Mastic Ritual Oil

Mastic is a resin collected from the Pistacia lenstiscus tree, which has been grown on the Greek island of Chios for at least 2500 years. Mastic gum has many traditional uses for healing and wellness, and like most tree gums, it is antiseptic, antibacterial, and stimulating to digestion and metabolism.

Spiritually, Mastic has long been revered as an incense and is also an ingredient in chrism, the holy anointing oil of the Easter Orthodox Church. In the time that we have been working with it, we have come to rely on it for keeping our home and personal space clear of negative energy and entities, and we reach for it as an incense, Initiatic, and Ritual Oil almost every day.

As a Ritual Oil, Mastic works through its scent at first, which is rich and very earthy. Its initial effect is a high, clear ringing as if a bell has been struck nearby, and this vibration pushes everything back, away from the center of the self and into the periphery.

The sphere this creates is both a safe and vulnerable place, in which one is protected enough that open sensitivity to subtle energies and beings is possible. This sensitivity can be used to connect with the self, other, both physical and not, to Nature, and to spiritual and magickal practice of any kind.

It is an energy of sanctuary, built not by the raising of vibration as with most protective herbs, but by the solidification of the foundational materiality that connects everything, which is as important as the Spirit aspect of reality. It carries a very embodied feeling like a stone enveloped by water as it sinks.

This deep, downward (but not negative!) quality is very Chthonic, and would be excellent for connecting with spirits and beings of that realm.

We also have an Initiatic of Mastic, and a kit with the Initiatic, Ritual Oil, and some Mastic resin for aromatic use. This complex plant being expresses related but also different intelligences in each of these manifestations, and we encourage you to explore them all!

For tips and techniques for working with our Ritual Oils, see this article.