Oil -- typically olive oil -- symbolizes the good that comes from celestial love. Celestial love is love of the Lord, the highest and purest love we can have. The good of celestial love is the desire to be good springing from celestial love: Wanting to do the Lord's will because you love Him. That's not a state many reach, even in heaven, but it's a beautiful goal. This representation makes sense based on the idea that the sun -- the source of all natural light and heat, and thus all natural life -- represents the Lord, the source of all spiritual light, heat and life. Burning oil was the most pure fire available in Biblical times, thus the closest representation of the sun people could create.

4624. But to come to the correspondence of the sense of smell and therefore of the nostrils with the Grand Man. Those who belong to this province share the gift of perception of a more general kind, so that one may call them 'perceptions'. To these the sense of smell corresponds, as therefore does the organ serving that use. This also explains why 'smelling', 'scenting' and 'being sagacious', ¹ also 'having a good nose', are used in everyday speech in reference to people whose predictions are usually correct, and also to those who are perceptive. For much of the inner content of the words a person uses has its origin in correspondence with the Grand Man, because as to his spirit he is in the company of spirits but as to his body he is with men.

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