Description

Did you know that there is a way of touching your own body that can act as a prayer or an invocation to the divine? Most women have never been taught this, yet their bodies remember it. Anointing with oils was considered an act of consecration in Egyptian, Sumerian, Hebrew, and Greek traditions. When a priestess anointed herself, she would apply the oils to her throat, her heart, and her womb with intention, knowing that she was no longer performing merely a beauty ritual—she was performing a sacred rite. Through this consecration, she was saying to her body: You are seen, you are honored, and you are a holy dwelling place. And the body, which has been waiting for this kind of recognition, responds. It softens, it opens, and it begins to remember. Women who incorporate this practice into their devotional rituals often describe a subtle yet profound shift in their relationship with both spirit and body. The act of anointing invites full, unhurried presence—a devotional meeting with oneself that many women have rarely had the opportunity to experience fully. Begin simply. Choose an anointing oil that calls to you. Pour a small amount into your palms. Allow yourself to slow down and tend to yourself as you would tend to an altar, because you are the altar.