Working with Forneus: rhetoric, reputation, and turning enemies into friends
Forneus, and why speech is the work here
Forneus is entered in the Grimoire Companion notes as a Marquis who teaches rhetoric and languages, grants a good reputation, and turns enemies into friends. That is a distinctive combination, and it tells you what kind of work this is before you touch any tool. It is work about speech, about how you are spoken of, and about a relationship that is currently set against you changing into something else.
Rhetoric, in this old sense, is not trickery. It is the craft of saying a thing clearly, in the right order, to the right person, at the right time, so that it can actually be heard. A petition, a negotiation, an apology, a defence of your name, a conversation you have been putting off because you know it will go badly if you handle it badly: these are all rhetoric in practice. Forneus work, as the tradition presents it, sits squarely in that territory, and that is why an oil for anointing fits it so well. Anointing is a deliberate act done before speaking, and it marks the speaking itself as the working.
Reputation is the second part of the office, and it deserves the same plain treatment. A good reputation is not the same as being liked by everyone. It is being spoken of truthfully and fairly, in the places where your name travels without you. If your name is being carried into rooms you are not in, and it arrives there distorted, that is a reputation matter, and it is worth naming it as one, rather than dressing it up as something vaguer.
The third part, turning enemies into friends, is the most often misunderstood. It does not mean pretending a conflict never happened. It means a relationship that is currently hostile, cold, or stuck finding a way to become workable again. Sometimes that looks like friendship in the full sense. Sometimes it looks like two people who can deal with each other fairly, without the old heat. Be clear with yourself about which one you are actually asking for, because the petition, and the way you carry yourself afterwards, will be different for each.
Starting with the work, not with the tool
Spirit work is not shopping, and oil does not do the speaking for you. Before you anoint anything, be clear about the matter in hand, in one sentence. Who is involved, what was said or done, and what change are you asking for? If you cannot state it in one sentence, write it down, leave it overnight, and come back to see if it still reads true. That pause is part of the work, not a delay in it.
It is also worth asking, honestly, whether there is ordinary-world work that belongs first, or alongside. A letter that needs writing, a conversation that needs having, an apology that needs making, a record that needs correcting: ritual work does not replace those things, and it works best when it accompanies them, giving you the steadiness and clarity to do them well. If you are working with Forneus on a matter of speech, the speech itself is part of the working, not something that happens after the working is over.
Work from the instructions and teaching you already follow in the Goetia system. A general article like this one is not a substitute for proper teaching, and it should not be used to invent a purpose for a spirit you have not studied.
Preparing yourself to speak well
Preparation for this kind of work is largely preparation of the speaker. Bathe, or at least wash your hands and face, and change into clothes you do not wear for ordinary errands. This is not about looking a certain way for anyone else. It is about marking, for yourself, that this time is set apart, and that what you are about to say matters.
Then prepare the words themselves. Know what you are going to say, in your own words, and know what you are not going to say. A petition that tries to cover every possible outcome usually covers none of them well. Keep it direct, keep it honest, and keep it to the matter at hand. If the working is preparation for a real conversation, rehearse that conversation too, not as a script to recite word for word, but so you know the shape of what you need to say, and where you tend to lose your thread.
Notice, as part of preparation, how you speak when you are under pressure. Some people go quiet. Some people talk too much, filling every silence. Some people sharpen their words until they cut. Knowing your own habit is useful, because the working is partly about speaking differently from habit: clearly, steadily, and without the extra heat that habit adds.
Why anointing, and why oil at all
Anointing is a way of marking something, or someone, for a purpose. In practice, it is often done on the hands, the forehead, or on a tool, seal, or candle that will be used in the working. The act itself is simple, and that simplicity is the point. You are touching the thing, naming the purpose, and doing it deliberately.
Oil is used for anointing because it stays. It does not evaporate in a moment like a scent on the air, and it does not wash off at the first touch. It remains on the skin or on the tool while you work, and that staying quality is part of how it functions in a ritual setting. You can smell it, you can feel it, and you are reminded, through the whole working, of what you set out to do. For work about speech, that reminder matters: it is there while you speak, and while you listen, which is the other half of speaking well.
That is also why the quality of the oil matters in practice, not as a luxury, but as a matter of attention. An oil made in a hurry, from synthetic scent, does not carry the same weight in the room as an oil made for this specific work, from real materials, in a small batch. You will notice the difference when you open the bottle, and you will notice it again halfway through the working, when the scent is still there and still clear.
