Eclectic Witch

Heyhey witches and witchlets!  You are in for a treat today.  Rasmenia has generously offered to share her incense sense with us all here at The Eclectic Witch!  Feel free to leave comments here, but I know she’d love it if you popped in on her at her blog.  Spend some time there and especially check out some of her 13’s!  Razzi definitely puts the “grrr” in grrrl!

The Incense Waiting in Your Spice Rack

When I walk into my kitchen, I see several things. There are the obvious things: a microwave, fridge, sink & a window. My juice machine, toaster & half-empty box of Cheerios. But, it’s not only that.

I also see countless meals being prepared, recipes read, messes being made & good morning kisses by the espresso machine.

I see things waiting to be created. I see my spice rack… jars & bottles of herbs & oils with untapped potential. I see incense.

Sure, you could just go buy some of those industrial incense sticks at the store… but there’s likely something more interesting in your own kitchen.

When I make incense at home, I need a few supplies:

- Mortar & pestle
- Charcoal tablets
- Cauldron
- Matches
- Jars or bottles

One of the things I like so much about making incense is that the possibilities are endless.

A romantic dinner… how about a Love Incense? Put a little ground ginger, marjoram & cinnamon into your mortar & pestle. Grind it up, drop it on your charcoal & let it burn in the room.

Obviously, you don’t want to do this right on the dinner table. Smoke in the eyes, coughing & choking is not sexy, no matter how hard you try.

Not sexy.

Sometimes I want something more than what is sitting in my cupboards, or in my spice rack. Adding resins such as Frankincense or Dragon’s Blood is a great way to bind the other ingredients together & they smell wonderful.

Speaking of Frankincense… whatever it is that you call that holiday in December – “Yule”, “Christmas”, “Noël”, or simply the “Winter Solstice” – it doesn’t matter much, if you ask me. Tossing a bit of Frankincense & myrrh in your mortar & pestle along with a bit of cinnamon & a wee bit of dried apple will put together a festive scent – no matter the festivities or ritual that you might have planned.

You can even add a small bit of pine needles to the mix, but come on… use your head. Don’t go bonkers with highly flammable ingredients. We’re going for a festive, winter atmosphere, not freaking Burning Man.

Using essential oils is another fantastic way to not only bind your dry ingredients together, but to give your incense a kick. Just add a few drops when you’re mixing your herbs or resins together. Easy.

Something else that’s fun when making incense is playing with correspondences. An example: mix together some clove, cinnamon, saffron & cedar. Add a few drops of jasmine oil. Put your incense in a purple or royal blue container along with a small gemstone of amethyst or lapis lazuli… voilà! Let’s call it “Jupiter Incense”. Hey… why not?

My favorite book to consult when I’m doing incense is: “Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs”. Llewellyn Publishing also puts out a great herbal almanac every year. If you don’t already have information in your home library pertaining to magical correspondences, these are excellent references. Of course… one could also peruse the webternets for information, but sometimes I prefer to flip through pages as I mix ingredients together.

One of my favorite things to do with incense is to make different blends corresponding to the elements. A mix of jasmine, vanilla, sandalwood & lavender make a fabulous water incense. Allspice, orange peel, clove & black pepper with a bit of ginger & nutmeg burn together for a spicy fire incense.

But, the best thing that I have found about making incense at home – sitting at the table, surrounded by jars & bottles of herbs, oils & resins, slowly smelling each one, adding bits of this & that, mixing them together like a bit of a mad scientist… just throwing together whatever I think smells the best.

Occasionally, when I’ve pulled what I think is a stellar incense recipe out of my ass, I’ll add to a notebook that I use exclusively for my incense blends. Now & then, I’ll put some in a pretty jar or bottle & give it as a gift along with some charcoal tablets.

The only limit here is imagination. It’s fun to do & the results are always satisfying.

Besides… what else am I gonna do with all of these weird herbs & spices that I bought for one recipe that I’ll likely never make again?

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