Incense has been used for thousands of years in religious ceremonies and rituals. Incense is derived from the Latin incendere, which means “to burn”. The earliest records of the use of incense go back to the 5th dynasty of Egypt but it was also used in other countries including China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and many more. The use of incense is mentioned over 100 times in the bible, first in Jewish worship, then by Christians later in the New Testament. Incense is still widely used in modern religious ceremonies, particularly during Catholic mass. Today, incense is used for various reasons by various people.
There are 2 types of incense, indirect burning, and direct burning.
Indirect burning is an incense that does not stay lit on its own, it requires a separate heat source or ember to keep it burning. This includes burning dried herbs or powdered incense over a charcoal disk.
Direct-burning is the most common type of incense, it’s the kind you typically find in shops. This incense is lit once and stays lit until it fully burns out. All of the fragrance is contained in the incense, so nothing needs to be added. This includes sticks, cones, paper, etc.
But what do witches use incense for? Well, not all witches use incense. Some people are very sensitive to fragrant odors and smoke, so if you are in this group, please do not feel bad because you don’t need to burn incense to be a witch. Some witches are quite comfortable using sage and/or palo santo to cleanse and purify and feel no need to make or burn incense. Remember, there is no right or wrong when it comes to YOUR path. But some witches do love or even heavily rely on the use of incense in their practice. I, for one, always burn incense when casting spells, meditating, or doing a ritual. It’s something that helps keep my “head in the game” so-to-speak.
Why should I burn incense? It’s up to you if you want to burn incense, there’s no right or wrong. A few of the reasons witches burn incense are elemental magic (smoke represents air), cleansing, purifying, calming, and inspiration. Each incense has a different meaning or power, based on the ingredients. For instance, if you were working on a self-love spell, you could burn cinnamon, clove, and rose. Trying to banish negativity? Burn some sandalwood, morning glory, and black pepper. The uses and combinations are endless. When I begin a ritual or spell cast, I always start with making my incense, keeping my intentions always at the forefront of my mind, then I light it before I do anything else. For me, it just sets the mood and tone for the moment. I can visualize my intentions that I put into the incense floating and swirling up into the air, filling my space with my intent. For me, this always increases the intensity of whatever I’m doing. I prefer indirect-burning incense because I can control what goes into it and for me, coming up with recipes and mixing the ingredients is, in and of itself, soothing and empowering.
How do you make your own incense? This method will require more supplies than buying incense sticks at your local shop (nothing against incense sticks, I use them a lot and if this is all you had access to, it will work beautifully). First, you will need to pick up some charcoal or coconut disks, these are often sold for use with hookahs. Then you’re gonna need some DRIED herbs. Fresh herbs will not burn, they will smolder and not be as fragrant when burned. Places you can find dried herbs are grocery stores, dollar stores, metaphysical shops, online or your very own herb garden. You don’t need a ton to start, but research the properties of different herbs and decide which ones you’re going to want and slowly build your collection. You may also want to invest in a mortar and pestle, it will make things MUCH easier, trust me. You’re also going to need a fireproof vessel, most glass is not appropriate for this, so be careful. Obviously, you don’t want to use wood either. You can use a bowl or shell filled with sand, but I recommend a small cast iron pot, bowl or cauldron. Lastly, you will need a lighter, matches or a candle.
Let’s say you’re wanting to make a protection incense and you’ve gathered basil, bay leaves, lavender, and rosemary. Place one of your herbs in your mortar and pestle (the amount is totally up to you based on if you’re gonna burn this once or save some for later. Also you can adjust amounts of each herb based on the fragrance you like best) and start to grind up that herb into a fine powder, or as fine as you can get it. Dump that herb into a bowl and do the same thing with the next herb and continue until you’ve ground up all your herbs and they are all in the bowl. I recommend you mix your herbs by hand, but you can use a spoon, wand, crystal, or anything you want. As you’re mixing, focus on your intentions, really focus on what you need protection from, and infuse the incense with your intent. You can even lightly breathe your intentions into your herbs, but be careful not to blow them all over your working space, and don’t breathe them in!
Now light your charcoal disk place it in your vessel and wait for it to stop smoking. Once the disk has stopped smoking, grab a pinch of the loose incense that you made with your herbs and sprinkle them over the disk. It will crackle and smoke will begin to rise from the vessel and the air will be filled with the delightful fragrance that you created! You can keep adding your herbs to the disk as they burn off or until the disk has fully burned out. This is how I do it, other witches may do it differently and you may do it differently as well, but above all else BE CAREFUL! Make sure you research every herb you are using to be sure that it is safe to burn, also make sure that if you’re burning incense indoors the room is well-ventilated, and of course, be safe when working with fire. Blessed be.
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