Incense Magick (23 page)

Begin with your dish or censer on the floor. The censer should either have a handle or be placed on a ceramic plate or similar fireproof material. It needs to be easily handled with material burning inside. Light the bundle and place it in the dish, then stand in front of it with your back to it. This ritual is best performed skyclad; if you do choose to wear clothes, make certain there is no fabric that hangs low. If the material comes in contact with the smudging bundle, it could ignite. Stand still for a few moments while the smoke meanders up your back. Look down at your feet and carefully step backward over the censer. Take care not to touch or bump the censer.

Take a second step back and kneel down. By this point, the bundle might have gone out, so you may need to relight it. With the bundle burning, lift the censer in both hands. Raise it to eye level and then carefully pass it above your head, completing the circle of smoke around your body. Finally, hold the censer in front of you and slowly turn a complete clockwise circle. Place the censer on a table (or some other safe surface away from you) and allow the smoke around you to carry away the negative energies you have collected. As the smoke dissipates, visualize it carrying away the undesired energies that pollute your life. Not only does this little ritual cleanse negative energies, it also has the added benefit of scenting you or your clothes. This is my favorite way to end a ritual bath (after drying off, of course) in preparation for ritual.

Sticks

A more modern technique for making incense involves using gums and barks as “binders” to “glue” powdered herbs together. This style of incense is not only self-burning, but the binder allows incense to be formed into many shapes, some practical and others that are purely artistic. Although a bit more skill is required to create these types of incense, they are generally much more convenient to carry and to use.

Joss Stick

“Joss stick” is a generic term referring to any solid stick of incense. To me, joss sticks represent the purest form of incense since they are self-contained and composed of nothing but pure incense materials. Burning a joss stick that is inserted into a censer will usually result in a “nub” of unburned incense in the burner or fill material. If you wish to burn the entire joss stick and waste nothing, try this amazing trick. Burn the stick on an ash bed rather than sand or other materials. Ceremonial Japanese white ash is the best choice, but any non-fragrant ash will work fine. Tap the censer lightly to slightly compact the ash. Light a joss stick and lay it flat on the surface of the ash. On any other material, the stick would quickly go out, but on a bed of ash it will burn completely and leave no “stub” behind.

Another advantage of the joss stick over most other forms of incense is the control they offer over the amount of smoke given off. A typical joss stick is quite thin, so it produces a thin stream of smoke. The amount of smoke given off by any self-burning incense is primarily determined by its composition and diameter. Fat incense gives off a lot of smoke compared to the same formula in a thin stick. There are times when greater amounts of smoke are called for, but that can be achieved, and better controlled, through the use of multiple thin joss sticks rather than one fat stick or a cone.

Joss sticks work well in many rituals. For a shorter burn time, simply break a stick to the desired length. They can be empowered just like any other form and are available in scents you won't find in any other form. This is because a joss stick is thin and has an enormous surface area. The result is that incense makers can create blends that will burn in the joss stick form that would be difficult or impossible in another style. Thinner sticks always burn better than thicker ones made from the same recipe. There is less material to ignite and superior oxygen flow, so even difficult aromatics (like parsley) can be considered practical ingredients.

Masala Stick

Magically speaking, masala sticks are nearly identical to joss sticks. The only physical difference between them is the wooden rod in the center. That rod should be accounted for both physically (by the incense maker) and magickally. It has to be physically considered when the incense is formulated to ensure that it will burn properly in spite of the wooden rod. I have read in some books that the rod is there to help the incense burn more evenly but from a physical perspective, it is only there to provide support to the incense.

Accounting for it magickally means accounting for the wood type's magickal energy. Using pine, for example, in a ritual of banishment may bring in undesired or wasted energies. If the rod in your masala stick is made of pine, then it might not be the best choice. I feel that as long as a material doesn't run
counter
to your magickal purposes, then it is unlikely to result in any ill effects. You are, however, releasing energy that serves little or no purpose in your ritual, which is somewhat wasteful. I see charcoal as a neutral component unless it contains saltpeter. Wood, however, is never neutral.

Some masala sticks are very well served by the wooden rod. Companies like Juniper Ridge in California focus on many wood-based incense and the inclusion of a wooden rod seems very appropriate to those scents. While not all woods are complementary, they will generally work in harmony with one another.

Timing

In ancient times, before the advent of reliable mechanical clocks, incense was employed as a time-keeping device. It still serves very well in that role in magick. Although you can use many different forms of incense as magickal timekeepers, joss sticks and combustible powders are good choices for most people. The joss stick in particular can be a fairly reliable timer.

Still, incense clocks have some obvious drawbacks. The speed the incense burns can be greatly affected by air currents, temperature, humidity and the composition of the incense itself. If you choose to use incense in this role, you need consistency if timing is critical to you. Choose one scent for timing and use nothing else. The best way to find the needed consistency is to use incense with a solid history. There are numerous Japanese incense companies, for example, who have been making incense for hundreds of years. If you use the same scent from that company exclusively, you should have a fairly consistent result. On the other hand, if you make your own incense, I would recommend the use of an extruder (essentially a metal tube that functions like a pastry bag to squeeze incense dough through a specially designed tip) to make joss sticks of identical thickness. Make as large a batch of incense as you can manage. That way your entire “stock” will have the exact same composition of ingredients and thus the same burning properties. A change as simple as switching sources of sandalwood could radically impact the burning times of your incense.

When you select a scent to use for timing, choose a scent that you like and that can serve as an all-purpose scent. A cleansing scent, such as sandalwood, is a great choice. A scent that is seen as power-drawing is also a good choice. Dragon's blood or aloeswood are excellent choices. If you study their properties closely, you could even use multiple scents for timing. (This, however, would require calculating the burning times of each type.)

