Incense Magick (12 page)

Typically, any censer that can be used to burn incense on charcoal will also work for all of the self-combusting varieties of incense. There are specific styles listed later in this chapter that will work only with self-combusting styles, but I've always felt that this type of censer offers the most versatility and utility. I've broken these types of censers into three general forms to make them convenient to discuss, although really the variety is endless.

Dishes

This is my least favorite of the all-purpose censers. A dish censer is just what it sounds like: a shallow container, sometimes without a lip, where charcoal or self-combusting incense can sit while burning. Dishes can contain a fill material, but often do not. The lack of fill is one of the reasons I don't care for them. If you select a dish censer, make certain it is of a material that can resist a great deal of heat, and avoid glass dishes. Charcoal tablets placed directly onto glass can easily crack or even shatter the censer. Even for dish censers, I recommend using some type of fill material.

Cups

Cup censers are cylindrical and are sometimes literal drinking cups. I've used coffee mugs in this role many times. With an appropriate fill material, cups and mugs can work quite well. I don't recommend glass for this style of censer either, as cup censers usually have a small diameter and can be subject to a lot of heat.

One particular type of traditional censer is certainly worthy of mention here. The Japanese koro is a type of censer traditionally used in the kodo ceremony. Most traditional koros are quite expensive, although I have seen a few priced under $50 from time to time. You might want to look for censers described as “kodo censer,” “kodo cup,” or similar names. The name doesn't matter, only the size and shape. When used with low-heat charcoal, koro-type censers can be easily handled or passed. See chapter 9 for more details on this, but the koro is a perfect example of a cup-style censer. Cup censers don't have to be small, either. I own one that is 6 inches in diameter and because of its size, it functions more like a bowl censer than a cup.

Bowls

In my opinion, this is the most versatile of all censer shapes. Unlike cup censers, bowls are narrowest at the bottom and are wider nearer the top. Bowl censers are often much larger than their cup counterparts, although small bowl censer are sometimes used as well. Large bowls that aren't terribly deep (for example 10 inches in diameter and 4 inches tall) have served as my primary censers for years. You can purchase ornate censers in virtually any form, but the most useful censer I own is a thick ceramic bowl of those dimensions. I purchased it for a very low price at a local discount store, and it has served me extremely well for many years. The real advantage of the bowl style is its width at the opening. The wide aperture allows for easier access to the incense and the fill material. This is especially important when burning incense trails, but it is helpful with any form of incense.

In all fairness, there are some censers that don't fit neatly into these categories. Another Japanese form is a bowl that tapers at the top. Is it a bowl that tapers or a cup that is distended in the middle? I don't want to slice my definitions up that finely, so suffice it to say you can always find censers that won't fit into these convenient categories, nor is it a critical consideration. These categories are merely intended to give you ideas about the censer that you need to find for your own incense magick.

Incense Boats

Sadly, this is one of the most familiar styles of incense burners in America. Perhaps
sadly
is overstating it a bit, but the incense boat is such a specialized form that it shows how little exposure the general public has had to the incredible variety of incense forms. The incense boat is a long, narrow (relative to the length) censer designed primarily for masala-style sticks of incense. Available in glass, metal, and other materials, it is often made of wood. This style of censer is often seen in supermarkets or discount stores. My only real dislike of this style of censer is its the lack of versatility. Wooden incense boats aren't particularly safe for anything aside from masala sticks. This isn't to say that incense boats pose a safety hazard (although as with any censers, it might), but using cones or even joss sticks in a wooden incense boat could cause damage as burning incense comes into contact with the boat itself. There are incense boats made of metal or stone that are much more versatile. A metal or stone incense boat can handle the heat from cones, coils, cylinders, and—with some designs—even charcoal.

The incense boat has risen to higher levels of sophistication in design. Covered incense boats (sometimes called “incense coffins”) can easily conceal and contain ash and often come with storage compartments in the bottom. Some of those made of stone could serve as a primary censer. There are designs that are ventilated well enough to burn with the lid closed. They present an almost mystical visage as they exude smoke from multiple openings. They are also a good way to conceal the glowing of burning incense if you are trying to control every aspect of light in a ritual.

Tibetan Burner

Although this type of incense burner has become popular in modern times with censers exported from Tibet, they are actually a common style throughout Asia. Unlike an incense boat, the Tibetan burner allows the incense stick or cylinder to lay flat while burning. They use a series of wires or rods, widely spaced, to support the incense. One advantage to this style of censer is cleanliness. As the incense burns, the ash falls through the gaps into the compartment below the wires. If the ash doesn't all fall through, a gentle tap usually pushes the remainder inside. This style of censer is also a good base unit to use if you wish to construct your own “incense alarm clock.” Usually made from wood, they are sometimes constructed from stone or metal as well.

Cone Burners

The dedicated cone censer is generally too small to serve as an all-purpose censer, although there are exceptions to this. Cone burners are most commonly found in the small brass design we see in many shops and even some grocery stores. This is far from the extent of their design and size. In shops that carry a wider range of incense paraphernalia, you can choose from much larger brass, copper, pewter, or stone cone censers. These types of censers are generally a small dish censer on a raised base, usually with a lid. Large cone censers will work as well as any dish censer, but it is unusual to find one of sufficient size. By nature, these censers are generally too small for use with charcoal, coils, or powder. Many cone censers can accommodate stick incense as well.

There are certainly stylistic and aesthetic reasons to use dedicated cone censers. Like most styles of censer, they come in a huge variety of colors, materials, and designs. From the simplest brass censer to elaborate censers made of stone, the cone censer can have great visual appeal. Personally, I find the common small cone censers to be of minimal functionality. They are great for looks and the purpose to which they are dedicated, but only the larger versions have any versatility.

