Alchemy of Soul Journal by Azra ZK

Divine Elixir N° 99: The Art of Alchemy Behind a Sacred Botanical Anointing Oil

Azra ZKOctober 25, 2026

Divine Elixir N° 99 Sidr anointing oil botanicals

Some words are spoken. Others are inherited.

Elixir is one of them. For more than a thousand years it has named the most precious preparation a maker could create: rare elements, gathered with patience and united with intention, until they become something greater than their parts.

Divine Elixir N° 99 carries that name with reverence. It is the origin hero of House of Excelsior and the heart of The Art of Sacred Renewal Rituals™. A luxury Sidr botanical anointing oil of wild Black Seed and Mediterranean Olive Oil, united with nineteen ancient botanicals, among them Frankincense, Myrrh, Damask Rose, Spikenard, Oud, Sandalwood and Saffron. It is the first creation of the House, and the one from which every other ritual has grown.

Its story begins far from any laboratory. At twelve, in Syria, the ancient home of the Damask Rose and a land where the olive tree has been cultivated for more than 6,000 years, I wrote and published my first poem, began to walk a spiritual path, and first encountered the botanicals that would shape my life: Sidr, Olive Oil, Black Seed, Frankincense, Myrrh and the Damask Rose.

For the first time, I understood that nature carries stories as much as it carries fragrance.

Some creations begin with a formula. Divine Elixir N° 99 began with an encounter.

What Is an Elixir?

Its journey began with the Greek xērion, a fine dry powder prepared with care. In the great age of Islamic scholarship it became the Arabic al-iksīr, a word at the very heart of alchemy. To the alchemists of Baghdad, Damascus and Cordoba, the iksīr was the most precious preparation of all: the rare and perfected substance believed to transform whatever it touched, elevating the ordinary into something noble. From Arabic manuscripts the word travelled into medieval Latin as elixir, and into the European imagination as the legendary elixir of life.

Between the eighth and tenth centuries, scholars such as Jābir ibn Ḥayyān and Abū Bakr al-Rāzī wrote of the iksīr as the culmination of the alchemist's art: a preparation reached only through patience, purification and exact measure. It was never made in haste. It was the work of a lifetime.

Over the centuries, the word has kept its meaning of something concentrated, precious and transformative. In fine perfumery today, an elixir describes the richest, most intense expression of a fragrance. In everyday language, it is the preparation that brings carefully chosen elements together in pursuit of something extraordinary.

I chose the name in that creative and symbolic sense. Divine Elixir N° 99 is a sacred botanical anointing oil for external use, not a promise of transformation in a bottle. Yet it carries the spirit of the word: rare botanicals, gathered with patience, united with intention, and offered as a daily ritual that elevates an ordinary moment into something sacred.

An elixir gathers what is precious and makes it whole.

From Encounter to Research

My research began in Syria, with Sidr, Damask Rose, Frankincense and Myrrh. These botanicals opened a path into ancient history, sacred traditions and the relationship between fragrance, anointing and devotional practice.

They became the meeting point between my study of botanical heritage and my exploration of spiritual science: an inquiry into ritual, meaning and the inner life.

From that beginning came eleven years of making, research and refinement. The intention was never to reproduce an ancient recipe. It was to create an original expression of sacred botanical ritual for contemporary life.

Ancient history informed the inquiry. The creation itself belongs to the present.

The nineteen sacred botanicals of Divine Elixir N° 99 botanical anointing oil

The Ritual Behind the StoryDivine Elixir N° 99

Luxury Sidr & Black Seed Anointing Oil with Frankincense, Myrrh, Spikenard, Damask Rose, Oud & Saffron

$333.00

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Cherished by Family, Friends and Clients

Elixir did not begin as a product. It began in my hands and in my home.

For years I made these oils for the people I love, and shared them with family and friends as support through seasons of healing, reset and rejuvenation. Over time it became part of my Private Renewal Sessions, and a companion to the clients I have walked beside through grief, transition, burnout and new beginnings.

A man in black holding a bottle of Divine Elixir N° 99 Sidr botanical anointing oil

What I have witnessed again and again is the way Elixir invites the body and the senses to soften. A few drops warmed between the palms. A slow breath of sacred resins and Damask Rose. A pause. Many of those who have experienced it now keep it beside their bed, massaging it into the soles of the feet as a night ritual of rest and rejuvenation, and waking to skin that feels deeply nourished.

