Working with Gusion: discernment, reconciliation, and anointing
Gusion, and what this work is actually about
Gusion is listed in the Grimoire Companion as a Duke who discerns all things past, present, and to come, who reconciles friendships, and who grants honour. That is a compact entry, and it is worth unpacking slowly, because each part of it points to a different kind of working, and the three do not blur into one vague request. Discernment is about seeing a situation clearly. Reconciliation is about mending a friendship that has broken or strained. Honour is about standing, reputation, and the way you are regarded by others. A working that tries to ask for all three at once, without deciding which one matters most, usually ends up asking for none of them well.
Discernment, in this context, means getting past the story you are already telling yourself about a situation. Most of us arrive at spirit work with a version of events already fixed in our heads, and the hardest part of the work is loosening that version enough to notice what we have missed. That is why Gusion work begins, in practice, with writing and listening rather than with anointing. Write down what you think happened, what you think is happening now, and what you think will happen next, in plain sentences. Then set that account aside and ask, honestly, which parts of it you actually know, which parts you inferred, and which parts you assumed because they fitted the feeling you already had. That sorting is unglamorous work, and it is the work that makes the rest of the working intelligible.
Reconciliation, as Gusion's entry frames it, concerns friendships. That is a narrower and more useful frame than a general wish for people to get along. A friendship has a history, a break or a strain with a shape to it, and usually two people who remember that shape differently. Before any working, be clear about what you are asking to be reconciled: a misunderstanding, a hurt, a long silence, or a falling out over something specific. The clearer the break, the clearer the petition can be, and the easier it is afterwards to tell whether anything has actually changed, rather than whether you merely feel better for having done something.
Honour, and why it is not vanity
Honour sounds old-fashioned, and it is easy to mistake it for vanity or for wanting to look good. In the grimoire sense, it is closer to standing: whether your word carries weight, whether people trust what you say, and whether you are treated with the respect your conduct has earned. That is a practical matter, not a decorative one. A person whose word is doubted finds every negotiation harder, every collaboration slower, and every disagreement quicker to turn sour. A person whose standing is sound can say a difficult thing plainly and still be heard.
Working on honour therefore starts with conduct, not with a petition. Ask yourself whether there is a place where your word has not matched your actions, a promise left vague, an apology owed, or a matter you have let drift because facing it was uncomfortable. Spirit work does not replace putting those things right in the ordinary world, and a petition that asks for honour while leaving a known wrong unaddressed will feel hollow when you speak it. Do the ordinary-world part first, or at the same time, and let the working support a change you are already making, rather than standing in for one.
It is also worth asking whether the honour you seek is yours to claim, or whether it belongs to someone else's judgement of you. You cannot govern what another person thinks, and a working aimed at forcing regard usually reads, afterwards, as grasping. A working aimed at clarity about your own conduct, and at reconciliation where a friendship can genuinely be mended, sits on firmer ground, and it leaves you with something you can observe: a conversation had, a letter sent, a silence broken, a promise kept.
Preparation before any anointing
Preparation is most of the work, and with Gusion work that means preparation of the question as much as of the room. Clear the space you will use, set it aside for this purpose, and put away the things that pull your attention elsewhere. If you have a regular working space, use it, so the place itself starts to carry the association. Then prepare yourself in the ordinary ways that mark a time as set apart: wash, change into clothes you do not wear for errands, eat simply beforehand if you can, and avoid beginning when you are exhausted or already agitated. A clear head is a working tool, just as much as oil or incense is.
Next, prepare the words you will use. 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. If the work is discernment, state the question in one sentence, and state what you will do with an answer, whatever it turns out to be. If the work is reconciliation, name the friendship and the break, plainly, without dressing it up. If the work is honour, name the standing you are asking about, and the conduct you are prepared to match it with. Keep it direct, keep it honest, and keep it to the matter at hand.
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 rite for a spirit you have not studied. The order that follows is a general order to adapt to your own practice, not a fixed script.
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 not hiding the work behind complicated gestures. You are touching the thing, naming the purpose, and doing it deliberately. With Gusion work, that deliberateness matters, because discernment and reconciliation are both easy to rush past. Anointing slowly, with the question or the friendship in mind, is a way of refusing to rush.
Oil is used for anointing because it stays. It does not evaporate in a moment like 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 a working about seeing clearly, that reminder is useful: it keeps the question in front of you when your mind wants to drift back to the easier story.
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 Gusion 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. The oil 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.
Incense, and a simple working order
Incense and oil are often used together in Goetia work, and Gusion 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. 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.
The following is a general order, not a fixed script. First, prepare the room and yourself, as above, and write down the question or the matter in one clear sentence. 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 discernment work, that record is the working itself in a second form: it lets you compare, weeks later, what you thought you knew before the working with what became clear afterwards. For reconciliation work, note any contact, any reply, any change in tone, and also note where nothing changed, because that, too, is information.
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. If nothing changes, that is also information. It may mean the petition was unclear, the timing was wrong, the work was not appropriate, or simply that the situation needs a different approach, such as a direct conversation, an apology, or time apart rather than another working.
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. With reconciliation especially, repeated workings aimed at a person who has chosen distance can become a way of avoiding the plain fact of that distance, and the record you keep is what helps you see that honestly.
Sometimes the right answer is not a spirit working at all. If the situation is a legal matter, a safety matter, or a medical matter, deal with that matter in the ordinary world first, or at the same time. Ritual work is not a substitute for a lawyer, a doctor, or for leaving a dangerous situation. If you are unsure whether a working is appropriate, wait, ask a teacher you trust, or choose a simpler practice first and see how that sits.
Gusion oil, and Gusion incense to go with it
If you are doing spirit work with Gusion, the oil is for anointing, not for show.
I hand make Gusion 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 Gusion. 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: Gusion 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: Gusion Goetia incense, $44 CAD. View the product
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