbs and/or powders in candle dressing with my client base. My logic being that if folks fully dress their candles, at least some herbal material is present and that’s better than nothing! I have weaned several long time customers off of the DP oils. I have many customers – especially old workers who resented that for a long while in New Orleans no other condition oil was available except DP based oil. However many of my normal every day candle burning clients, still buy DP-based oils and insist they work for them. Maybe one day I can eliminate DP-based oils in the shop and convince all of my customers to spend a couple of extra dollars to get a decent bottle of mid-priced Condition oil that consists of real herbal material. God only knows!
Doing Things the Old Fashioned Way
As previously mentioned, old time old manufacturers and spiritual workers made small batches of spiritual oil using real herbs, roots, bark, flowers and minerals. Most added these herbs to either olive or mineral oil depending on the purpose of the final blend. Typically Olive Oil was used as the base or carrier oil for formulas designed to bless, anoint or draw positive things. Mineral Oil was used for formulas that command, compel or destroy. Mineral oil was also used for mineral-based oils like Magnet and Lodestone. In recent years, Sweet Almond Oil has become a popular base oil for drawing positive blessings as it is light in texture and scents more easily than heavy Olive oil. The techniques used for instilling the base oil with herbal properties are quite varied. Some times plant material is simply steeped in the (cold) oil for an extended period time. This is common for white, pink , yellow and other light-colored Condition oils. This steeping method is used in the creation of many (REAL) Branded Spiritual Oils. The herbs soak in oil for 30 plus days in a cool, dark location. They may be strained out (termed cold pressed) through a fine cloth or just left to float in the bottle.
For darker oils (brown, purple, black), herbs may be wrapped in muslin or cheesecloth and cooked in the oil to extract their essence. I have seen and heard of workers employing a double-cooked method for making oil. The herb materials are simmered in oil for two-three hours, strained out and the resulting oil is allowed to cool. Then the process is repeated, cooking a new batch of herbs in the same oil – therefore double-infusing the properties into the base. The resulting oil is then colored for intent and scented with perfumed or essential oils. The cooking method is also used in the creation of (REAL) Branded Spiritual Oils.
Macerate Herbs in Oil Maceration is an age old method for creating magic oils. Herb materials are ground and placed in a mortar and pestle. Enough base oil is poured over the ground herbs to cover them. The worker then begins pounding the herb and oil mixture while praying over it – infusing the base with herbal and spiritual properties. The herb material is strained out of the oil base with cheesecloth and topped off with more base oil. The oil may be colored for intent and new, whole herbs added to each bottle. This is the method used for Holy Spirit Brand Roots in Oil.
New Times, New Ways
During the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the philosophies of Wicca, Earth Magick and Paganism
developed at an unprecedented rate. Publishing houses and film studios jumped on the hype and public interest in witchcraft and neo-paganism flourished. As the Internet blossomed, by the late 1990’s, Wicca, Witchcraft and Paganism became downright trends. During the Clinton-era, a spiritual renaissance began. Many folks felt stifled and unsatisfied with the offerings of mainstream religion. A great interest in holistic medicine, vitamins, alternative healing methods and alternative spirituality developed. As the Internet made its way into a vast number of households, people worldwide found new forums and avenues to discuss, research and practice spirituality. It was during this period that Aromatherapy became an area of interest for those seeking alternatives. Small companies that had produced Essential Oils for perfume houses, began advertising their wares on the Internet. Rare essences, tinctures and absolutes became readily available to spiritual merchants and sole practitioners. Likewise books were published at a rapid rate, touting the medicinal and spiritual benefits of herbal aromatherapy. A natural progression occurred that encouraged the use of Essential Oils in magical blends. These “essential oils” were either steam distilled or cold pressed (mechanically squeezing the oil from the material) essences of the individual plant. Many stated the obvious – if you wanted the best results magically, than what better ingredient to use than the essence of the plant?
The challenge for Spiritual Merchants was that many of the flowers that had been used in the magical oils did not produce an oil through steam distillation or cold pressing. Flowers like Rose and Jasmine however would yield oil if soaked in a solvent (a quick evaporating liquid that is vacuumed from the mixture) – leaving an Absolute. This is a very expensive process but yields the most desired aroma therapeutic grade material. All Natural, Organic, 100% Pure, Additive Free became the marketing campaign words of the day. As a result, high end magical oils emerged on the marketplace as a new phenomenon. Made from only the highest quality, food grade essential oils and absolutes a new breed of ritual oil was born. Combining traditional European herbal folk magic with aromatherapy and perfumer’s art these Boutique Oils became the hottest seller in the spiritual marketplace.
HOW TO USE MAGICKAL OILS
There are also many oils and blends, which may be used for more than one purpose.The power of the blend is in the direct ratio of the specific oils for a set magickal purpose.
NEVER take an Essential oil INTERNALLY.
Essential oils do not mix with water, and in an undiluted form they may damage the lining of the digestive tract. In addition, some essential oils are toxic if taken internally. Store in dark bottles, away from light and heat, and well of our reach of young children and pets! Light and heat cause the chemical ingredients in the oils to break down and become less potent. In general, essential oils should not be applied neat to the skin always dilute them in a carrier oil or cream first. There are exceptions to this however, such as the use of neat lavender for cuts, spots, burns, etc. and certain perfume type essential oils such as sandalwood and ylang ylang. Always do a patch test first. What is not irritating to one person may be irritating to another!!
Patch Test: ( Before applying any new oil to the skin, even as a perfume, it may be wise to do a patch test. If you have had allergic reactions to substances on your skin before, DEFINITELY do a patch test first. ) Put a few drops of oil on the back of your wrist, cover with a plaster (what they call a ‘plaster’ in merry old England is called a ‘band-aid’ by us Americans) or cheese cloth and leave for an hour or more. If irritation or redness occurs, bathe the area in cold water. For future use reduce the concentration level by half or avoid altogether. Most of these recipes are for the pure oil which is usually far too strong to use directly. They are usually cut, or decreased in concentration, by adding them to a neutral substance – in this case,
another oil that will not react with it and will not alter the fragrance. Making an oil blend is simple; follow these directions; Start with a base of 1/4 ounce of olive, almond, or jojoba oil. To this base, add appropriate essential oils with an eye dropper, one drop at a time until the mixture is just the right strength for you. If your oil recipe calls for herbs or gemstones add them first. These extras add energy and help the oils blend when I shake them. After mixing your blend, raise energy and charge the oil with your intent. No matter what type and quality of magical oils you select, I strongly recommend you charge them to increase energy and shape it to best carry out the tasks you want to perform. Handmade magic oils are already loaded with the power of the herbs they contain and many blends are imbued with energy put into them during their creation. But, once you have purchased a premade oil blend, you want to make it yours – as it will be your tool to use in magic.Obviously, magical oils are most commonly used in magical work. Decide which number is relevant to your spiritual work and add that many drops to your spiritual bath or on top of your incense. Next month I will be giving you recipes for several old and some new Magickal oils. Until next month Blessed Be!