Incense Blending: A Guide

confessionsofacollegewitch:

Blending your own incense can be a very powerful tool for pagans, no matter what path they choose to practice. A blend you have made has the benefit of being filled with your intentions and power, as well as the more mundane (but no less important) benefit of knowing what has been put into it. This guide is for making cone incense, as it’s easier to form than stick incense and in my experience, burns longer. 

Items Needed (the recipe I’m using is mine for my Samhain incense; the steps are the same for all cone incense, but the recipe differs). 

• Mortar and pestle: don’t use the same one you do for grinding herbs for tea or food, incense is not meant to be ingested and in some cases can be harmful.
• ¾ tsp. Makko or another natural incense base: Makko is a common incense base most notably used in incenses of Japanese origin. 
• 1 tsp. Myrrh resin: This has a very pungent aroma, but works very well at holding all the parts of the incense together. There are other resins that work just as well for other blends (i.e benzoin gum).
• 1 tsp.crushed mugwort leaves: You want them to be small enough to stick to the Myrrh resin
• 1 tsp. Frankincense tears: tears are small chunks of resin, If you grew up in a Catholic environment (like yours truly) you’ll likely recognize these as the incense from funeral masses and Christmas/Easter/Lent.
• 2 tsp crushed Rosemary Leaves.
• Pipette or eyedropper for water.

1. Combine your ingredients in a small bowl. and mix them together, making sure they’re all nicely crushed up.

2. Begin to add small amounts of water to the mixture. Using a pipette or an eyedropper prevents you from adding too much. remember, you can always add more….you can never take it back out.

3. Stir until the blend reaches the consistency of play-doh.

4. Once that happens and your blend has formed a paste, you can begin to form incense cones with your hands, make sure the cones are flat on the bottom.

Once you’ve formed your cones….let them dry for 24-48 hours and they’re ready to go!