Want to learn how to use magickal oils? All those cool, Hoodoo, conjure oils and Ceremonial Magick formulas? Of course you do. Here’s how to use oils in your sorcery.
Name Your Poison
OK, so not poison exactly… but which Element? Obviously, oils are Elemental Water. You’re dealing with a liquid and therefore, they relate primarily to Water.
Now, this does not mean that there is nothing of Elemental Fire in them. You dress candles with some sort of sorcery oil, light them and voila!… Fire!
Likewise, there are roots, herbs and resins in the oils and there you have Elemental Earth.
The base for a conjure oil is either Mineral Oil or some sort of vegetable base, like Olive Oil or Coconut, Almond or other variety. These are bits of Elemental Earth, to be sure.
Oils are ideally formulated to put off an awesome, consciousness-shifting scent. Hence, you have some of Elemental Air in there, too.
Still, oils are mostly of the realm of Water, being that they are liquid. Pour them into bottles and they take the shape of their container. At least, they do this far more readily than incenses and powders do.
Why Use Oils?
We turn to the Element of Water for any of several reasons. The primary, most essential reason is that we always want to maintain a harmony of all four magickal Elements.
Therefore, try to include in your spell work a blend of Fire, Water, Air, Earth and the “Fifth Element” of Spirit.
Fire is your candles. When actual flame is not possible, we use glyphs and symbols or perhaps the Names of Fire in foreign tongues or Names of Deity that are related to Fire.
Some examples are Mars, Ignis, Ash, Asch, Leo, Sagittarius, Aries, YHVH TZABAOTH, GEBURAH, the list goes on and on. But nothing will represent fire better than… well, Fire! An actual flame is best.
For Earth, we look to roots, herbs, resins, plants, stones and minerals. I prefer magickal powders for working with Elemental Earth and it’s a highly versatile way to do your conjure. See my article about How To Use Magickal Powders.
For Air, the go to substance is incense, even though some systems equate incense to Fire, because you burn it.
Breathe… Breathe In The Air…
For me, flame is the top dog for Fire and incense is a smelling stuff. That means it’s the realm of the the olfactory senses and that’s a fact as plain as the nose on your face.
Finally, we invoke Spirit, not through a substance but rather through prayer.
Whether you call up Christ or Krishna, Buddha or Beelzebub, a prayer goes far with any spell. Call upon the God, Thor or the Goddess, Thmê (Themis), make some sounds… they like that.
Sound works for Spirit… it just plain ol’ works. Particularly useful are pleasing tones like bells and noises that change consciousness, like chants and songs. These are all effective and potent invocations.
Whether you’re dealing Jehovah or Jerry, that weird guy down the street, they’re far more likely to notice you if you call their name, out loud.
OK, so you probably don’t want Jerry to notice you but you get my point.
When you can’t make any noise, a symbol can be a decent substitute. Still, just like symbols don’t quite cut it for Elemental Fire, symbols don’t work for Spirit as well as SOUND.
Get It On… Bang A Gong
The physicists and philosophers all agree, the beginning of the Universe, whether it was Big Bang or Genesis… it made one hell of a racket.
So, use a balance of all these things. The Four Elements of Fire, Air, Water and Earth are first and then, cap the pyramid off with Spirit.
HOW Do We Use Oils?
You drink them, stupid. Duh.
I’m totally kidding. PLEASE DON’T DRINK THE OILS. Like Ghostbusters and crossing the streams… it would be BAD. That would cross up your guts and you’ll bust your bowels, not ghosts.
Thanks, I’ll be here all week. Remember to tip your servers. But seriously, folks… before we examine a few methods for using conjure oils, let’s be clear.
You DO only want to use Conjure Work brand conjure oils, because you’re a sensible sorcerer, right? This is the part where you nod and say “Yes!”.
… And Friends
Well, Conjure Work brand oils… or one of my esteemed colleagues, like Anubeion Oils or anything at Doc Solomon’s Occult Curios. These are the hip spots where the cool kids hang.
While I don’t think they offer any oils, you should also eat up everything at The Golden Dawn Shop and Azoth Art.
All the aforementioned are dear friends and it is a pleasure to be in the company of such tremendous forces as these highly accomplished magicians, who have honed their crafts for so very many years. Check them out. Seriously.
Alright, then. To the Conjure Cave!
Here are some solid methods of employing your Elemental Water sorcery.
Dressing Candles
Grab yourself some 6” ritual candles or 4” chime candles or you can get all snazzy with the 12” tapers.
Take up your magickal “working” knife (if you have one) or just use the end of a paper clip and carve your name or the name of whoever you’re working for (or on… no comment… cough… ahem) into the candle.
If you are doing something for yourself (the safest bet), start at the wick and inscribe your name from the wick to the base of the candle. Now you will dress the candle with your conjure oil.
If you’re trying to draw something down from the Universe, into your life, dress from top to bottom. Just put your finger over the mouth of the bottle, to get a little bit of it on the tip.
Shiny, Happy Candles
Then do the same with your thumb and take what oil you have on your fingers and slather it down. Repeat the process until the candle is coated and shiny. It should cover the entire candle. Have a paper towel handy for when you finish, it will be a little messy.
Be like a little kid and play… have fun being messy. But remember to charge the candle with your intention as you dress it. Focus on your goal as you dress it… “Inflame thyself with prayer”.