It is natural. It is multi-use. And above all, it is an elevated sensory experience, a moment of grounding and return that you will keep coming back to.

The formula grew slowly from these years of devotion, one botanical at a time.

The Oil of Kings, Priests and Prophets

Anointing is one of the oldest gestures in human history. In ancient Egypt, precious oils scented with resins and spices were offered to the gods, worn at festivals and carried into the afterlife. Across the ancient Near East, oil poured upon the head marked hospitality, honour and consecration.

In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Exodus (30:23–25) records the composition of a holy anointing oil: myrrh, sweet cinnamon, fragrant cane and cassia, carried in olive oil. With it, priests were consecrated, and in later books kings such as Saul and David were anointed. So central was this act that the Hebrew word Mashiach, Messiah, and the Greek Christos, Christ, both mean the anointed one.

In the Gospels, Mary of Bethany breaks open an alabaster jar of pure spikenard, so costly that its fragrance filled the house, and anoints the feet of Jesus. In the Psalms, royal garments are described as fragrant with myrrh, aloes and cassia, and aloes in that ancient sense was the precious wood we know today as oud.

When I look at the composition of Divine Elixir N° 99, I see these threads gathered together. Myrrh, cinnamon, cassia and olive oil, four of the five materials named in Exodus, are present within it, alongside spikenard, oud, frankincense and galbanum. It is not a reconstruction of any ancient oil. It is an original creation that honours the long and luminous lineage of anointing.

The Four Sacred Notes

Four botanicals began the journey, and they remain the Signature Accord at the heart of every House of Excelsior creation.

Sidr, the Lote Tree of Paradise. Renewal, Blessing, Protection. Laid in the tombs of the pharaohs and named four times in the Qur'an, including as Sidrat al-Muntahā, the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary. Within the House, Sidr is honoured as a symbol of blessing, spiritual renewal and Divine Remembrance. Read the story of Sidr →

Frankincense, the noble resin. Prayer, Reverence, Elevation. Around 3,500 years ago, Queen Hatshepsut sent an expedition to the Land of Punt to bring frankincense trees home to Egypt, a voyage still carved into the walls of her temple at Deir el-Bahari. For centuries the resin travelled the great Incense Route of Arabia, valued as highly as gold.

Myrrh, the resin of anointing. Solace, Healing, Introspection. Used by the Egyptians in their most sacred rites of preservation, named first among the materials of the holy anointing oil, and offered by the Magi alongside gold and frankincense.

Damask Rose, the Queen of Flowers. Love, Grace, Devotion. Named for Damascus, it was in the Islamic world that the art of distilling rose water was refined, with the scholar Ibn Sina among those credited with perfecting the method. Several thousand kilograms of hand-picked petals yield a single kilogram of rose oil, which is why it has always been counted among the most precious materials in perfumery.

These histories are distinct, and I honour each on its own terms. Together they gave the creation its depth.

Learn more about the House of Excelsior Signature Accord →

The Sacred Foundation: Black Seed Oil and Olive Oil Together

Every anointing oil needs a foundation worthy of what it carries. I chose two of the most revered oils in human history, and united them as one.

Certified Organic Cold-Pressed Black Seed Oil. Black Seed, Nigella sativa, is so ancient a treasure that seeds were found among the provisions placed in the tomb of Tutankhamun. It is honoured across the Abrahamic traditions. In Islamic tradition it is known as the blessed seed, and its virtues are recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari. In Jewish tradition it is referenced in the Talmud as a treasured remedy.

The Black Seed in Elixir grows wild and self-occurring in the high-altitude regions of the Himalayas and South-East Asia, nourished by monsoon-fed glacial waters, without cultivation or sprays. The seeds are hand-harvested by local farmers, cold-pressed once to preserve the full richness of each seed, and tested in accredited Australian laboratories for Thymoquinone, its most treasured natural compound. It is a standard I would not compromise.

Certified Organic Cold-Pressed Mediterranean Olive Oil. The story of the olive begins more than 6,000 years ago in the ancient Levant, and it has been treasured across the Mediterranean ever since as Liquid Gold: the oil of the holy anointing, the oil of the lamp, the oil of blessing. Pressed from organic olives of the Eastern Mediterranean, it is naturally rich in oleic acid, squalene and polyphenols, cherished for generations to soften, condition and comfort the skin.

