Incense Magick (15 page)

7

Using Non-
Combustible Incense

S
ounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it? A more proper name would be “non-self-combusting” incense, but who would want to have to say that mouthful? This is, simply put, incense that needs an outside heat source. This would include any incense burned over charcoal or on an incense stove or aroma lamp. This type of incense is very commonly used in ritual magick, as it has been since before the beginning of recorded history.

I'm definitely a proponent of using magickal tools that connect me to ancient practitioners. Bale fires, candles, and incense seem to give me that connection better than any other tools I've used. Perhaps it's because I'm a strong fire sign, but somehow smoke and flame allow me to look deep inside and see shamans, priests, priestesses, and many others looking back at me through their own magick flames. No other form of incense serves this purpose better than that of loose incense smoldered on an ember from a larger fire. The smoke and the warmth are gateways into a new vision.

Types of Non-Combustible Incense

There are essentially three general categories of non-combustible incense. “Loose incense” is usually coarsely ground, although it can range in particle size from as tiny as a grain of sand to as large as 1 inch in diameter (or more). Dried leaves can be gently crushed in the palm of your hand and added to loose blends. Smaller pieces of resin and wood can be used as well as some materials in their whole form (such as lavender and other small flowers). It's easy to see how this type of incense can be assembled very quickly and a different blend used for every occasion.

“Powdered incense” is exactly what it sounds like: incense materials that have been ground or chopped into a fine powder. This style of incense can actually be created to be self-combusting by any practiced incense maker, but many people use it strictly in its non-combustible form. Powdered incense is easy to blend and will smolder much more evenly than loose incense. It is convenient to carry and also simple to blend to suit your tastes and needs.

“Moist incense” is an ancient approach to incense that is seeing resurgence in the early twenty-first century. It goes by many names and has been produced in many lands since ancient times. In some ways, this is an advanced form of powdered incense. To the powdered ingredients are added gums, honey, fruits, and other ingredients to bind the powders together. Those binding agents not only add the convenience of holding the incense together in a more portable form, they also add a whole new dimension to the scent.

Moist incense is known by different names in different cultures. Perhaps the most famous blend of this type is kyphi. A truly ancient incense, kyphi is still a mystery despite having ancient recipes. We can say with confidence that it includes raisins soaked in wine, several identifiable resins, and several hotly debated ingredients. The ancient Greek explanation of the process for making kyphi includes some aromatics that have not been definitely defined. There are different interpretations of the meaning of the ingredient lists, so it's likely that any incense you buy with that name won't be an exact replica of the ancient version. Nevertheless, kyphi blends are time-consuming to create and require patience. I've never found a kyphi blend I didn't like, so don't be afraid to try some if you find it for sale. Japanese nerikoh is perhaps the finest example of moist incense.

Advantages

Obviously, this type of incense offers several advantages. Perhaps the biggest advantage is that it always burns. Sticks, cone, cylinders, and other forms of combustible incense run the risk of going out prematurely or of simply not burning at all. When an outside heat source is used, the incense mixtures always burn (or preferably smolder) completely.

The range of ingredients that can be used in non-combustible incense is far wider than with combustible. The outside heat source means that difficult-to-use botanicals, like parsley, will burn completely. The use of some minerals, sometimes included for magickal purposes, will not negatively impact the burning properties of the incense blend.

Another advantage is ease of creation. This type of incense can be put together in a matter of seconds. This makes it perfect for impromptu use, whether in ritual magick or just to freshen a room. For many who use magick every day, this type of incense makes it simple to create a blend that fits the needs of each day. The incense can be made in just a few moments in the morning and used all day long.

Disadvantages

As with most things in life, non-combustible incense also has some drawbacks. First, it is time-consuming. A censer must be prepared, charcoal burned to the correct point, incense applied in just the right amounts, and more if you want an excellent result. The process itself tends to be messy. Ash, sand, or other fill materials are needed for the censer. The censer itself needs to be a much sturdier variety than what would typically be needed for self-combusting incense. The entire process is far more vulnerable to the effects of wind. Conversely, self-combusting incense is fairly tolerant of wind, often needs no censer at all, and requires no more equipment than a match.

Preparing the Material

As you've seen, non-combustible incense comes in a wide variety of forms that will work in a nearly endless variety of censers. Self-combusting incense is a little more intuitive than its non-combustible cousin, so it does require more finesse than incense that will burn on its own. The effects that can be accomplished with non-combustible incense are different in several ways from those of self-combusting incense.

The primary preparation for self-combusting incense is completed long before the incense is used. Non-combustible incense, on the other hand, can be prepared just moments before use. The way you prepare your non-combustible incense will have an important impact on how and where you use it.

Loose Incense

Although loose incense is the easiest to prepare in some ways, it offers some unique challenges as well. The burning properties of aromatics can be somewhat different in a “large” form as opposed to when they are made into powder. Different materials burn at different rates, and this is accentuated by large particle sizes. Using powder helps to even out the rate at which incense burns, but powders lack many of the aesthetic aspects of loose incense. With loose incense, you can see the colors of the different material and you can usually identify many of the different parts of a blend simply by sight.