To determine the burning time of a joss stick, break off a 1-inch piece of the stick. Light and lay it flat on a bed of lightly compacted ash. Use a stopwatch to time how long the stick burns and record the time in seconds. The more times you do this test, the more accurate your results will become. You should do this at least three times (which you can do simultaneously if you observe each stick carefully). After you've conducted the test, find the average by adding together the seconds from each test and dividing the result by the number of tests you conducted (average = total seconds/number of tests). That will allow you to calculate a “seconds per inch” burn time on that particular scent. If you know it takes 150 seconds for a scent to burn 1 inch and you want to time part of a ritual to be 10 minutes long, you can calculate that you need a joss stick 4 inches long (10 minutes = 600 seconds, 600 seconds/150 seconds per inch = 4 inches). For even more accuracy, conduct the same test with 3- or 5-inch sections of joss stick.

If you're like me, that kind of precise timing isn't needed in your rituals. I prefer to use what I sometimes call “natural incense” timing. I may use several different scents for timing in a ritual, but I select a length of stick that “feels right.” I know from experience roughly how long the stick will burn, but I don't try to determine it to the second. This supports more of a philosophy of allowing fate to choose the precise length. It makes each ritual unique in timing and can even be a form of divination or introspection. I know roughly how long a stick is likely to burn, but with random lengths of incense, a particular part of a ritual might move faster or slower than expected. If the time is short, I generally take that as a sign that the energies I need are already present or my question (during divination) is of no concern. If a section takes longer than expected, I will dwell on that part of the ritual and see if there is some important information I'm not seeing clearly.

For example, if I was doing a ritual for friends who needed energy, I might light a different joss stick for each person in turn. If one stick burned longer than I anticipated, I will devote extra time to sending energy to that person. I would also be likely to investigate the person's situation more closely to see if I could do more to help or if their need was greater than previously known.

Rituals

The ritual use of incense sticks is practically unlimited. There are a few circumstances where masala sticks might be a better choice than joss sticks. Even so, I feel that if you only use one form of incense, the joss stick is a great choice. In any event, the two types are essentially interchangeable for many ritual uses. As with all the rituals that I write, please modify the following to suit your own path and needs.

Reflections

This ritual is intended as a meditation or reflective ritual. You will need at least one stick of incense (joss or masala, it does not matter) and an appropriate censer. Although it is ideal to focus your mind on a single topic, this could be a useful ritual for dealing with multiple issues that concern you. Select scents based on your personal associations with the scents. Select one scent for each topic of concern or interest that you plan for this meditation. As was discussed earlier in this book, your personal associations with scent “trump” all traditional uses or any “magickal association” listed in any book (including this one). Scent is very personal in how it impacts our minds and our bodies, so select scents that you feel are appropriate. Only if you have not formed any associations with the topic(s) for your reflection should you look to outside sources for appropriate associations.

For example, if you are reflecting on your family, you would want a scent that brings family to mind. You can use unpleasant scents, but I find the process far smoother if you use pleasant scents. If your family spends a lot of time camping, perhaps pine or another woodsy scent would be a good choice. If your family is like mine, you may have strong associations between family and the kitchen. Cinnamon, basil, or another cooking herb incense could work best. (This ritual is not well suited to the use of loose herbs, but with a carefully prepared censer, a skilled incense user could perform this ritual that way.)

If your reasons for reflection have no scent associated with them, select one scent for each topic you plan to reflect upon. Incense with a high aloeswood content is a good choice. Aloeswood has been used as a part of mediation for generations. Although not a formal study, David Oller has done preliminary research that indicates that aloeswood helps to create a deeper meditative state. There are a variety of Japanese incense companies that produce excellent aloeswood incense. Buddhist monks have used this type of incense to create very deep meditative states, so it is a great choice for those new to meditation or reflection.

Take a moment or two to clear your mind. That is the real purpose of meditation, so if you plan to use the time strictly for meditation, the entire process will be spent “silencing the mind.” If you plan to use the ritual for reflection, these few quiet moments will help you prepare for the work to come. As with most rituals, it is best to select a time when you can be alone in relative peace. Close the door, turn off your phone, and create the most peaceful atmosphere possible.

If you normally work within a magick circle, you can begin by casting your circle as you normally do. After completing any other magickal work that you may have to do, you can begin. First, sit before your altar in a comfortable position. Although most people sit on the floor or ground, you can use a chair if you'd like. It is important to be comfortable to minimize the amount of distraction caused by your body. Just make certain that you do not get so comfortable that you lose focus or fall asleep!

Place your censer or ash catcher in the center of the altar. Lay out each stick of incense you have chosen for the ritual. If you are using only a single stick, lay it near the center of your altar in front of the censer. If you plan to use more than one incense stick, a censer filled with ash or sand might be the best choice. It is best to use a censer that will accommodate all of your incense sticks, but if you are using a single stick holder you can exchange the incense sticks when the new one is lit.

Hold the first stick of incense in both hands for a moment. As you look at it, bring the topic of your first reflection to the forefront of your mind. Light the stick and gently insert it into the censer. If you have lighted candles present on your altar, you can light the incense from an appropriate candle, otherwise you can light it any way you prefer. I personally do not like to use matches to light incense (because of the sulfur smell they create), but if you are comfortable using a match, feel free to do so. Once the flame is out and the incense has begun to glow, take a slow, deep breath and close your eyes. Focus your mind on the topic for your reflection. Even when I have specific areas I want to consider for the topic, I find it is best to first just let the topic hang in your mind. If you are reflecting on taking care of your debts, for example, I would begin by simply reflecting on money in general. Something as simple as picturing your wallet or a $100 bill can be a good focal point.