Van van oil: a hand-made oil for anointing, and how anointing is actually done

Starting with the oil, not with a claim about it

Van van oil, as it is listed here, is described in plain terms, and this article stays with those terms. It is one of a small variety of very rare and very useful oils. Each batch is hand made when you order it, unless a batch has just recently been made. The oils made here are of a quality that Athena uses herself for magical work, and they work well enough that she uses them successfully for spirit work, work for clients, as well as her own spellwork.

That made-to-order point matters in practice, not as a selling point, 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 a working, when the scent is still there and still clear. An oil that has been sitting, opened and closed, through other people's orders is a different thing from an oil made for your order and then blessed before it is sent out. This article makes no promise about what the oil will do for you, only that it is made by hand, for magical work, and not mass produced.

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 a 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. A hand-made oil suits that act 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.

Anointing also has a discipline that is easy to miss. It is tempting to anoint everything in sight, in the hope that more oil means more work done. It does not. Anointing works best when it is specific: this candle, for this working; these hands, for this task; this tool, for this purpose. Before you open the bottle, be clear about what you are anointing and why. If you cannot state that in one clear 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. An oil used without a purpose is just scent. An oil used with a purpose, deliberately, is an act of marking, and marking is what anointing is for.

Preparing yourself and the room

Preparation in this kind of work is not decoration. It is how you get yourself into a state where you can listen, speak clearly, and notice what changes. Start with the room. Clear the space you will use, not just physically, but in the sense of setting it aside for this purpose. Put away the things that pull your attention elsewhere. If you have a regular working space, use it. If you do not, choose one place and use it consistently for this working, so the place itself starts to carry the association. Set out what you will need before you anoint anything: the oil, the candle or tool if you are using one, and anything else your practice calls for, so you are not fumbling for a tool after the working has begun.

Then prepare yourself. 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. Eat simply beforehand if you can, and avoid starting a working when you are exhausted, drunk, or already agitated. A clear head is a working tool, just as much as oil is. 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.

Anointing a candle, a tool, and yourself

Anointing a candle is the most common use of a ritual oil, and it is worth doing properly. Hold the candle in your hands, put a small amount of oil on your fingers, and anoint the candle deliberately, naming the purpose in your own words as you do so. Do not drown the candle in oil. A little, applied with attention, is enough, and it is better than a bottle poured over a candle in a hurry. Set the candle aside in its proper place, and light it when your practice calls for lighting, not before. The anointing and the lighting are two separate steps, and keeping them separate keeps the working clear.

Anointing a tool follows the same pattern. Hold the tool, anoint it with a small amount of oil, and name the purpose. If the tool is a seal, you can hold the seal in your hand while you anoint it, or lay it flat and anoint it where it lies, whichever your practice calls for. If the tool is something you wear, anoint it before you put it on, not after, so the anointing is part of preparing the tool, not an afterthought once it is already in place. Anointing yourself follows the same rule: a small amount, on the hands or the forehead, applied deliberately, with the purpose in mind. Do not use the oil internally, and do not use it on broken skin. It is made for anointing and ritual use, and it should be treated as a ritual oil, not as a food, a medicine, or a skin treatment. If you have sensitivities, test a small amount first, or anoint a tool or candle instead of your skin.

Oil and the rest of a working

Oil is often used together with other preparations in a working, and it is worth understanding what job it does alongside them, rather than treating every preparation as if it did the same thing. Oil marks and anoints. It stays on the skin or on the tool. Incense, where it is used, fills the space itself. A bath, where it is used, prepares the person. Those are different jobs, and they reinforce each other when they are used together with a clear purpose. If you are doing a full working, anoint first, with a clear purpose in mind, then light any incense you are using and let the room settle before you speak your petition. Do not rush from anointing to speaking. Give the room a moment to change, and give yourself a moment to notice that change.

If you are only anointing a candle or a tool for later use, you can still do that anointing deliberately, at the time you prepare the item, rather than quickly and then putting it away. That preparation is a working in itself, even if the full working comes later. Write down what you anointed, when, and for what purpose, so that when you come to use the item, you know what it was prepared for, and you are not guessing at your own earlier intention. A record kept in plain language is what lets you tell, weeks later, whether anything changed, and whether that change had anything to do with the work.

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. First, prepare the room and yourself, as above. Second, set out the oil and the candle, tool, or seal you will use. Third, anoint, deliberately, naming the purpose in your own words. Fourth, light any incense you are using 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. Note the oil itself in that record: how much you used, how the scent behaved through the working, and whether it remained clear to the end. Those practical details are part of learning how to work with oil well, not a distraction from it. 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. 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.

When this is not the right work

Sometimes the right answer is not a ritual 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. An oil, however well made, does not replace ordinary action, and anointing, however deliberate, does not replace a conversation, a letter, or a decision that only you can make.

It is also worth asking, honestly, whether you are anointing for a purpose you can state, or whether you are anointing because you want to feel as if something has been done. Those are different things, and only the first is a working. If you cannot state the purpose, wait. The oil will keep. The purpose, when it is clear, will still be there, and the anointing, when it is done with that purpose in mind, will be worth more than a dozen anointings done in a hurry, without one.

Van van oil

If you are doing magical work that calls for a hand-made oil for anointing, this is the oil this article has been about.

I hand make Van van oil myself, in small batches, when you order, and I bless it myself before it is sent out. It is an oil I use myself for spirit work, work for clients, and my own spellwork, not a bulk oil relabelled for the purpose. I make no promise about what it will do for you, only that it is made by hand, for this work.

If you want the oil for that work, this is the one I offer: Van van oil, $44 CAD. View the product

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