Money Oil — A Grandmothers Recipe

I watched her make this one more than once, standing at the counter while the oil warmed on low. She never measured much of anything, just a shake of this and a pinch of that, but there was one step she never skipped. She'd take a dollar bill, snip the smallest corner off the edge with her sewing scissors, just a tip of it, and drop it right down into the jar with the herbs. I asked her once why not the whole bill. She said the oil doesn't need to eat your money, it just needs to know what your money smells like.

The Recipe

Warm your base oil gently, just enough to help it take the herbs, never anywhere near a boil. Add everything else in whatever order feels right, speaking your intention over the jar as you go.

1/2 cup olive oil or jojoba oil, as your base
1 cinnamon stick, broken, or 1 tsp ground
A pinch of dried patchouli
A few drops of bergamot essential oil
A pinch of dried basil
3–5 whole cloves
A small piece of lodestone, or a pinch of magnetic sand
A small green aventurine, if you have one
The clipped corner of a dollar bill, just the tip

Combine it all in a small clean jar, seal it, and set it somewhere it will catch a little warmth, a sunny windowsill is fine. Give it a swirl and a word each time you pass it for a week or two before you start using it. You can strain the herbs out into a dropper bottle once it's ready, or leave the jar whole and dip a little out each time, working oil and all. Either way, the lodestone and the bill corner stay in the bottom of the jar, they're not meant to come out.

That little corner of a bill isn't about greed, it's about recognition. You're not asking the oil to conjure money out of nowhere. You're giving it a scent to follow, something of yours it already knows, so it can bring more of that same kind home.

Three Ways to Use It

Dressing Candles

Carve your intention into a green candle. Rub the oil onto the candle moving upward toward the wick, never downward, pulling that intention out toward you as you go.

Paperwork & Wallet

A light dab on dollar bills, business cards, invoices, or the inside seam of your wallet. A little goes a long way, you're anointing it, not soaking it.

In the Shoe

A few drops in the heel of your right shoe before you head out the door, so you carry the work with you through everywhere your feet take you that day.

Thursday belongs to expansion, and the days leading up to a New Moon belong to what's about to grow. Either one is a good time to make this oil or put it to work, though a jar already made doesn't mind waiting for the right day to be used.

A Word of Caution This oil is meant to touch a lit candle, not the flame itself. Let a freshly dressed candle sit a few minutes before lighting it, and never add oil to a candle that's already burning.

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A Word on Wanting

I'll say this plain, because I'd rather you hear it from me than learn it the hard way. This oil will not make you rich. That was never what it was for, not in her hands and not in mine.

The universe tends to know what you need before you've finished asking for it. Reach past that, asking for more than you actually need, and you're liable to get a different lesson instead, the one on how to make do with less than what you've got. This work is for opening the door and clearing the path, steady cash flow, bills covered, a little breathing room. It was never meant to hand you a fortune. Keep your petitions honest and specific, and let the rest take care of itself.

What Is Enough But my God shall supply all your need,
according to his riches in glory
by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19