Introduction to Spell Oils

A spell oil is at its essence a form of alchemy where you combine certain herbs, stones, or other natural ingredients for their metaphysical properties and the specific combination and proportion of ingredients used is all significant for yielding a particular result. The result is one where life force in your environment is modified or amplified in such a way as to render those energies more conducive for achieving the success that you’re seeking.

This primer will cover the basics on spell oils, how to craft your first spell oil, and also notes for consideration if you, as a practitioner, decide to craft spell oils for others at some point and how to go about doing so.

Spell Oils vs. Anointing Oils

I mark a distinction between spell oils and anointing oils, though let’s acknowledge that not every practitioner does. So, since I’m marking a distinction, I should probably explain what I think the difference is.

When I craft a spell oil, it’s only one single bottle at a time, for a specific purpose, intended for a specific beneficiary. It’s custom crafted. I don’t personally craft spell oils in bulk, but I’m also not a commercial proprietor (meaning, it’s perfectly fine and legit to be crafting spell oils in bulk, under specifically defined circumstances, however). When an oil consists of a very specific proprietary recipe and a specifically instructed ritual is used to activate the oil once in the hands of an individual, even when made in bulk, I would still consider that a spell oil.

An anointing oil is not so much a spell per se as it is an energy clearing, energy modifying, or energy amplifying mechanism. Maybe I’m splitting hairs here, I don’t know. There’s something a little more “general purpose” to anointing oils, if you’re asking me. However, it could be specific in terms of working with a particular deity. But to me, that’s still not exactly a “spell.”

An anointing oil assists. It becomes part of the practitioner’s toolkit. It’s folded into the greater ceremonial process of a ritual or working.

A spell oil is the working. It’s not part of a toolkit. It’s a done deal and it’s intended to help the recipient manifest something. A spell oil is a spell. An anointing oil by itself is not a spell.

I guess I also think of spell oils as something for everybody, anybody. Whereas anointing oils I think of as more tailored toward practitioners of craft and for facilitating that craft. Of course, lines do blur between the two.

This post is about spell oils, hence the “(Cf. Anointing Oils)” because we won’t be talking about anointing oils.

Crafting Spell Oils

There is no set methodology for crafting spell oils. For some, it’s an infusion process, hot or cold-pressed, that can range from taking a couple of hours to taking a couple of months. It might be essence-based. It might be essential oil based. So it does run the whole gamut and I work with all of the above processes.

Tinkering Bell #6 on “Holy Anointing Oil” is a practicum tutorial for anointing oil, but the process that’s taught is a hot oil infusion process that you can use in crafting spell oils. You just change up the ingredients part and the intention-setting ritualistic parts. In the accompanying supplemental PDF handout that you can download for free, it also instructs the quick essential oils method, which again, can be converted over for application in crafting spell oils.

Once you’ve determined the actual process you’ll be using for crafting the spell oil, the spell itself consists of the following:

• Selection of herbs and/or gemstones (for stone infusion) where each ingredient corresponds with a specific energy-raising or manifestation objective
• Determination of proportions (generally, you don’t just use an equal amount for everything, unless there’s an intended significance to that)
• Ritualized process that involve other ritual tools to charge, consecrate, and/or bless the spell oil
• Transference of a practitioner’s life force or transference of invoked or evoked spirit entity life force to be streamed into the spell oil
• Optional. Consideration for astrology, numerology, or an accompanying divination reading; color symbolism can also be a consideration. A subsequent paragraph will cover tinting your spell oil

Color symbolism can be a powerful, effective, and attractive consideration point. But I strongly recommend that you avoid artificial coloring. Instead, work with the natural dyes that organic herbs can yield, like using cornflower petals and dogwood bark for a blue tint, saffron or beets for a natural red or pink, coffee beans to darken the oil tone if that’s desirable, black walnuts, etc. In spell oils crafted under the magical genre of Ku, or poison magic, you might look into crushed insects. A lot of different types of insects are gathered and used for coloring and dyes.

