Across India, a smear of sandalwood paste on the forehead marks a person who has just come from worship, and the same paste is offered to the gods.
Origin & Traditional Use
Sandalwood (Santalum album) is a slow-growing tree of southern India and Indonesia whose fragrance gathers in the heartwood over decades. The wood was carved into temple images, boxes and fans, ground into chandan paste for worship, and burned as incense in Hindu and Buddhist temples.
Uses by Tradition
Witchcraft & Folk Magick
- Wishes: write a wish on a slip of paper, dress it with sandalwood and burn it in a cauldron.
- Protection: anoint the brow and the back of the neck before going into crowded or heavy places.
- Meditation: dress a white or purple candle and sit with it to quiet the mind before divination.
Ceremonial & Occult Magick
- Consecration: anoint robes, tools and talismans with sandalwood, often alongside frankincense, before first use.
- Lunar work: sandalwood’s lunar correspondence suits anointing scrying mirrors and moon candles, and it is a common base for blending other oils.
A Simple Working
- Write a wish plainly on a small square of paper.
- Anoint the four corners with sandalwood oil.
- Light a white chime candle dressed with a drop of the oil.
- Hold the paper and read the wish aloud.
- Light the paper from the candle and drop it into a cast iron cauldron to burn out.
- Scatter the cooled ashes outside to the wind.
Pairs Well With
- A cast iron cauldron: for burning wish papers safely.
- Frankincense resin: the classic partner for consecration.
- Nag champa oil: built on sandalwood, for meditation blends.
- A clear quartz point: anointed for psychic work.
Lore & History
The Mysore region of Karnataka was long famous for the finest sandalwood, and the trees were treated as royal and later state property. The Dhammapada contrasts it with virtue: the scent of sandalwood does not travel against the wind, but the good name of the virtuous does. Cunningham gives it to the Moon and Water and lists it for protection, wishes, healing, exorcism and spirituality.
What You Receive
Sandalwood oil in 2 dram, 1 oz and 16 oz (1 lb) sizes.
Did You Know?
Sandalwood is a hemiparasite: young trees tap into the roots of neighbouring plants to draw water and nutrients.
| Weight | N/A |
|---|---|
| Size | 2 dram, 1 oz, 16 oz |
Related products
