Articles — incense

Once upon a time, there were only three kinds of smudge sticks in most witchy shops: Small, medium, and large.  These days, you can choose from a vast array of smudging herbs, each with a different energy, aroma, and cultural history. In this article, I’ll walk you through the plants that are most commonly used for smudging. (We’ll limit it to smudges that are derived from woods and leaves. Resin incenses are divine—but that’s a topic for another article.) The variety of smudging herbs is incredible. But you’ll also notice some similarities. First, most of them come from the leaf...

Interested in burning resin incenses like Frankincense and Myrrh?  The first thing you'll need is a roll of charcoal tablets. Most stick and cone incense is charcoal-based, meaning the fragrance ingredients are pre-mixed with charcoal to allow them to burn evenly.  Using charcoal separately allows you to burn incense that wouldn't ignite well on their own, like pure tree resins and herbs.  With charcoal, you can avoid unwanted additives and make custom blends to suit your ritual needs and preferences. Charcoal comes in rolls or boxes of tablets, and is available for a few dollars any place that sells resin...