How to Blend Your Own Incense to Burn in a Censer

A basic “How To” blend & burn your own incense powders in a Censer.

Why blending your own incense to burn in a censer?

This is the best way to create a custom incense or to create the perfect mix for a spell you want to cast or a ritual you want to perform.

Why incense?

Incense is great to send your message, intention and energy into the universe so it can help you manifest it.

The purpose of this practice

The mixtures might include a selection of herbs and resins expertly chosen for different purposes: cleansing an environment, eliminating negativity from a person, promoting financial income or attracting emotional stability into yours or someone else’s life.

Required Tools

• Mortar and Pestle
• A Censer (or similar vessel able to withstand the heat of smoldering coals)
• Various Herbs, Gums, Resins etc (depending on your purpose)
• Self-igniting Charcoal Disks or smoldering coals from a fire
• AS ALWAYS Most important: Your own Magickal Intent.

Directions

As this is just a basic “How To” I’ll just give a few generalized examples…

• Firstly you need to gather the Magickal herbs, gums, resins, barks, woods, flowers etc that are appropriate for the Ritual or Work that you’re planning on undertaking, along with your mortar & pestle, censer & charcoal.

• As a general rule it’s always best to use a Gum/Resin like Frankincense, Myrrh, Copal, Benzion, Mastic or Dragon’s blood as a base for your incense because unlike the dried herbs (leaves, flowers, bark etc) which burn very quickly, the gums & resins last a long time smouldering on the charcoal which saves you stopping mid-ritual to top up your censer (a real “mood killer”!).
  
• So having chosen the herbs & a resin base one should start by adding just small amounts of the dried herbs (don’t add the resin/gum base just yet) to the pestle and begin grinding them into a course/rough powder (if they’re to fine they’ll burn to quickly on the charcoal).

• While grinding the herbs with your mortar, “Visualize” the powers of the Universe/Gods/Goddesses being imbued into the incense.
  • A good way to do this & also help focus your Magickal Intent is to chant an appropriate chant or rune as you do so…whatever chant or even song feels right to you.
    
• Once you have the herbs ground you can then add 1 part resin/gum to 2 parts of the herbs etc you’ve chosen.
  • At this point, you don’t want to grind too much, just enough to bind the herbs to the gum/resin base.
    
• Light your charcoal disk (or add coals) whilst it’s sitting in the censer, if this is your first time using self-igniting charcoal disks then be prepared for a little bit of an intense “crackling” as the saltpeter in the disks light it up.
  
• Wait for the initial smoke from the disk to die down & place a TINY amount of your prepared powder upon the coals.
  
• Allow it to burn a while & experience the scent you’ve created.

Let your intuition be your guide..

Perhaps you feel the mix could use a little more of one or other of the herbs so adjust your mixture accordingly.

• When you’re finally happy with the mixture you’ve made, please place it in a glass bottle, label it with the date, time etc it was made, the ingredients, the purpose it was made for & any other relevant information.
• Try not to make too much, fresh is always better so it’s best only to keep your mixtures for about 3 months.

BLESSED BE

Where to buy the best ingredients?

Make sure that the herbs used for this practice are high quality ingredients.

Buy it in local or online store providing raw herbs so they keep their properties and energies pretty strong and almost intact and ready to be used in your spells and rituals.

Plus, make sure these herbs are designed to be used as incense or to be used in a censer and they are not dangerous for your health.

When is the best time to do this?

You can do it whenever you need it. Make sure to schedule this practice on a day where the energies are designed for a specific goal to be manifested.

On the other hand, you might want to do this in the morning for actions’ related goals like something you want to achieve and “get”: love, money, abundance and more. 

Do it in the evening or at night for more “sedentary” stuff like embracing stillness, relaxtion, protection, peace and more introspective stuff.

Let your intuition be your guide..

Perhaps you feel the mix could use a little more of one or other of the herbs so adjust your mixture accordingly.

• When you’re finally happy with the mixture you’ve made, please place it in a glass bottle, label it with the date, time etc it was made, the ingredients, the purpose it was made for & any other relevant information.
• Try not to make too much, fresh is always better so it’s best only to keep your mixtures for about 3 months.

Additional Comments:

• As with all Magickal Operations, Intuition should guide you.
• Practice makes perfect.
• BE CAREFUL WITH THE CHARCOAL DISKS AS THEY ARE RED HOT AND CAN BURN

Note: The was originally posted on a former version of the Witchipedia by user FraterAC 3/2013