Incense Making

How to make incense.

GETTING YOUR HERBS AND\OR ROOTS PREPARED FOR MAKING  INCENSE (if not using oils)

No matter what recipes you are using, your incense  ingredients will most likely need to be powdered, one by one. Grinding by hand is a wonderful way of adding your own being into your work. It is also somewhat relaxing and hypnotic. If your intention is a magical incense, set your goal in your mind, before you begin (prosperity, love, health, etc). It is especially helpful to visualize the intended outcome, as you grind. Even if you are not making a strictly "magical", you can still add your intention to your finished product
in this way.

Some ingredients will be easier to grind, than others. Some, will take a little practice to find just the right method. Experiment and find out what works best for you. Sometimes, you may even find that it is easier, if you don't fight so hard, when grinding. Be flexible. If you have to grind a stone, you might try smashing the stone with a hammer, first. Then, grind the smashed stone to a fine powder in a metal mortar. If hand grinding your ingredients is plainly distasteful, you have arthritis, or you just don't have time, you can always use an electric coffee grinder (do not use the grinder for stones).

If you are creating your own recipes or blends, be sure to write down every ingredient, what quantity, and what you visualized, as you go along, so you can recreate this in the future.

Incense has been smoldering somewhere in the world for thousands of years. It has been used for religious, and magical purposes, even as an air deodorizer, much as it is today. It is a wonderful way to change or set a particular mood.

All organic matter has it's own inherent energy or vibration, as well as planetary and elemental correspondences. In making ones own magical incense, the magician chooses ingredients that will have the energies needed to manifest the goal. For a love incense recipe, you would choose ingredients that are known for promoting or attracting love. These energies may be used alone, or blended to add power to the magic work. A cleansing incense recipe might be used to clear a space of all negativity prior to the magical work, as well. In ritual, the energies are released through smoldering, and become accessible to the magician to use towards manifesting the desired magical goal.



BLENDING YOUR INCENSE INGREDIENTS

Now, that you have all your herbs, resins, crystals, barks, flowers, etc. finely powdered and filled with intent, you are ready to mix and blend them into a finished product. Take all your ingredients, one by one, and add them to the large bowl. As you add each ingredient, mix them together with your fingers, visualizing the intended outcome as you do. Add your own power of intention, coming off your hands and blending with the energies of the fragrance in the bowl. Know that your will is infusing the incense with the energy to help manifest the magical goal. Now you are ready to add any oils or liquids to your blend. You won't need very much, just a few drops is usually sufficient. If you are making a large amount of incense, and you are short a powdered ingredient, but have that oil on hand, it is usually fine to substitute a couple of drops of oil for the herb. Blend the oils and/or liquids into your incense, visualizing as you go.
Some will call for a particular stone, as an ingredient. Usually, you only need a very small pinch, to give the effect. Add this in last, visualizing as you do. If you only want to boost your incense, you can normally add a pinch of amber, as it is an all around power booster. Dragon's Blood resin is also used in this way.


NOW THAT YOU HAVE FINISHED CREATING YOUR INCENSE

You now have a complete incense. You can choose to take it one step farther and do a full empowerment ritual now, another day, or not at all (if you are not making a magical fragrance). Place the finished product in an airtight container, and mark it plainly with name and date. Keep it in a cool dark place. When you are ready to use your incense, just light a charcoal tablet, fan for a minute, then add a teaspoon or so of incense to the top of the tablet. If your recipes are being used for a spell or ritual, a tablet will burn for at least 30 minutes so you can light it at any time, and add the incense later.



Cautions and Disclaimers:
Never leave burning product unattended. Charcoal tablets, used improperly can cause severe burns or house fires. If you have never used charcoal tablets, be sure to read about them first! If you have never used any kind of herbs before, please read about them first!
We make no claims, where magical incense is concerned as to it's effectiveness or magical powers. This information is provided as a teaching guide, for how it is and has been used in the past, and you have to make your own decisions as to the suitability for any particular purpose.