Anointing
This is probably the simplest method of working with an oil. Put a bit on the finger that you associate with power, usually either the forefinger or the thumb. Any assertive dominating work, the thumb works best. Think of that old, Rolling Stones tune, Under My Thumb. For an invocation type work, probably the forefinger is best.
Then make either an equal-armed cross or a Calvary Cross or a Pentagram or some other, appropriate figure. Do that right on yourself or whoever you’re helping out.
Make sure you have permission. People tend to get a little cranky when you just walk up and anoint them with oil and start chanting. I’m not sure why, they just do.
Go Figure
Christian sorcerers, use a Calvary Cross and an appropriate prayer, like “In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”.
Pagans, maybe an equal-armed cross or a Pentagram or a symbol that is sacred to your Goddess or God. Make sure that the figure you choose is appropriate to the work.
If it’s one of my Elemental Oils, I recommend that you use the equal-arm cross and nothing else. That’s because you want to represent a balance of the Four, Elemental forces.
An important note. For any type of banishing, cursing or sending away type work, never ever, ever use oils like Hotfoot Oil or Mars Oil (if you’re attacking someone) or Destruction Oil, etc on yourself.
Wile E. Coyote
Don’t use them on anyone or anything you care about, either. Highly important, this point is.
Of course, only ever use oils like Hotfoot on photos or name papers a person that you need to leave! Or you inscribe a red candle with their name (bottom to top this time) and dress the candle.
Or you put it on something they will touch and you name them and only them as you do.
Likewise, never put Hotfoot Powder in your own shoes, like you would Blessing Powder.
Hotfooting yourself is bad news… very bad news.
K.IS.S. Off
Remember the K.I.S.S. Formula? Let’s keep it simple. Go light and happy and peaceful. Everybody will have a much better time.
To illustrate, anoint yourself with Blessing Oil on the forehead or over your heart. Additionally, the soles of the feet are an excellent place. Foot-track magick is very old and powerful. For certain, the soles of the feet are highly important, energy doorways.
How Many Places?
Stick with the numbers 1, 3 and 7 for the most part. The number 5 is for baneful things like Hotfoot or Confusion.
You might use it for a protective work, as with La Santisima Muerte (Black). But even She would prefer 1, 3 or (especially) 7. Seven is sacred to Her and in many other magickal systems.
Avoid the number 11… it’s bad ju ju. The numbers 5 and 9 are for attack or sending away.
Qabalistic Magick
1 is for anything Divine or Kether
2 is for anything astrological or Chokmah
3 is for Saturn or Binah
4 is for Jupiter or Chesed
5 is for Mars or Geburah
6 is for Sol (the Sun) or Tiphareth
7 is for Venus or Netzach
9 is for Luna (the Moon) or Yesod
10 Earth, Saturn or Malkuth, the Elements
11 is for the Qlippoth, demons, the Shells 12 the twelve, zodiacal Signs.
Child Abuse
Let’s say you have a child and want to bless them. Get them to hold still, tell them you love them and kiss them on the forehead. Tell them “This is a blessing, because I love you“.
Be all syrupy sweet when you say it… they just LOVE that. Hah. Also, tell them to leave it there, not to wipe it off. Be aware that very small children might try to eat it, so don’t use it if you think they might. Remember, no drinking or eating the oils!
Also, in rare cases, some people have skin allergies, so certain oils might irritate them, especially young children. So test a tiny, tiny amount first. Don’t just slather it on. You don’t need to do that, anyway. A little goes a long way.
Sacred Geometry
Make your chosen figure, like an equal-arm cross or Calvary Cross, while you say a prayer, asking that the child be blessed and protected and happy.
Use any type of symbol that’s appropriate to the work at hand. For instance, a pentagram is great for protection and invocation of Pagan Deity.
A square for Jupiter Oil or (again) an equal-arm Cross, which is a wheel of four spokes. An octagon or eight wheel spoke for Mercury Oil.
Dressing Objects
To consecrate a magickal tool like a knife or a fan or a pendulum, etc, a small dab of oil in one spot on the tool will work.
Press on it (lightly), while you focus your intention. You can draw a Spirit sigil or a Planet symbol if you want, whatever suits the work.
The Five Spot
Hoodoo workers like to use the Five Spot. This is when, you put one dab in each corner of a petition paper. Then, one dab in the center. It’s a different system and so the number 5 is not as troublesome here. Remember, there are exceptions to every rule… even that rule.
Doorways
Use Fiery Wall of Protection Oil and also Blessing Oil over the doorways of your home.
Use New Money Oil over a business doorway or Venus Oil to attract spending money or love.
As further examples, try behind a picture frame, under a statue, etc. Use the same rules as above, equal-arm cross or other type symbol. Remember to pray… invoke Spirit.
Mojo Bags
After you put in your herbs, roots, petition paper and tie it off, “feed” a Mojo Bag with conjure oil.
Dab it a little oil in its “mouth” where you tie it shut. Tie them tight, so they don’t open up again. Only feed a Mojo Hand once a week at least, once per day at most.
There are lots of other things you can do with oils but those are some of the basics. Happy Elemental Water conjuring!
Check out all the Conjure Work brand Conjure Oils. And don’t forget the other Elements! Fire, Earth and Air!