How the Forneus oil is made here
I hand make all of my own perfumes, colognes and oils from only pure essential oils, roots and herbs. I do not use any extraneous ingredients or fillers. I also do not use any synthetics. Sometimes there is the odd gemstone thrown in as well.
Each batch of oil is hand made when you order, not pulled from a warehouse shelf months in advance.
That made-to-order point matters for a working like this. It means the oil has not been sitting, opened and closed, through other people's orders. It is made for your order, and then blessed by me myself before it is sent out. I make no promise about what it will do for you, only that it is made by hand, for this work, and not mass produced.
Incense to go with the oil
Oil and incense are often used together in Goetia work, and Forneus work is no exception. They do different jobs in the room. The oil marks and anoints. The incense fills the space and sets the atmosphere for the working itself.
The Forneus incense offered here is hand made in the same way: each batch is hand made when you order it, unless a batch has just recently been made. The incenses made here are of a quality that I use them myself for magical work. They work well enough that I use them successfully for spirit work, work for clients, as well as my own spellwork.
If you are doing a full working, rather than a single anointing, use both. Anoint first, with a clear purpose in mind, then light the incense and let the room settle before you speak your petition. Do not rush from lighting to speaking. Give the room a moment to change, and give yourself a moment to notice that change. If you are only anointing a seal or a candle for later use, you can still use the incense to fumigate that item at the time you prepare it.
A simple working order, to adapt to your own practice
The following is a general order, not a fixed script. Adapt it to the system you already work in, and to the instructions you already follow for Goetia work. First, prepare the room and yourself, as above. Second, set out the seal, tool, or candle you will use, and the oil and incense. Third, anoint, deliberately, naming the purpose in your own words. Fourth, light the incense and let the space settle. Fifth, speak your petition, clearly and once, rather than repeating it until it loses its shape. Sixth, sit quietly for a time and listen, rather than filling every moment with more words. Seventh, close the working properly, in whatever way your practice requires, and put the tools away in their proper place.
Afterwards, write down what you did, when you did it, and what you noticed. Not what you hoped would happen, but what actually happened, in plain language. For Forneus work, that record should include the speech itself: what you said, to whom, how it was received, and what changed in the conversation afterwards. That record is what lets you tell, weeks later, whether anything changed, and whether that change had anything to do with the work.
What not to do
Do not do this work when you are angry in the moment, if you can avoid it. Anger passes, and a working done in the heat of it often reads, afterwards, as something you wish you had phrased differently. Wait until you can state the matter calmly, even if the matter itself is serious. This is doubly true for work about speech, because words spoken in heat are hard to take back, and a petition made in heat tends to ask for heat in return.
Do not use the oil internally, and do not use it on broken skin. It is made for anointing and ritual use, from essential oils, roots and herbs, and it should be treated as a ritual oil, not as a food, a medicine, or a skin treatment. If you have sensitivities to essential oils, test a small amount first, or do not use it on skin at all, and anoint a tool or candle instead.
The oil is made for the work, blessed by me before sending, and sent to you to use in your own practice. What follows from that practice, in terms of magical result, is yours to observe, not mine to guarantee. That is about the work itself, not about delivery dates for physical items.
Keeping a record, and knowing when to stop
Keep a short record for each working: date, purpose in one sentence, oil and incense used, what you did, and what you noticed afterwards, over days and weeks, not just on the night itself. For reputation work, note how you are spoken of, where you hear it, and from whom, rather than relying on a general feeling that things are better or worse. For reconciliation work, note actual contact: what was said, what was offered, what was refused, and whether the relationship is genuinely workable again, or only quieter for a time.
Do not repeat the same working endlessly in the hope that repetition alone will force a result. Do the work properly, once, observe, and then decide, calmly, whether a second working, a different approach, or no further working is the right next step. Repetition without reflection is not persistence. It is noise.
Forneus oil, and Forneus incense to go with it
If you are doing spirit work with Forneus, the oil is for anointing, not for show.
I hand make Forneus oil myself, from pure essential oils, roots, and herbs, with no synthetics and no fillers, and I bless it myself before it is sent out. It is made in small batches, when you order, for anointing and spirit work with Forneus. I make no promise about what it will do for you, only that it is made by hand, for this work, and not mass produced.
If you want the oil for that work, this is the one I offer: Forneus Goetia grimoire demon evocation oil, $44 CAD, 1/2 oz bottle. View the product
I also make the incense to go with it, for the same work: Forneus Goetia incense, $44 CAD. View the product
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