Organic Black Seed Oil and Mediterranean Olive Oil, the sacred foundation oils of Divine Elixir N° 99

Together, Black Seed and Olive form a deeply nourishing botanical oil for skin and hair, light enough to absorb beautifully, rich enough to carry nineteen precious botanicals.

Learn more about The Sacred Foundation Oils →

Nineteen Days, Nineteen Botanicals

The foundation oils are infused with blessed organic Sidr for nineteen days of stillness. Only then are the botanicals united with them.

The formula was not written in a day. Each botanical was added with reverence and with purpose, and each carries a heritage of its own. Within the House, they are gathered into six Ritual Families.

Purification & Protection

Sidr, the sacred seal, infused for nineteen days as the living foundation. Frankincense, the breath of prayer, carried from the Land of Punt and the frankincense valleys of Arabia. Hyssop, the herb of cleansing in the Psalms, where the psalmist asks to be purged with hyssop and made clean. Galbanum, the green resin named in Exodus as one of the four materials of the sacred incense, its bright, verdant note opening the composition like the first light of morning.

Grounding & Stillness

Myrrh, the oil of reverence. Vetiver, the deep root of India, long woven into fragrant cooling screens and known as the oil of tranquillity. Cedarwood, kin to the great cedars of Lebanon, whose timber built the temple of Solomon and whose oil the Egyptians prized. Sandalwood, the temple wood of meditation, and in Elixir a rare Australian note: Santalum spicatum, the native sandalwood of Western Australia.

Myrrh resin on dark stone, one of the nineteen sacred botanicals in Divine Elixir N° 99

Heart & Devotion

Damask Rose, the flower of divine love. Spikenard, gathered from the high Himalaya, the precious nard of the Song of Songs and the alabaster jar, the sacred offering. Roman Chamomile, the gentle flower associated by the ancient Egyptians with the sun, a note of softness and rest.

Memory & Depth

Cistus, the source of labdanum, the ancient amber resin that Herodotus described being gathered from the beards of goats that grazed among the rockrose of the Mediterranean and Arabia. Oud, born when the agarwood tree answers a wound with a dark, fragrant resin. Among the rarest aromatic materials on earth, it is the aloes of the Psalms, liquid black gold.

Renewal & Illumination

Turmeric, the golden root of India, still laid upon brides in the haldi ceremony before a wedding. Benzoin, the sweet balsam of Sumatra, whose old name, gum benjamin, descends from the Arabic lubān jāwī, the frankincense of Java. Cinnamon Bark and Cassia, the consecrated spices named together in the holy anointing oil of Exodus. Saffron, the golden thread, painted on the walls of Bronze Age Akrotiri on the island of Thera, where young women gather crocus flowers. Some 150 flowers, each picked by hand, yield a single gram.

Blessing & Union

Common Myrtle, the evergreen of blessing and union, one of the four sacred species carried during the festival of Sukkot and woven into bridal crowns across the Mediterranean for centuries.

The nineteenth, and the last, was Saffron: the crown of spices and the most precious botanical in the collection by weight. With Saffron, the composition was complete.

Explore all 19 botanicals in Sacred Botanical Intelligence →

Nothing is hurried. Each batch is artisan crafted in limited batches in Australia under the House of Excelsior Alchemical Protocol, preservative-free and alcohol-free, of 100% pure botanical origin. When a batch is fully allocated, the next takes up to nineteen days to prepare. We will never rush what is made with reverence.

The finished creation is not an archaeological reconstruction. It is my own formulation, shaped by research, refinement and the vision of House of Excelsior.

One Botanical Oil, Many Sacred Uses

Divine Elixir N° 99 is unisex and multi-use: a botanical oil for body, hair and soul, and for the whole family's ritual.

For the body. Apply after bathing, while the skin is still warm, as a deeply nourishing natural body oil.
For the hair. Use sparingly on the lengths and ends for lustre.
For the pulse points. Anoint the wrists and throat with intention, as a sacred botanical fragrance of resins and rose.
For the night. Before sleep, massage a few drops into the soles of the feet, a beloved ritual of overnight rest and rejuvenation.
For the family. For children, a small amount diluted with a carrier oil may be applied to the feet or pulse points.

It absorbs beautifully and leaves a lingering veil of sacred resins upon the skin. A 50 ml bottle is created to accompany you through the full 40 days of The Ultimate Ritual of Return, depending on use.