I also like to add gemstones so that there’s a stone infusion integrated into the spell oil. Buying gemstone chips tends to be cheap, but often require you to buy it in bulk amounts. So instead, I’ll make my own. All you need is a mortar and pestle. Any stone with a hardness level below 7 is going to crush up just fine with a mortar and pestle, and a little bit of gentle patience. When a spell oil is love or healing related, I am almost always going to include a rose quartz infusion.

I love working with trees, not just in some woo sense, but tending to my trees. I grow over a dozen different trees and have what I feel to be a special relationship with each one. You know how in old school witchcraft you use a strand of hair or nails from someone? Using branches from a tree is similar but, no, okay, bad analogy– point I’m trying to make here is a tiny branch from a tree, like the twiggy itty part, can be super powerful in a spell oil. And almost every tree is fine with giving up some twiggy itty part. It’s a welcomed haircut anyway. Using crushed dried leaves for corresponding metaphysical properties is also potent.

A combination of essential oils, essences, and/or dried herbs is the classic approach. At most halfway nice grocery stores these days, you can buy whole dried herbs, so it’s a practitioner’s dream. Stock up on whole nutmeg, whole dried cloves, star anise, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, saffron, dill, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, etc.

From my observations, every intermediate to advanced metaphysical practitioner is going to have his or her unique signature approach to crafting a spell oil. It might almost be safe to say no two seasoned practitioners are going to be using the same methodology.

Sourcing Your Ingredients

Do not be lured into the temptation of buying wildly expensive and exotic ingredients just so your spell oil can appear more badass. First of all, do you really understand the correspondences and character profile of those ingredients? Do you, as a practitioner, even have a strong enough psychic-spiritual-energetic connection to those particular ingredients?

Go take a hike somewhere local. Seriously. And bring loads of Ziploc bags, pen, and paper. Observe the natural ecosystem around you. Is there a particular tree that is growing fiercely against the odds or looks to be so much stronger and more resilient than anything else around it? Does a tree or even a plant, a wildflower you come across, just exude a distinguished energy and aura? Personally harvesting that plant material will be powerful in your craft. Take a moment to study and observe the plant to get a sense of its strengths and attributes. Jot it all down on paper (so you don’t forget), slip that paper into a Ziploc bag, and then harvest some of that plant material to add to your home inventory of witchy supplies. Just remember for fresh flowers or leaves, you’re going to have to dry them first or else you’re going to end up with a rancid mess.

As I mentioned earlier, don’t overlook your grocery store. Also, when I travel, I always bring Ziploc bags and empty plastic (in this case you’re going to want to go with plastic, not glass–just a tip based off personal experience…) containers to collect dirt, sand, pebbles, and lots of other really amazing goodies from all over the world (or the various regions of your country). For those of you who have received crafted products from be in the past, that’s how I can make you something that contains desert sand from Nepal, cherry blossoms from Japan, ginseng grown at the top of a sacred mountain in China, the dirt from a medieval Buddhist monastery, water from Victoria Falls, etc. When you combine all those ingredients together metaphysically, the results are always unforgettable.

Very important note about collecting foreign ingredients: do your due diligence so you not only know the local laws and regulations, but also local superstitions and mythos. For example, you’re probably not going to want to take home any rocks from Hawaii…you might be taking home with you a curse. A lot of national parks also ban taking any materials from the national park, so in those cases, you’re going to want to refrain from acting criminally.

Significance of a Spell Oil

Blood is considered one of the primary channels for communion between the divine or spirit realms and our physical, worldly realm. Oil, if you think about what oil is, is like blood. So a spell oil is a powerful, conductive channel for communion between the divine or spirit realms and our physical, worldly realm.

A spell oil is akin to an alchemical process a practitioner undergoes to modify natural oils or essences and other ingredients to create something far more sophisticated than the sum of its parts. It’s like how master chefs show you a line of raw ingredients, do all this magical culinary stuff to said ingredients, and an hour later, voila– a dish you’ll never be able to replicate this lifetime that looks like art, and tastes like heaven. A practitioner crafting spell oil is kind of like that.