Some loose incense are whole herbs. By this I don't so much mean starting the process with whole herbs—which ideally is how all incense should begin life—but I mean using a single aromatic as your loose incense. When using any non-combustible incense, the heat source (usually charcoal) can generally burn anything you place upon it. You could, therefore, place an actual whole herb (a sprig of sage, for example) directly onto your heat source, but doing this won't work as well as if the herb were properly prepared.

Even single aromatics work well as incense. The key is to process the material into the right size of pieces to improve burning properties while delivering the scent appropriately. I will talk about the specifics of how to process the materials a little later in this chapter, but processing materials into a smaller size improves the burning properties of nearly any aromatic.

While whole herbs are a relatively simple idea, loose incense is more often composed of multiple ingredients. That makes a huge change in the preparation and burning properties of your incense. Blends can combine herbs, woods, and resins, all of which have very different burning properties. Blending aromatics will not only allow you to create a unique scent, but it can give you much greater control over how your incense burns as well. Blends of similar materials will have far less impact than blends of different types of material. But even if you use only herbs, your selection of ingredients can still help to improve the burning qualities.

In many cases, loose incense begins as whole aromatics. From wood chips to plant buds to resin tears, the materials will usually have to be processed into smaller pieces. The ratio of your blend will impact scent and burning properties. Generally speaking, the smaller the pieces, the more evenly the incense will burn and the longer it will last on the charcoal. The smaller pieces will also help the scent to blend more completely.

Selecting Botanicals

This is a subject that goes well beyond the scope of this book. You will find many good books on the market that discuss the use of various aromatic blends. One shortcoming you will discover from these books (including those I have written) is that they can't include several key factors. First, they can't allow for your own personal experiences with various aromatics. “Listening” to your incense will tell you more about how and when to use a certain aromatic than all the “experts” can tell you in all the books ever written. Trust what you feel, even if it totally disagrees with what an author has printed in a book.

A second shortcoming is that aromatics can vary widely. The same materials gathered from different parts of the world (for example, lavender grown in Fresno, California, and lavender grown in Leon, France) can have significant differences in oils and oil concentrations. Plants grown during a dry season can be very different from plants grown in a wet season. Even the same cultivar grown in different places or harvested at different times of the year can smell very different. There is no way a book can account for those differences.

Another aspect of aromatics that can affect scent is how materials are harvested, dried, and stored. This is one huge advantage to growing or harvesting your own botanicals: you know how everything was harvested and its source. When you buy aromatics or any botanicals from a store or other supplier, you rarely know these details. There are a few specialty suppliers who can provide you with the harvesting and cultivar information, but even the best suppliers can't give you the same level of information that you have when you grow and harvest botanicals yourself.

Storage is a huge factor in the scent and power of aromatics. If a botanical is harvested, properly dried, and stored in an airtight container, it will retain its essential oils (the heart of scent) far longer than botanicals that are not handled with such care. Although there is an ancient Asian adage that says “no incense materials ever go bad or become too old,” I don't strictly agree with that. I do agree that you should never waste a botanical, regardless of how long it has been stored, but you should not expect the same results from fresh botanicals that have been properly harvested and stored as you do from materials that have been neglected. Just looking at how aromatics are packaged and displayed in a store can tell you a lot. Are they in sealed bags out of sunlight, or are they in open containers sitting on a counter? These factors can have a significant impact on scent.

The only way to get consistent results from making your own incense is to use the exact same ingredients, handled correctly from start to finish, every single time. Just as lots of fabric and yarn dye will vary from one lot to another, your incense will vary from batch to batch. Variation is not at all a bad thing unless you are producing your incense professionally. In that situation, proper suppliers and experience at selecting botanicals are the only way to create a consistent product. This is even true when using synthetics. Just because you buy synthetic oil from the same supplier and you select the exact same scent each time does not ensure that you will receive the same product. Some suppliers are notorious for doing this in an effort to keep their own prices low. One supplier I used to use, whose name shall not be printed in this book, does this to customers weekly. One month you order dragon's blood synthetic oil and you receive oil that is green and smells of sage, while the next month you get one that is red and smells of cinnamon. If you ever find yourself in this situation with any supplier, I would suggest looking elsewhere for materials.

“Sizing” the Ingredients

As I mentioned earlier, size matters when making loose incense. There are some advantages to having larger pieces. I find them more aesthetically pleasing to use. This is true with most materials but especially so with resins. Large pieces of piñon, frankincense, and other resins are very appealing to the eye. Herbs are also appealing in larger pieces, but they are more troublesome that way. Large pieces of green herbs tend to do well when first placed on heat but burn with a large amount of smoke, and then the ash will continue to smolder with a less pleasant scent until removed from the heat. Woods have better burning properties in large pieces than herbs, but they can suffer from some of the same drawbacks.

If you feel a need to use large pieces of herbaceous materials, you might consider using them as smudge bundles instead. If you do wish to use large pieces of green herbs in your loose incense, you might try binding the large pieces of herbs in a miniature version of a smudge bundle. Herbs still on the stem can be tightly bound with thread. If tightly bound, air flow to the herbs is more restricted and they tend to burn more slowly and evenly. You can even add small pieces of resins or woods inside the bundle.