To anoint something is to set it apart. For most of recorded history, that act was done with oil: poured over a head, touched to a forehead, rubbed onto the doorframe of a home. The oil marked a moment as different from the ones around it.
The practice is old enough that the word itself carries it. "Messiah" and "Christ" both mean "the anointed one," in Hebrew and Greek respectively. Anointing was how kings were made, how priests were consecrated, and how the sick and the dying were cared for.
What people used was not arbitrary. A small group of aromatic oils and resins appear again and again in the old texts, and most of them are still available today. This is a guide to what they are, what goes into our own blend, and how people use anointing oil now.
What Anointing Means
At its simplest, anointing is applying oil as a sign. The oil itself is ordinary; what it marks is not.
In the Hebrew Bible, anointing set apart priests, kings, and sacred objects. In the New Testament, it appears as an act of honor and of care: the sick are anointed, and a guest is welcomed with oil on the head. Many Christian traditions still anoint at baptism, confirmation, ordination, and in prayers for the sick.
Outside formal ritual, plenty of people use anointing oil privately: during prayer, when blessing a new home, at the start of something they want to mark, or simply as a way of slowing down and paying attention. There is no single correct way to do it.
The Oils That Appear in Scripture
These are the aromatics that show up most often, and the ones most anointing oils draw on.
Myrrh is rich, earthy, woody, and balsamic. It is the first ingredient named in the holy anointing oil of Exodus, and one of the three gifts brought by the Magi. A resin gathered from a thorny desert tree, it was among the most prized goods of the ancient incense trade.
Frankincense is resinous, warm, and faintly citrus. It was a key ingredient in the sacred incense of the Temple, and the second of the Magi's gifts. If you have stood in an old church, you have probably smelled it.
Cassia is sweet, woody, and spicy, close to cinnamon but a little sharper. It is named in the Exodus anointing oil alongside myrrh.
Cinnamon appears in the same passage as "sweet cinnamon." Warm and familiar, it is one of the few anointing aromas almost everyone recognizes on first smell.
Galbanum is green, woody, and slightly fruity, and polarizing in a way few oils are. It is listed among the four ingredients of the Temple incense.
Spikenard is earthy and wood-like, drier than patchouli. It is the costly "nard" Mary poured over the feet of Jesus in the Gospel of John, filling the house with its fragrance.
Hyssop is earthy, woody, and slightly sweet. In scripture it is less an anointing oil than an instrument of purification, the plant used to sprinkle water and blood in rites of cleansing.
What Is in Our Anoint Blend
Our Anoint Essential Oil Blend brings together myrrh, cassia, frankincense, patchouli, cinnamon, and galbanum, all 100% pure essential oils.
It draws on two ancient recipes at once. Myrrh, cassia, and cinnamon come from the anointing oil described in Exodus; frankincense and galbanum come from the sacred incense. Patchouli is our own addition, there to give the blend depth and help it last on the skin.
To be clear about what it is and is not: this is not a reproduction of the Exodus formula. That recipe included fragrant cane and an olive oil base, and the text reserves it for sacred use only. Our blend is made in the spirit of those oils, for people who want to use them today.
If you want the individual oils as well, our Biblical 3 Pack pairs Anoint with single bottles of frankincense and myrrh. And our Frankincense & Myrrh blend is a simpler, two-note version for diffusing.
How to Make Anointing Oil
Essential oils are concentrated, so an anointing oil is always a dilution: a small amount of the blend in a larger amount of carrier oil.
- Start with one ounce (30 ml) of carrier oil. Olive oil is the traditional base. Golden jojoba and sweet almond are lighter, nearly scentless, and keep well.
- Add the blend. Our label suggests 15 to 30 drops per ounce. Start at the low end, especially if you will use it on skin often.
- Cap it and roll the bottle between your palms to mix.
- Let it rest for a day before using. The aromas settle into each other and the blend softens.
A small bottle with a roller top makes it easy to carry and apply a little at a time.
How People Use It
On the skin. A touch at the temples, the neck, the wrists, or the forehead. Our label suggests the temples and neck.
In prayer or meditation. Many people anoint themselves at the start of a quiet practice, as a way of marking the time as set apart.
Blessing a home. A traditional practice is to touch a small amount of oil to the doorframes of a new home. Use very little, and test an inconspicuous spot first, since oils can mark some finishes.
In the air. The undiluted blend can also go in a diffuser, which fills a room with the aroma without any skin contact at all.
A Note on Care
Cassia and cinnamon are warm, potent oils, and both can irritate skin if used too strongly. Always dilute before applying, patch test on your inner arm and wait a day, and keep anointing oil away from your eyes and the inside of your nose. If you are pregnant, nursing, or have a medical condition, check with your doctor first.
These are aromatic oils, not medicine. What they offer is older than that: a scent that has meant something to people for three thousand years, and a small, deliberate act you can make your own.
Shop the Anoint blend · Shop the Biblical 3 Pack · Shop essential oil blends