Category: The Twelve Powers

WHAT IS ANOINTING?  Anointing is from the Hebrew word massach, which means  to anoint, literally to cover, rub or smear with oil.  During biblical times, copious amounts of oil were used and all were aromatic.
Similarly, the word Messiah (from the same roots or Christ) means the anointed one.

WHO WAS ANOINTED?  Kings, priests, prophets, objects in the temple.   Anointing flowed from the head down.
WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF ANOINTMENT?  To sanctify or set apart for the Lord (Old Testament).  To know your oneness with God.   Since animal sacrifices were made in the Temple, all objects were anointed, both to  dispel odors and to prevent infection.

SECULAR ANOINTING:  Healing, embalming, beautification, hospitality.  A modern form of healing through anointing is the Raindrop technique.
BIBLE PASSAGES:  EXODUS 30:24; 30:34  Recipes revealed to Moses for the holy anointing oil and holy anointing incense were only to be used to sanctify the priests and objects of the temple.  “Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.” (Ex. 30:33)
Again in the recipe for the holy anointing incense is the caveat “And the incense which you shall make according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves; it shall be for you holy to the Lord.  Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people.” (Ex. 30:37-38)

THE CONSECRATION OF THE PRIESTHOOD and the tabernacle and all the objects in it  (Lev. 8:1-12; 21:10)  Psalm  133:2  “Behold how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell in unity!  It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!  It is like the dew  of Hermon (sacred mountain,  MBD) which falls on the mountains of Zion!  For there the Lord has commanded the blessings, life for evermore.
SAUL’S  CORONATION:  I Sam. 10:1  “Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head…  JEHU ANOINTED KING:  II Kings 9:1  Then Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand…  JESUS TEACHES DISCIPLES TO ANOINT:  MARK 6:7-13:  “So they went our and preached that men should repent (Aramaic for turning back to God).  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.
  JESUS ANOINTED BY MARY OF BETHANY:  Matt.26:6-13; Mark 14:3; Luke 7:36-50; John 12:1-8.  In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, the woman is identified as Mary of Bethany.  (Metaphysically, the devotional soul).   In Luke, it is a “sinful woman” who anoints Jesus.  Jesus uses this anointing event as a teaching on forgiveness.

Although Jesus told the disciples a number of times over the 3 years that he would be crucified and resurrected, the message did not sink in.  The women, however, representing the intuition and feeling nature of the soul,  anointed Jesus with the oils of spikenard and myrrh, both oils used for embalming.  Spikenard was brought from the Himalayas in India in alabaster jars and used only for priests, kings, or high initiates.  Myrrh was a fixative oil, increasing the potency and longevity with whatever it was blended.   Spikenard is correlated with the faculty of power and myrrh with the faculty of life.
In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, Jesus is anointed on his head.  In the Gospels of Luke and John, Jesus was anointed on his feet.
BURIAL:  When Jesus was taken down from the cross, Nicodemus and Joseph of Aramathea wrapped Jesus in Myrrh and Aloes (sandalwood)  John 19:38

 

 

Life is the power of the mind to activate, appropriate.  (Genesis 2:7)  The Revealing Word says “Life is that expression of Being which manifests as animation, activity, vigor.  Life is the acting principle that propels all forms into action.”  Life is the faculty which unites all the faculties and brings them into expression.
“Life is divine, spiritual, and its source is God.  The river of life is within man as his spiritual consciousness.  He comes into consciousness of the river of life through the quickening of Spirit.  He can be truly quickened with new life and vitalized in mind and body only by consciously contacting Spirit.  This contact is made through prayer, meditation, and good works.”  The Revealing Word
DISCIPLE who represents LIFE is JUDAS ISCARIOT.  “Judas represents the unredeemed life forces.  The first step in redeeming the Judas faculty is … affirming our unity with the Spirit of purity.  When the Judas faculty reaches the spiritual standard of life it is known as Judah, whose office is prayer and thanksgiving.” Metaphysical Bible Dictionary
JESUS knew that it was sense consciousness that would betray him, and made no effort to escape.  Betrayal necessary for resurrection and was therefore, good.
REPLACEMENT FOR JUDAS is MATTHIAS, meaning totally given unto Jehovah. LOCATION in body:  Generative organs.
MYRRH (commiphora myrrha), mowr Hebrew, meaning more bitter.    Resin from trunks and limbs of tree of same family as frankincense.  A scraggly thorny tree, prefers basaltic soil to limestone, bark brittle and cracks of its own accord.  Resin dark and tear shaped.  A SYMBOL OF ETERNAL LIFE.
MYRRH played a significant role in every event of Jesus’ life:  Birth, Anointing, Crucifixion, Burial in preparation for the Resurrection.

