Religious practitioners have been anointing themselves and their tools since at least as far back in time as ancient Egypt, and certainly in other cultures too. Anointing comes from the Old French word enoindre, which means “to smear.” Anointing is usually done with an oil or fat but in some cases blood is used. In witchcraft we anoint to consecrate, to inaugurate, and to cleanse. Some traditional cultures anointed themselves with animal fat to gain the powers of that animal and in aboriginal Australia, there’s evidence that the intestinal fat of ancestors was used to anoint to gain a dead person’s characteristics and strengths. The Beloved Dead ritual oil in your kit is made of grapeseed oil, patchouli, Otto of rose oil, amber resin, and tobacco. I wanted something that felt decadent and sensual, had an Underworld connection, and contained aromatics that spirits and ancestors seem drawn to. My inspiration for this oil came from an unexpected place when a few months ago I bought a rose and patchouli body oil from Alchemy Slow Living (www.alchemyslowliving.com) and it immediately became my favorite body care product ever. Go buy it and her Prickly Pear serum too, seriously. I fell in love with Monique’s combination of rose and patchouli and knew I wanted to borrow inspiration for a ritual oil specific to ancestral work. I also knew I wanted to incorporate tobacco in the oil so I added a few drops of tobacco absolute. The tobacco adds a warm, spiciness with a little bit of old leather. And finally I added a precious chunk of amber resin, giving the oil a little honeyed sweetness and a note of vanilla.