There is a special adaptation of the cone censer that takes on a special role in more than one religion. Often called a thurible, some censers are suspended by a chain and can be easily carried or swung to disperse incense smoke over a wide area. The categories that I used to describe different censer designs are not all-encompassing in their definitions. Whether to consider the hanging incense censer to be a large cone censer or a raised bowl censer is an example of that. No matter how you view it, the hanging censer is a specialized censer that is familiar to many people. In the West we most closely associate the hanging censer with Christian practice, but it serves other religions as well. Certainly in magickal practice and especially in outdoor magick, the hanging censer offers options that are difficult to duplicate in any other way. A large hanging censer can contain large pieces of charcoal or even fire embers for burning loose incense. Powders, herbs, resins, and woods can all be placed inside the censer. While swinging a lit censer seems like it would result in ash or embers flying all around, the force of the swinging is usually enough to keep everything inside the censer.

Obviously there are some safety concerns with all censers, but this is especially true with a swinging censer. If you choose to swing a hanging censer, keep some common sense guidelines in mind. Test the chain or cord that holds the censer. A damaged chain could break while the censer is swinging and the result could be fire, injury, or at the very least a really big mess. Hanging censers usually have a lid. I'll talk more about lids shortly, but for a censer that will be swung, I think a lid is a really good idea. A swinging censer also needs to be well-balanced. Test it before buying, if possible. You can swing an empty censer and see if it would be safe for use in your space.

Space is another safety concern. When swinging a censer, check out the space where you will use it
in advance.
The worst way to find out there isn't room to swing your censer is when it's full of burning materials. Obstacles of any type, including the human variety, need to be avoided. Banging someone in the head with a burning censer is clearly something to be avoided. The space you have to work within should also help determine the level of energy you should use when swinging your censer. Smaller spaces require less swinging. If you use the censer outdoors, you can usually swing with as much enthusiasm as you like, but remember that you are wielding a fire hazard; try to keep yourself in check no matter how much fun you are having!

Bottles

This is a newer trend in censer design, but it certainly has its place in the pantheon of censers. Bottle censers are dedicated stick burners, although most can accommodate joss or masala-style sticks. They are ventilated bottles, often with colorful designs painted on them, that completely contain the ash of the sticks. If you are concerned about messy ash escaping your censer, bottle censers might be the best choice for you. There are other variations on this concept as well. I have a covered wooden censer from Brazil that is a large wooden cylinder snuggly fitted into a wooden base. Air flow is provided through a series of vent holes along the cylinder. This censer provides a nice visual effect and it holds all the ash. It's wonderful for outdoor burning if there is too strong a wind for other types of censers.

Novelty Burners

Okay, I admit it. I couldn't think of a nifty name for this category of censers, but I still felt they are worth mentioning. Incense burners are made from a huge variety of materials in a staggering array of designs. Many of these incense burners are well-crafted and quite functional but with an unusual twist of form. For example, I have a wonderful and quite large incense burner in the shape of a multi-headed dragon. It uses cone incense that is placed in a holder in the bottom of the burner. When incense burns inside, air is drawn up through holes near the bottom and smoke pours from the mouth of each dragon head.

I have another unusual burner designed for masala-style incense sticks. Similar to a bottle incense burner, it has a long cylinder that is perforated in strategic locations and a base that holds the incense. The top cylinder slides down over the base and smoke pours from the mouth of an Incan tree spirit carved on the cylinder. This gift was purchased for me in Peru by a friend of mine, which demonstrates that the use of masala-style sticks goes far beyond India and the United States.

These novelty burners come in every imaginable shape and size. From tree frogs to miniature fireplaces to smiling suns, you can find a novelty burner in nearly any form. Have a favorite band or animal? The odds are very good that you can find a novelty burner that will suit your aesthetic style.

In the broadest terms, novelty incense burners can be tricky to use effectively. Air flow is a critical part of the success of a censer or burner, and many novelty burners sacrifice air flow for an entertaining design. Carefully consider the design of any burner before purchasing, but give novelty burners an extra look. If you find very restricted air flow (as demonstrated by a lack of openings to feed oxygen to the incense or many holes at the top of the burner but none at the bottom), consider if you would be willing to buy the censer strictly for decoration. If yes, then at least you didn't waste your money should it have poor performance. Some novelty burners work very well. Some have an open form, like an incense dish, and will always have good air flow.

A few novelty burners that don't perform well can be modified to work much better. You may be able to cut vent holes to improve air flow, raise the burner's cover to add additional air flow, or learn the limits of the type and size of incense that can be used with that burner. The Incan incense burner I mentioned earlier had very poor performance until I realized that the incense, once placed in the base, stood taller than the highest vent hole in the cover. I tried breaking the wooden part of my masala incense off about 1 inch from when the incense coating began. That shortened the sticks so they no longer extended above the top vent hole, and the burner now works perfectly.

Hanging

Often called thuribles, hanging burners come in a huge variety of sizes but often follow very similar design styles. I discussed these a bit earlier in this chapter but want to bring a few points to your attention. The majority of hanging burners are essentially cup-style cone burners with cords or chains attached from which they hang. Hanging burners (especially those that can also sit safely on a flat surface) have enhanced versatility, since they can be used in places where there are no flat or level surfaces. They can be hung from tree branches or plant hooks. The length of the chain can be altered to allow an incense burner to hang at a precisely determined level. This concept can be incorporated into rituals or used in large spaces to focus the scent so that it impacts people in a particular location. A burner hung a few inches above head height can scent parts of a room that no burner set upon a table or the floor can reach.