Incense perfumes a space; scented oil, by contrast, settles on people and objects and stays there. This is why, in the biblical and then the Christian tradition, anointing with an aromatic oil became the consecrating gesture par excellence. Kings, priests, altars, churches: everything that must be set apart and dedicated to the sacred receives the sign of oil. Let us follow the history of this particular perfume, which gave its very name to the Messiah.
The recipe in Exodus
Just before the recipe for incense, chapter 30 of Exodus describes the composition of the holy anointing oil. The ingredients are:
| Ingredient | Quantity given |
|---|---|
| Pure myrrh | 500 shekels |
| Fragrant cinnamon | 250 shekels |
| Aromatic cane | 250 shekels |
| Cassia | 500 shekels |
| Olive oil | one hin |
With this oil Moses was to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars and all the furnishings, and finally Aaron and his sons, to consecrate them to the priesthood. As with the incense, the text forbids reproducing the same composition for ordinary use or pouring it on the body of an ordinary man.
To anoint is to choose
In the biblical world anointing marks a divine choice. The prophet Samuel anoints Saul as the first king of Israel and then, in secret, the young David, chosen from among the sons of Jesse. Solomon is anointed by the priest Zadok at the moment of succession. In all these cases the oil poured on the head shows that power is not a personal possession but a task received from above.
From this gesture comes a term destined for an immense history. The Hebrew mashiaḥ means "anointed", and its Greek translation is christos. When Christians call Jesus "Christ", they proclaim him the Anointed One par excellence, the awaited king and priest.
The Christian chrism
The early Church inherited and transformed the use of sacred oil. In the Latin tradition the holy chrism is made of olive oil and balsam, an aromatic substance that gives it its characteristic scent. It is consecrated by the bishop during the Chrism Mass, traditionally celebrated on Holy Thursday, together with the other holy oils.
Chrism is used at some of the most important moments of Christian life:
- in baptism, with an anointing on the head;
- in confirmation, whose Italian name, cresima, itself recalls the chrism;
- in the ordination of priests and bishops;
- in the dedication of churches and altars.
In the Orthodox Churches the equivalent is the myron, prepared with a large number of aromatic substances and solemnly consecrated by the patriarchs at intervals of several years. Its name, as we saw in another article, is linked to myrrh.
The anointing of sovereigns
In the Middle Ages the biblical anointing of kings was taken up in the consecration ceremonies of Christian monarchs. In France the legend of the Holy Ampulla developed: according to a story spread by Archbishop Hincmar of Reims in the ninth century, a dove brought down from heaven the phial of oil for the baptism of Clovis, and that oil was later used for consecrating the kings at Reims.
In England the anointing has remained the most sacred moment of the coronation, so much so that it has traditionally been hidden from public view. For the 2023 coronation the oil was consecrated in Jerusalem, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in a gesture that explicitly recalled the biblical roots of the rite.
The symbolism of scented oil
Why oil in particular, and why scented? Several symbolic reasons can be suggested:
- Penetration: oil does not stay on the surface but soaks in. It is an image of grace or spirit entering the person.
- Permanence: the scent of oil lasts over time, like a consecration that cannot be erased.
- Light: olive oil was the fuel of lamps. To anoint someone symbolically makes them a lamp.
- Recognisability: whoever is anointed carries a fragrance that distinguishes them, an invisible yet perceptible sign.
A Hermetic perspective
In the esoteric tradition anointing has also been read as an image of inner work: matter is made fit to receive spirit, just as oil prepares the body for a new state. It is a symbolic interpretation that does not replace the religious meaning of the rite but accompanies it, showing how deeply the gesture of anointing is rooted in the Western imagination.
In short
- Exodus describes an anointing oil made of myrrh, cinnamon, aromatic cane, cassia and olive oil.
- Anointing consecrated priests, kings and sacred furnishings, and was forbidden for ordinary use.
- Mashiaḥ and christos both mean "anointed".
- The Latin chrism combines olive oil and balsam; in Orthodoxy it is called myron.
- Scented oil symbolises penetration, permanence, light and consecration.