MYRRH is the most common fixative oil, meaning that it enhances and increases the longevity of the oil with which it is blended.  MYRRH was an ingredient in both the Holy Anointing Oil  and Holy Anointing Incense.

MYRRH (350 litres) found in King Tut’s tomb when opened in 1924, still potent. CHEMISTRY:  Sesquiterpenes 62% deprograms miswritten information on DNA at cellular level.  ANCIENT USES:  Pregnancy, labor, childbirth, preventing infection, preventing or removing stretch marks.  Umbilical cords of newborn; embalming.    
BIBLE REFERENCES:   Mt. 2:11 (gift at birth); Matt. 26:7; John 12:3 (anointing  woman); Mk 15:23 (crucifixion😉 John 19:39 (burial); Esther 2:12  ( preparation for marriage;) Ps. 45:8 (oil of gladness;) Song of Sol. 1:13; 3:6; 4:6; 5:1.

ELIMINATION is a spiritual faculty whose function is elimination, release, or letting go through a process of denial.  Our faculty of saying “no,” which can be used either as preventive or a corrective.

“It is just as necessary that one should learn to let go of thoughts, conditions and substances in consciousness, body and affairs when they have served their purpose and one no longer needs them, as it is that one should lay hold of new ideas and new substances to meet one’s daily requirements.” Metaphysical Bible Dictionary.
The DISCIPLE who represents ELIMINATION is THADDEUS:  warm hearted, courageous.  Fearlessness necessary for proper elimination in mind and body.
The LOCATION in the body is the Abdominal region.   Hyssopus officinalis (Hyssop) is the associated plant and herb.  Its Hebrew Root:  Esob or Holy Herb; liberation; throughout the scriptures, hyssop depicted as the oil for purification.

A highly colored shrub, 12-24 inches high, with pink, blue, white, lavender flowers) native to southern Europe, the Middle East and region of the Caspian Sea.
The stem is woody at the base from which grow a number of straight braces.  Steam distilled from stems and leaves.
CHEMISTRY:  Monoterpenes,  Sesquiterpenes, Phenylpropenoids (emotionally cleansing and balancing).
BIBLE REFERENCES: Psalm  51:7 (David’s repentance over Bathsheba incident when confronted by Nathan;)  ; Ex. 12:22 (Passover— hyssop branch struck on the lintel and doorpost released the oil); Lev. 14:17 (cleansing of lepers along with cedarwood);  John 19:29 (crucifixion—Jesus offered hyssop branch known as a pain killer for suffocation).
ANCIENT USES:  Absorbing guilt, cleansing of leprosy and the emotions behind it, addictions and destructive habits, respiratory relief, decongestant, protection against plague.
MODERN USES:  Anti-asmathic; anit-infectious; antispasmodic: anti-viral; decongestant; diuretic; and sedative;  help with coughs, colds and fever, parasites, regulating lipid metabolism.

ORDER is the power that we each have to establish right connection, synchronicity, internal guidance and discernment which result in a proper sequence of unfoldment of order in mind, body and affairs.  We are created in the image and likeness of Spirit, Divine Mind, God, which is harmony, which is progress, which is the evolution of our minds, bodies and souls.
Ella Pomeroy says that ORDER is our ability to perceive and cooperate with the law of growth.  The DISCIPLE representing ORDER is James (supplanter) of  Alphaeus (leader, chief).  A tax collector like his brother Matthew (representing will).  Human will and order is supplanted by divine order.
Putting our lives in ORDER requires putting first things first.  Charles Fillmore’s Twelve Powers of Man says “[i]t is in recognition of the power and the presence of God that all our strength and all our ability lie.  If any area of life is in disorder, it can be easily corrected by connecting to the source of order, and then allowing the faculty to perform its function and expand into the outer realm in whatever area it is needed.”
ORDER is located in the navel, which collects, absorbs, transforms, balances, and distributes the life force (“CHI or KI”).  It is our physical center of gravity while sitting, standing or doing yoga.  It is our storage battery for chi.  It is our first connection in the womb with the eternal world and that connection continues, representing our strongest connecting link to other people.
GALBANUM (chebenah), which is part of the Parsley family, related to giant fennel is the plant associated with ORDER.  Galbanum is native to Iran and India, distilled from resin derived from stems and branches.  Galbanum gives off an earthy, pungent, balsamic odor which becomes pleasant when blended with the other oils. (Ex: 30:34)

