Sacred ashes

Ashes are put to use in various religions.

In Hinduism, sacred ashes or Vibhuti are used to smear, anoint or mark devotees.

In Christianity, on Ash Wednesday, ashes of burnt palm leaves and fronds left over from Palm Sunday, mixed with olive oil, are applied in a cross-form on the forehead of the believer as a reminder of his inevitable physical death, with the intonation: "Dust thou art, and to dust will return" from Genesis 3:19 in the Old Testament.