Abramelin oil, also called Oil of Abramelin, is a ceremonial magical oil blended from aromatic plant materials. Its name came about due to its having been described in a medieval grimoire called The Book of Abramelin. The recipe is adapted from the Jewish Holy anointing oil of the Tanakh, which is described in the Book of Exodus (30:22-25) attributed to Moses.
The oil can be used in the course of ritual activities outlined in the book by Abramelin the Mage in order to obtain the outcomes he promised those who successfully applied his system of “Divine Science” and “True Magic”, namely, the gifts of flight, treasure-finding, and invisibility, as well as the power to cast effective love spells.
Abramelin oil became popular in the Western esoteric tradition in the 20th century after the publication of the S. L. MacGregor Mathers English translation of The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage (1897), and especially via Aleister Crowley, who used a similar version of the oil in his system of Magick. There are multiple recipes in use today and the oil continues to be used in several modern occult traditions, particularly Thelema (created in 1904 by Crowley).
Oil of Abramelin and Thelema
Oil of Abramelin was seen as highly important by Aleister Crowley, the founder of Thelema, and he used his version of it throughout his life. In Crowley’s mystical system, the oil came to symbolize the aspiration to what he called the Great Work—”The oil consecrates everything that is touched with it; it is his aspiration; all acts performed in accordance with that are holy.”
Crowley went on to say:
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The Holy Oil is the Aspiration of the Magician; it is that which consecrates him to the performance of the Great Work; and such is its efficacy that it also consecrates all the furniture of the Temple and the instruments thereof. It is also the grace or chrism; for this aspiration is not ambition; it is a quality bestowed from above. For this reason the Magician will anoint first the top of his head before proceeding to consecrate the lower centres in their turn (…) It is the pure light translated into terms of desire. It is not the Will of the Magician, the desire of the lower to reach the higher; but it is that spark of the higher in the Magician which wishes to unite the lower with itself.
This oil is currently used in several ceremonies of the Thelemic church, Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica, including the rites of Confirmation and Ordination. It is also commonly used to consecrate magical implements and temple furniture. The eucharistic host of the Gnostic Mass—called the Cake of Light—includes this oil as an important ingredient.
Crowley also had a symbolic view of the ingredients that he found in the Mathers translation:
This oil is compounded of four substances. The basis of all is the oil of the olive. The olive is, traditionally, the gift of Minerva, the Wisdom of God, the Logos. In this are dissolved three other oils; oil of myrrh, oil of cinnamon, oil of galangal. The Myrrh is attributed to Binah, the Great Mother, who is both the understanding of the Magician and that sorrow and compassion which results from the contemplation of the Universe. The Cinnamon represents Tiphereth, the Sun — the Son, in whom Glory and Suffering are identical. The Galangal represents both Kether and Malkuth, the First and the Last, the One and the Many, since in this Oil they are One. […] These oils taken together represent therefore the whole Tree of Life. The ten Sephiroth are blended into the perfect gold.
Crowley’s Abramelin oil made with essential oils
Early in the 20th century, the British occultist Aleister Crowley created his own version of Abramelin Oil, which he called “Oil of Abramelin,” and sometimes referred to as the “Holy Oil of Aspiration.” It was based on S. L. MacGregor Mathers’ substitution of Galangal for Calamus. Crowley also abandoned the book’s method of preparation—which specifies blending Myrrh “tears” (resin) and “fine” (finely ground) Cinnamon—instead opting for pouring together distilled essential oils with a small amount of olive oil. His recipe (from his Commentary to Liber AL vel Legis reads as follows:
- 8 parts cinnamon essential oil
- 4 parts myrrh essential oil
- 2 parts galangal essential oil
- 7 parts olive oil
Crowley weighed out his proportions of essential oils according to the recipe specified by Mathers’ translation for weighing out raw materials. The result is to give the Cinnamon a strong presence, so that when it is placed upon the skin “it should burn and thrill through the body with an intensity as of fire.”
This formula is unlike the grimoire recipe and it cannot be used for practices that require the oil to be poured over the head. Rather, Crowley intended it to be applied in small amounts, usually to the top of the head or the forehead, and to be used for anointment of magical equipment as an act of consecration.
Abramelin oil Recipes
Here are a couple of recipes for making Abramelin oil. Which recipe you choose is purely a matter of personal preference.
Buy here:
15ml Abra Melin (french) Lailokens Awen Oil
A recipe for macerated (crushing and soaking) Abramelin oil is as follows:
- 4 parts powdered Cinnamon bark
- 2 parts finely ground Myrrh resin
- 1 part Calamus chopped root, reduced to powder
- 7 parts Olive oil
The mixture is macerated for one month, then decanted and bottled for use, producing a fragranced oil suitable for anointing any portion of the body, and will not burn the skin. It may be applied liberally, after the manner of traditional Jewish Holy Oils, such as the one which was poured on Aaron’s head until it ran down his beard. It is not, however, made “according unto the art of the apothecary”, since it is not distilled after the maceration but decanted into bottles.
A recipe for Abramelin oil using essential oils is as follows:
- half part Cinnamon essential oil
- 1 parts Myrrh essential oil
- 1 part Calamus essential oil
- 1 part Cassia essential oil
- 7 parts Olive oil
Keep it in a clean container until you need it. This oil should be stored under the altar. This is highly fragranced oil that may be applied to the skin in more liberal amounts; it is a close, modern approximation of the oil described by Abramelin to Abraham of Worms.
Another recipe for Abramelin oil substitutes galangal root for Calamus root.
- 4 parts Cinnamon bark quills, reduced to powder
- 2 parts Myrrh resin tears, finely ground
- 1 part Galangal sliced root, reduced to powder
- 7 parts Olive oil
This mixture is macerated for one month, and then strained through cheesecloth and bottled for use. The result is a fragranced oil suitable for anointing any portion of the body, and it will not burn the skin.
In hoodoo folk magic, these symbolisms are somewhat changed: Myrrh and Olive remain the same, but Cinnamon is for money, good fortune in business, and luck, and Calamus is used to break jinxes, control others, and luck. Galangal root is employed in protective work, especially that involving court cases.
References:
- The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage.
- The Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook
- web: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abramelin_oil