Hand-blended incense is simply divine…and…it is very simple to make! Many people think they are allergic to incense, but many commercial blends of incense are made with synthetic ingredients that emit toxic fumes when burned. Hand-blended incense is made from 100% natural ingredients and has wonderful healing and spiritual properties.
If you are not familiar with hand-blended incense, I wrote a blog post about it here. This form of loose incense is made with aromatic resins and plant materials and is most commonly burned on charcoal discs. Burning incense in this way is very powerful and is wonderful to use for cleansing and ceremonial purposes.
Some people, however, are sensitive to the smoke emitted from the burning incense (eh-hem…like me). Using an oil burner is a perfect solution for this. You can line the bowl of the burner with a layer or two of tin foil and place the incense blend on the foil. The heat from a tea light gently releases the aroma from the fragrant plants and emits a beautiful, natural scent into the room. I love burning incense in this way!
I do have a video on how to burn incense on a charcoal disc as well as on an oil burner. This is the first video I ever made (about 5 years ago), so please forgive the imperfections! It offers great information, however, which is why I’ve kept it. You can check it out here. It is important to know how to do this properly because the charcoal discs are more flammable than incense sticks.
I have also created a video for this tutorial which is at the bottom of the post.
The supplies you will need for this project are:
- 3 parts Frankincense Resin
- 2 parts Sweet Myrrh Resin
- 1 part Copal Resin
- 2 parts Lavender Flowers
- 1.5 parts Chamomile Flowers
- 1 part Anise Seeds (check your pantry!)
- 1 part Red Sandalwood Powder
- 1/2 to 1 part Liquid Honey (also…check your pantry!)
- Three Kings Charcoal Discs or Bamboo Charcoal
- Morter and Pestle
- Incense Burner
- Oil Burner (these are a perfect size)
- Surgical Gloves (optional)
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You can make any quantity you like, as I have given the recipe in ‘parts’. For this demonstration, I am using one teaspoon (5 ml) as one part. I will first give the instructions on how to blend the ingredients together for this meditation blend. I have also written about some of the healing and spiritual properties of all the ingredients for this blend below.
Before I begin, I like to smudge my tools and bowls with sage as a way to energetically cleanse everything. This is totally up to you!
Start by breaking down some of the larger pieces of resin in the mortar and pestle. Be gentle, as the resin can easily turn into power. Perhaps you like this, and that is perfectly fine, but I like to keep some of the resin in small pieces. I find this is very nice when burning incense on the charcoal. A finer consistency is nice when using the oil burner, and you can easily grind the finished incense before using it on a burner.
Once you are happy with the size of the resin pieces, blend all the ingredients (except the honey) into a bowl.
I recommend wearing a surgical glove when blending in the honey. Add about a ‘half part’ of honey and blend it into the dry mixture with your hand. You want to sort of ‘knead’ and roll the mixture between your fingers. Add a little more honey as needed until the red sandalwood powder is nicely blended in. The mixture should be soft but crumbly (the video shows this nicely).
Place the incense blend on a flat surface and leave uncovered to cure for about two weeks. It is nice if you can have it in some direct sunlight for a period of time to infuse the blend with the energy of the sun. Once it has cured, store the incense in an airtight container.
I like to bless my incense after I have blended it all together. This is totally up to you and you can offer any type of blessing you like. I use the following blessing:
“I offer my deepest thanks and gratitude to the Creator and Mother Earth for these beautiful and sacred offerings. May the spiritual and healing properties of these plants support myself and anyone who uses them in deepening the experience in our meditation practice. Thank you, thank you, thank you.“
The spiritual and healing properties of the ingredients used in this blend are:
Frankincense Resin: Increases oxygen to the brain by up to 30 percent, improves concentration, relaxes the mind and stimulates the immune system.
Myrrh Resin: Improves negative states of mind, enhances the feeling of spiritual connection and is very grounding.
Copal Resin: Enhances intuition, receptivity, and inspiration.
Lavender Flowers: Increases a sense of well-being, reduces cortisol levels, is mildly sedating and very relaxing.
Chamomile Flowers: Helps with relaxation and to become more centered in meditation.
Anise Seed: Helps to improve negativity, invokes blessings and deepens your insight and psychic powers.
Red Sandalwood: Also known as ‘false sandalwood’, this variety is more sustainable than white sandalwood, which has become endangered. Red sandalwood is not quite as potent as the white, however, it still has many of the same properties. Red sandalwood stimulates the seventh chakra, removes negative energy and relaxes the mind.
I hope this post inspires you to make your own hand-blended incense. This really is a beautiful art, and there are countless blends that you can create! If you want to learn more about this, I recommend these following books:
I also have a few other blog posts that may be of interest:
- Why it Can be a Challenge to Meditate, Especially for Women
- Relaxing Bedtime Herbal Tea Recipe
- DIY Bath Salts