Why N° 99

Within sacred tradition, 99 is honoured through the 99 Divine Names, known as the Most Beautiful Names, inviting remembrance, reflection and reverence. Divine Elixir N° 99 was created as a vessel of divine remembrance, completion and transformation.

For Body, Mind and Soul

What Elixir offers goes far beyond what a label can hold. It speaks to the body, the mind and the soul.

For the body. A deeply nourishing oil for skin and hair. Black Seed and Olive are naturally rich in antioxidants, essential fatty acids, squalene and polyphenols, cherished for generations to soften, condition and comfort the skin.

For the mind. A pause. The fragrance of sacred resins and florals, the warmth of oil between the palms, a moment of stillness set apart from the demands of the day. An invitation to emotional grounding and sensory awareness.

For the soul. An act of remembrance. Elixir was created for intentional and devotional practice, as a companion through the seasons of life and a daily return to what is sacred within.

These are not three separate rituals. In one act of anointing, they become one.

The Ritual of Anointing

Oil touches the skin. Fragrance fills the immediate atmosphere. An ordinary moment becomes deliberate.

Elixir was created for life's thresholds: transitions, grief, stagnation and new beginnings. The ritual itself is simple.

Shake gently before each ritual.
Anoint the pulse points with intention and reverence.
Apply to the body after bathing.
Before sleep, massage into the soles of the feet.
Use sparingly on hair lengths and ends for lustre.

Avoid the face and eye area. Read The Ritual of Return Guide →

The Meaning of Return

The philosophy behind House of Excelsior is the Inside Out Renewal Method™. Its lived botanical practice is The Ritual of Return™.

For me, return is not retreat. It is the deliberate act of coming back to what matters: to one's values, attention and chosen way of living.

The oil is tangible. The meaning is personal.

Eleven Years, Held in One Creation

When I hold Divine Elixir N° 99 today, I see more than its finished form. I see the research that began in Syria in 2012. I see the botanicals that first drew my attention, and the temples, tombs and scriptures through which they have travelled. I see the faces of family, friends and clients who have made it part of their own return. I see eleven years of making and the gradual articulation of a House philosophy.

Elixir is the entry point, the story and the heart of Divine Apothecary. It is where botanical heritage meets my original vision of contemporary sacred ritual.

The Elixir anoints. The Ritual of Return™ invites us to begin again.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an elixir?

The word elixir comes from the Arabic al-iksīr, the most precious preparation of the medieval alchemists, believed to transform whatever it touched. Today it describes a concentrated, carefully composed preparation of precious elements, and in perfumery the richest expression of a fragrance.

What is the difference between an elixir and an essential oil?

An essential oil is a single aromatic extract from one plant. An elixir, in the perfumery sense, is a composed preparation: many precious materials brought together in balance. Divine Elixir N° 99 unites nineteen botanicals in a foundation of Black Seed and Olive Oil, ready to apply to the skin and hair.

What is an anointing oil used for?

An anointing oil is a fragrant oil applied to the body with intention, a practice found across many ancient cultures and faith traditions to mark consecration, blessing, hospitality and significant moments. Divine Elixir N° 99 is a sacred botanical anointing oil for personal, devotional and daily ritual.

What is in Divine Elixir N° 99?

Certified Organic Black Seed Oil and Mediterranean Olive Oil, infused for nineteen days with Organic Sidr leaf and united with nineteen botanicals including Frankincense, Myrrh, Damask Rose, Spikenard, Oud, Sandalwood and Saffron. The full ingredient list is on the product page.

Why are Black Seed Oil and Olive Oil used together?

They are two of the most revered oils in human history. Black Seed brings its ancient heritage and treasured natural compounds, and Olive brings deep nourishment and a silken texture, forming a rich yet beautifully absorbing botanical foundation for skin and hair.

Can it be used on hair and before bed?

Yes. Divine Elixir N° 99 is multi-use for body and hair. Use sparingly on the lengths and ends for lustre, and before sleep massage a few drops into the soles of the feet. Avoid the face and eye area.

Is Divine Elixir N° 99 the holy anointing oil of Exodus?

No. Divine Elixir N° 99 is an original formulation. It shares several historic materials with the anointing oil described in Exodus, including myrrh, cinnamon, cassia and olive oil, and honours that lineage without claiming to recreate it.