Application of a Spell Oil

Application of a spell oil is going to hinge almost entirely on the nature of that spell oil. I might not apply a love/romance spell oil to door knobs, but I would probably apply it to the four corners of a bed frame or even to the front door. A spell oil intended to protect is going to be applied around the perimeter of what is to be protected.

I have a signature prosperity spell oil I craft before the start of a New Year or a Lunar New Year that I give to family and some close friends. A one-time use dosage is given where you anoint yourself and your handbag, wallet, shoes, and perhaps everyday jewelry with the dosage, with the intent that you always walk toward, attract, and experience material prosperity throughout the year.

Typically (aside from specific considerations for the nature of the oil’s intended result), I’ll apply a spell oil to myself much in the same way you would apply a perfume or cologne. This can be done daily or weekly until the bottle of spell oil is used up.

A spell oil can also be applied to jewelry, accessories, or pocket stones so that these objects themselves become empowered into talismans that carry out the objective of the spell oil.

Getting a Custom-Crafted Spell Oil

If you are getting a custom spell oil crafted by a practitioner, then I’m assuming a conversation took place between you and the practitioner about what it is you want. (Likewise, if you’re a practitioner who is considering selling spell oils, listen up; these may be some good practice tips to implement.) The practitioner is probably going to ask a few questions about who you are, follow-up inquiries, and so on to get a more comprehensive and contextual sense for what to do for you. Then, the spell oil is custom-crafted for you. Before I spell-craft for someone, I almost always begin with a birth chart. I want to make sure everything I’m doing for someone is at the very least aligned with that person’s natal astrology.

When you get a custom-crafted spell oil, in a certain figurative sense, the practitioner is like a doctor and they’ve concocted a personalized prescription for you, which is your spell oil. So you need to listen to your doctor and not to the internet. Your practitioner will tell you exactly how to use your spell oil. Presuming you’ve found a reputable, experienced practitioner, then you need to ignore the internet and listen to your practitioner.

If you’re getting a custom-crafted spell oil, then my expectation would be that your practitioner will be more than happy to take the time to explain to you what a spell oil is, that practitioner’s particular approach or point of view when it comes to spell oils, and how exactly you should be applying your spell oil for the most optimal results. Listen to your practitioner. And don’t be afraid to ask questions. A practitioner who tells you to go fend for yourself is probably not a good practitioner for you to be buying custom-crafted spell oils from.

I’ve heard one doctor diagnose another doctor’s health issues before. They do not talk to each other the same way doctors regularly talk to us non-doctor folk. So likewise, the exception is a practitioner crafting a spell oil for a fellow practitioner. There’s not likely to be as much “101 primer” explanations going on. But as a practitioner, if you’re crafting a spell oil for a non-practitioner, then I think it’s expected of you (and rightly so) to take the time to explain how to work with a spell oil and in particular, the custom spell oil you’ve crafted. You might also want to prepare pamphlets or general reference guides that you give to your clients as part of their order.

However, as the recipient of a spell oil, do not expect to get the exact proprietary recipe of the oil from the practitioner. Those are considered trade secrets. While as a general rule of thumb I myself tend to be open about sharing spell oil recipes, this is not the case for most practitioners nor should it be the norm. A spell oil recipe is a trade secret. If you buy a custom-crafted spell oil, all you need to know is that it was crafted to work your intention and manifest that intention. You don’t need to know what goes in it unless there are specific allergy concerns, in which case you would just address the specific allergy concern with your practitioner. (E.g., “I’m allergic to cinnamon, so I wouldn’t be able to use a spell oil with cinnamon. Does this have cinnamon in it?”)

I do not sell spell oils. I craft them from time to time, on a case-specific basis, for long-time clients who I know well and so for whom I can very competently craft a good spell oil that’s going to account for all the variables in that client’s life and that client’s lifestyle, or I craft them for family members. I do not sell custom-crafted spell oils to the public.

There are two proprietors that I highly recommend, if you’re looking for a custom-crafted spell oil. I have ordered and regularly worked with oils from both of these practitioners. They’re both wonderful.