“Every communal fast that does not include the sinners of Israel is not a fast.”  Talmud (Keritot 6b)The temple incense included oils with lovely fragrances, but was incomplete without Galbanum.  According to the Talmud, a congregation is not complete without someone who has fallen and who must elevate himself with repentance.  This represents the elevation of evil back into the realm of Holiness (wholeness).
HEBREW ROOT—cheleb  fat, richest part  When priest made a goat offering by fire, the fat was for the Lord and forbidden for human consumption.  Lev. 3:13-17.
 CHEMISTRY:  Monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes (releasing and reprogramming).  MOSES’ favorite oil:  When used with hyssop, aligns brain with purpose and keeps us on task.  Moses needed that in the wilderness!

 

 

WILL is the executive faculty of the mind and the determining factor in humanity.  The Will may be said to be the person because it is the directive power that determines character formation.  The Revealing Word says that when humanity wills to do the will of God, they exercise their individual will in wisdom, love and spiritual understanding; they build spiritual character.”
Ed Rabel said WILL is the great “permission giver.”  WILL is a spiritual faculty, from a spiritual source and expresses as willingness toward SPIRIT, TRUTH, or GOOD.  WILL becomes WILLFULNESS when exercised as forcefulness or grim determination to get one’s way.
DISCIPLE representing will is MATTHEW, who went from being a tax collector to following the Christ, an illustration of willingness.  LOCATION in the body is the front brain.  Joint occupation in this center with UNDERSTANDING.
GOD’S WILL  is always good.  Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane demonstrated perfect willingness to let God’s will be done.  (Luke 22:42; Mt 26:36-46)

OIL associated with WILL is CASSIA.  CASSIA – an evergreen tree, native to China, sometimes called Chinese cinnamon.  Its leaves are elongated and seem to bow down. HEBREW ROOT:  qadad, to bow the head in reverence, a picture of willingness.
CHEMISTRY:  Phenylpropenoids 80%  cleanses receptor sites, receptive to God’s will.  Egyptians used CASSIA with clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg to activate receptor sites.  Cassia is mentioned in Ebers Papyrus 16th century, BCE, which contains 877 prescriptions and recipes.
CASSIA, unlike its close relative cinnamon, has white bark, while its essence is more pungent.
KEZIAH (meaning Cassia in Hebrew), Job’s second daughter, born after his return to affluence, represents  the purified soul (white bark) expressing true perception and discrimination. Metaphyshical Bible Dictionary  Like her father Job, who went from self-righteousness to righteousness.
BIBLE REFERENCES:  Ex. 30:24 (Holy anointing oil) Psalm 45:8 (oil of gladness); Job 42:14 (Keziah, Job’s second daughter).  PROPERTIES:  Antioxidant; anit-inflammatory, anti fungal anti-bacterial; anti-viral.

UNDERSTANDING is the ability of the mind to know or to comprehend  God as supreme knowing.  The Revealing Word says “SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING is the quickening of the Spirit within.  Spiritual understanding is the ability of the mind to apprehend and realize the laws of thought and the relation of ideas one to another.”
INTELLECTUAL UNDERSTANDING comes first in the soul’s development, then a deeper understanding of Truth principles, which, in turn, opens the way for revelation.  The DISCIPLE who represents understanding is Thomas which means joined, conjoined, twin.  Thomas represents reason and intellectual perception; and is called the doubter because has to see in order to believe in the resurrection.
LOCATION IN BODY:  Front brain.

Einstein says, “Every man knows that he does best in his work and accomplishes most when he has attained a proficiency that enables him to work intuitively.”  Twelve Powers of Man.  

