USE OF OIL IN ANOINTINGS

I thought this was very interesting stuff.

Not even going to mention where I got it from....:

In Christianity, anointings were frequently performed by women. For example, it was a women who washed and anointed Christ's feet and used precious oils to prepare His body for burial.

The use of sacred or Holy Oils is very symbolic in many ways. For example, extra virgin olive oil cleanses the internal body of damaging free radicals because it is loaded with high-potency antioxidants. This oil also helps rid the body of artery-clogging cholesterol because it raises the High Density Lipoproteins (HDLs). HDLs are the "good cholesterol" that carries cholesterol from the artery to the liver where it can be destroyed. Olive oil is therefore a symbol of cleansing the body, removing all that is "impure" and replacing it with that which is good. This sacred oil is also symbolic of the "oil in the lamps" of the virgins who were preparing to meet the Bridegroom (Christ). We all need the Light of Christ and His Spirituality and we should frequently replace our "spiritual oil" because that is what giveth light unto the world.

Anciently, sacred oils were used by women to "cast out evil spirits or devils". Certain oils, have been scientifically proven to greatly relieve epileptic seizures and mental illness. The new science of Lipomics (the study of therapeutic fatty acids) is one of the most promising for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disease and epilepsy.
The fatty acid, DNA is now in all infant formula. This wonderful Omega-3 (found in fish oil) can actually absorb electrical charges in the brain and help the brain to resist seizures. There is so much truth to the belief that oils could "cast out evil spirits".

Women has often been the practitioners of Holy Anointings and it is an act of service associated with the "Healing Arts".

Another ancient calling of women was Nurse Midwifery or the delivery of human infants. Woman delivered most of the babies in ancient times. The "washings" or sacred hand washing rituals actually prevented the fatal childbed fevers that women used to suffer from infection. The washing cleanses the hands of staph and strep bacteria and prepares one to deliver an infant in an ascetic manner. The washings and anointings were very important to the Nurse Midwifes because they helped prevent maternal death from infection and hemorrhage. The blessings provided comfort, calmness and relief from pain during childbirth.

I love the term, anointing and I do not like the term, "initiation". Initiation is a "manly" term associated with fraternal organizations. "Anointing" is a feminine term associated with the sacred callings of women to be life-givers, healers, and nurturers.

My best friend lent me her book on the Biblical use of Holy Oils and Washings by women. I love it. I have wondered if the poor women, living in unsanitary, Third-World conditions, could be taught the simple concepts of proper hand-washing before delivering a baby. Surely, it would reduce maternal morbidity and infant mortality. I wish that women could be taught this in the Temple (actually they are). The problem is that the significance of these simple, live-preserving acts, is somewhat lost when the Temple Ceremony turns to ritual, blood covenants and fraternal oaths. That is why I am so very opposed to Masonic Ritual. It destroys the sweet, tender, life-giving symbolism of ancient anointings.