The first is Joey, of Starry Eyed Supplies. She also has an incredible YouTube channel where you can get yourself educated on all things witchy. Her spell oils are pretty incredible. She has a lot of well-established, long-standing proprietary oils for you to select from and she also takes totally from-scratch custom orders, so if you don’t see what you’re looking for, ping her with your custom order and she’s more than happy to fulfill.

For those living outside the UK, shipping costs can be a killer, but based on my experiences with her oils, it’s worth it.

I also highly recommend Tara, of Sacred Land Sage. She’s local here to the San Francisco Bay Area. Tara usually has way more spell oil offerings available than what might be listed on her website, so if you don’t see what you’re looking for, contact her with your specific inquiry. Tara is a mystic with a passion for earth consciousness, practicing non-harm, and being in harmony with nature and the environment. All of that shines in her ethics and personal practices when it comes to crafting her oils and selecting ingredients. I buy with confidence from Tara knowing whatever she’s given me is full of nothing but good juju.

Why Buy Spell Oils?

You may know the logistics and physical process of crafting a spell oil, but if it’s for something you’re emotionally tethered to and there’s a good chance you might not be able to maintain objectivity, I would outsource and get a practitioner you trust to craft the spell oil for you. Doctors don’t diagnose their own health problems. They are going to go see other doctors. I’ve found it to be immensely helpful to bring in a fellow practitioner to help me out on a given situation and to craft the spell oil on my behalf.

Just in terms of my personal discernments as a consumer, I don’t as a general policy buy pre-made spell oils from store-stores. My sense of that is I can’t always trust the quality, the attentiveness, the care, or the passion of whoever made that store-store oil. I don’t know what corners were cut so that the profit margin can be higher.

If I am going to buy a spell oil, I go with custom orders. And I’m really discriminating about who I buy from. I will stalk run extended due diligence over a long period of time on the practitioner and really get a sense for the practitioner’s values before I’ll order anything from him or her. I’ll spend the extra money and buy more expensive products just to go with a practitioner who is passionate about the craft and who would probably do this for free, but is doing it for sale so he or she can put food on the table and pay the bills on time. That’s who I make sure I go with.

I’m also cautious about how a proprietor markets the spell oil. Does the product description over-promise? I shy away run the other way from proprietors who over-state what their products can do (e.g., “guaranteed to make your lover return!” or “just one bottle of this magical oil will bring you untold wealth and fortune!”).

Practicum: Craft Your First Spell Oil

For the novices, let’s work through crafting your first spell oil. We’re going to work with essential oils plus a carrier oil for an instant product. No prolonged infusion process is involved. Start by defining your intention and what exactly you seek to manifest. Let’s use a hypothetical to illustrate how you go about crafting a spell oil.

Suzie Seeker is in the novice stages of cultivating her own spiritual and mystical path. She hasn’t defined what that path is exactly, but is open and receptive to omens from Spirit. Suzie has some anxiety and mild depression issues, in large due to being emotionally sensitive and an empath. She would like a spell oil crafted to increase the signs and omens placed in her path so she can walk the right path. She wants a spell oil that’s going to amplify her strengths, account for her weaknesses, and set her on the right course of study as a metaphysical and occult practitioner.

All of that is important because before you start, you need a fact pattern. You need to know what the heck is going on, some background, and what the objective is. So before crafting a spell oil, I begin with a fact pattern, a character profile, a dossier.

Based on this dossier, this is what a spell oil needs to do for Suzie. First, let’s put in something that’s going to open her channels of connection to Spirit so she can start experiencing and perceiving more signs and omens that will lead her on the right mystical path for her. This will start to increase the synchronicities in her life so she knows what aspects of her craft to cultivate. I’m going to go with actual branches of peach wood. I’ll also add both myrrh essential oil and tears of myrrh resin.

We also intuit there’s some energy blockages. Otherwise, Suzie wouldn’t be asking for such a spell oil. Thus, we want something that’s going to be warding, something that helps remove and clear energy blocks. We need something that will be path-clearing. I’m going to go with tea tree essential oil.