The OIL associated with UNDERSTANDING is ONYCHA.
ONYCHA (Styrax benzoin), an absolute extraction from the resin of the benzoin tree, dark sage green about three feet tall.  Native to India, China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam.  Most viscous of all oils consisting of Di and Tri Terpenes, heavier than mono or sesquiterpenes.
HEBREW  root sh cheleth, meaning aromatic shell; fingernail in Greek since the resin is sometimes translucent like a thick fingernail.

BIBLE REFERENCES:  Exodus 30:34 (Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred); Sirach 24:15 ( Like cinnamon and acanthus, I have yielded a perfume, like choice myrrh, have breathed out a scent, like galbanum, onycha, labdanum, like the smoke of incense in the tent); Genesis 1:14-19 (fourth day of creation); Exodus 28:30 (Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord.)
ONYCHA is associated with Egyptian god Khepra or Ra, sun god, who pushes the sun (enlightenment) across the sky.
In the TAROT,  ONYCHA is the perfume for the path of the charioteer between Binah (understanding) and Tiferet (balance).  The charioteer’s emblem is the sun; behind him on the card is the moon (will); he gives understanding to the Fool about how to defeat an enemy.  The black and white horses that the charioteer directs (representing the subconscious and conscious mind) draw in unison.  An understanding of Truth inspires a willingness to follow its path.

ONYCHA  is also the name of membrane that functions as a door into the interior of  a shellfish. Just as understanding progresses from the head to the heart, so too the scent of onycha is associated with the path from Binah (understanding) to Tiferet (the heart center).

The Revealing Word says that IMAGINATION  is the faculty of mind that images and forms; the power to form and shape thought.  Through this faculty, the formless takes form.
IMAGINATION is the full expression of divine mind expressing in us, the true image and likeness of God co-creating in, as and through us.  In The Twelve Powers of Man, Charles Fillmore writes that “[m]an and the universe are a series of pictures in the Mind of Being.  God made man in his image and likeness.  Man in his turn is continually making and sending forth into his mind, his body, and the world about him living thought forms embodied and imbued with his whole character.”
Fillmore says “imagination uses the universal language of symbols to communicate the Will of God, and it is up to us as co-creators to give form to the ideas and visions.  Heaven is the realm of ideas and potentials that are ours to claim and the earth is the realm where we form them into material things.  When the form and substance are balanced, the idea will endure.”
Joseph represents Imagination in the Old Testament, the increase of endless supply.  The disciple representing Imagination is Bartholomew, which means preparation of new growth, new development, new prospects, new seeds.  Its location is in the middle of the forehead between the eyes.
The Biblical references for Imagination are Genesis 1:9 (” And God said ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let the ground appear'”); Genesis 37: 5-28, 39-46 (Joseph’s dreams); Daniel 2 (Nebuchadnezzar’s dream); Acts 9 (something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again); Acts 10:9-16 (Peter’s vision).  The oils associated with Imagination are Aloes and Sandalwood.
IMAGINATION AND SANDALWOOD (Santalum album).  The Hebrew root word for Sandalwood is Ahaliym (Wood Sticks); its resin rare and it is highly valued.  Tree develops slowly over several hundred years.  ALOES steam is distilled from bark.  It opens the third eye, the seat of Imagination.  Its chemical name is Sesquiterpenes, it has the highest on ORAC score.
Aloe-Sandalwood Oil removes negative programming from cells.  Its anti-tumoral, anti-viral, immune stimulant, anti-depressant, antiseptic, aphrodisiac, astringent, calming, sedative, and tonic; calms and balances the emotions; it is also stimulating and grounding.
ANCIENT USES: Embalming, beautification, mood elevating, assistance in meditation.
MODERN USES: Cancer care, viral infections, skin care, enhances deep sleep, supportive of female and reproductive and endocrine systems; urinary tract infections, wound healing; awakens the latent life force during meditation.
BIBLE REFERENCES: Numbers 24:6 (Balaam blesses Israel, comparing her to Aloes planted by the Lord); Psalm 45:8 (“All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad”); Proverbs 7:17 (“I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon”).

Song of Solomon 4:14 (“Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes”); John 19:39 (“Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial”).