Finally, let’s heal her soul and spirit, and let’s give her something to manage pain, depression, bring her some anxiety relief, and general pain relief. That would be black sage and we’re going to go with actual pieces of the dried herb. Rosemary is also going to be great here. I’ll go with just rosemary essential oil.

In terms of proportions, I’m going to estimate about 70% total for all empowering ingredients and then the remaining 30% will be the carrier oil. Given that this is for spiritual purposes, I’m going to go with the classic olive oil.

Let’s review the list of ingredients:

• peach wood
• myrrh resin
• myrrh essential oil
• tea tree essential oil
• rosemary essential oil
• black sage
• olive oil (for the carrier oil)

Light incense and a working candle. I like to start by anointing the working candle with all the oils that are going in to the spell oil recipe. So in this example, my working candle would be anointed with myrrh, tea tree, and rosemary essential oils.

I start by putting in the solid ingredients. As I place the ingredient into the glass container, I recite the intention for using that particular ingredient and do so in the manner of a prayer. Then I place the next solid ingredient, and so on.

Drip in the essential oil and as you watch each of the drops drip into the container, recite the intention for using that particular essential oil and do so in the manner of a prayer.

Before you add the carrier oil, place the container with the ingredients so far in front of the working candle. Place one hand on either side of the candle and palm facing upward, bow your head, close your eyes, and in a meditative state, visualize the manifestation of Suzie Seeker’s intended outcome. Recite a prayer affirmatively that every drop of the blessed oil will take Suzie Seeker one step closer to achieving her objective.

Then top the container off with the carrier oil, which in this example we’re using olive oil. As you add the olive oil, state an affirmative closing. I personally like: “By the powers vested in me, it is so ordered.” But hey, you do you. “So mote it be” seems to be popular.

Finally, pass the finished oil through the smoke of the burning incense. Then snuff out the candle. You’re done.

The point of the instructional here is to illustrate how you analyze a situation and diagnose it to determine which ingredients you want to use for your spell oil and how you want to go about blessing that oil by ritual. You can follow the exact ingredients list for the purposes as outlined since it is a bona fide spell oil recipe. However, it’s given for illustrative purposes, meaning if you are looking to craft your first spell oil and don’t have all those ingredients or don’t even share that objective with Suzie, just use Suzie’s hypothetical as a model for how you’ll operate.

I would then tell Suzie to anoint her hands and the four corners of a desktop that she’ll be doing a tarot or oracle card reading on, then do a card reading for herself relating to her personal spirituality, path cultivation, or life purpose. The spell oil helps to amplify her readings.

In addition to that, I’d tell her to apply the oil to herself in the same way one might apply perfume and do so daily until you’ve finished the oil. During that entire time, keep a journal to log your experiences, observations, impressions, and insights, and feel open and receptive to omens that you are likely to come upon along your everyday path.

If skin sensitivity might be an issue, as a practitioner I might scale back on the potency of the essential oils proportion or I will tell her instead of applying the oil like a perfume, apply it daily to her shoes.

Practica of Esoteric Craft

For those who have arrived here via the Practica of Esoteric Craft series, you’ll see that I’ve tucked this written primer on spell oils under Practicum #6 where we cover Holy Anointing Oil.

The homework that goes along with this primer is the above practicum for crafting a spell oil. Take notes and brainstorm how you want to approach crafting that spell oil and at every turn, make sure you write down the ingredients you’re using and the proportions for each ingredient. Write down every aspect of your process, step by step, in rough notes.

Once complete, formalize a draft of your spell oil recipe, including short paragraphs explaining uses or application for that specific spell oil, and then incorporate it into your grimoire. Review what was covered for Holy Anointing Oil and what is covered here and, in your own words, write up text to go in to your grimoire about spell oils and anointing oils.

Hey Spell Oil Proprietors who are Practitioners!

Do you sell custom-crafted spell oils? Please leave your storefront links or contact information in the comments section so others in posterity who find this page can check you out in the event they’re seeking to order a custom-crafted spell oil.