Healing, spiritual incense burning, purification. Fragrant incense sticks in front of temples and in the yoga room, smoking incense swings in the church, the incense cone figurines at grandma's Christmas table, the intoxicating scent of incense rising from glowing incense coals at the winter solstice. The description alone will conjure not just images but also feelings for you. Why this is so, how scents affect our subconscious, why, when, and how incense is burned, you'll find out here.
The Important Facts at a Glance
- Incense burning affects the emotional deep structures and spiritual heights of consciousness.
- Scents directly influence the limbic system and awaken memories and emotions.
- Incense is used for purification, blessing, and as a ritual to support change.
Why do we burn incense?
"Scent works […] past reason". Incense burning leads into the emotional deep structures and spiritual heights of our consciousness and calms and pacifies the psyche and mind equally. Depending on intention, it can be relaxation, opening, purification, blessing, closure, and new beginning. Sometimes even divination; remember the Oracle of Delphi: a hole in the earth from which smoke and a prophetic voice constantly rose. Incense is also used as a means of healing. I think of the medieval plague doctor with his special incense blends, or the traditional Chinese medicine practitioner with his smoking moxa temples.
How scents affect us
Scents act directly on our so-called limbic system. The part of our brainstem primarily responsible for processing emotions and memories. Accordingly, our brain likes to link scents with memories and emotions that escape our conscious control. Summer rain on asphalt. Freshly mowed meadows. The pillow of a loved one. Sometimes a reason why aromatherapy works: memories and emotions are awakened from the unconscious and brought to the surface – once reached consciousness, they can be actively processed.
Incense is burned a lot - between sacred ceremony and profane scenting
On special days or special occasions, healing herbs and resins have been burned for thousands of years. Why people do this is told by numerous myths and traditions of the respective cultures. In our cultural sphere, for example, the stories surrounding the Rauhnächte (from December to January), the summer and winter solstices, Fasching and the beginning of spring. There incense is burned in colorful ceremonies, for example to smoke out old spirits with smoke and noise – as at Fasnacht.
Incense burning also occurs independent of those customs. With the help of sage, salt, and frankincense, for example, spaces are neutralized and clarified. Who doesn't know that after an argument "thick air" reigns and ventilation alone doesn't help anymore? We often burn incense with the goal of creating a neutral starting point that emphasizes arriving in the present and closes off the past.
When do we burn incense?
You can burn incense pretty much anytime. Just as important as time and place is the question of personal intention. Often an incense ceremony supports phases of upheaval. Depending on the purpose, an incensing can neutralize, manifest, and protect. Similar to heating essential oils, burning incense releases certain fragrance and/or active ingredients into the air. The smoke produced is said to be cleansing and clarifying. It penetrates even the most hidden corners of a room and fills it with the new scent and the associated intentions.
In a religious or spiritual context, incense burning can take place as an offering, invocation, blessing, or divination. It is often also an introduction to meditation. At festivals within the year wheel it supports the changes prescribed by nature and the course of the world and symbolizes change and new beginning. At home, a ritual with incense can manifest the arrival and acceptance of the present moment. Some burn incense every morning to start the day harmoniously and freshly. Another burns on Sunday evening to cleanse herself and process the information and experiences of the past week and thus requests new experiences and blessings for the coming week without preconception.
Did you know? Myrrh resin. The sap of the small shrub-like balsam tree, which flows out when the bark is cut, becomes the balsamically scented Guggul resin in the dry state. This resin already came from India via Greece to Europe in the 1st century and was used for ritual incense burning. In Tibet, Nepal, and India it was used very early in traditional medicine, for spiritual, cleansing incense burning, or for magical purposes.
Incense burning and purification – "Space clearing"
Probably one of the reasons why incense burning, despite its millennia-old tradition, experiences renaissances again and again, is the constant renewal of the purification ritual. It was picked up in Feng Shui, is found on Instagram accounts of many yoga teachers, and triggered a new wave of interest in recent months. Rightly so, we think.
"Space clearing" is what the conscious burning of cleansing herbs, woods, and resins is called. It is an energetic housecleaning that purifies not only the space around us but also works on physical, mental, and emotional levels.
Underlying is the thought that we as emotional, conscious, and unconscious beings leave invisible traces every day. Words, thoughts, and feelings can thus settle as vibrations in rooms and have an impact on us. The more intense the feeling, the more stubborn the attachment. To free oneself from these burdens, one needs time, the right tools, and willingness to engage. Thus, performing a space clearing ritual helps one to say goodbye to these thoughts and feelings projected onto the space and to find closure for oneself. The intentional manual activity of burning incense helps to achieve the desired mental state and to prepare oneself for a fresh start.
A space clearing is appropriate when moving into a new apartment. When opening a business, or when the purpose of private or commercial spaces changes. Also with major life changes such as separation, birth, or death, it helps to cleanse both inner and outer spaces.
Incense burning, alone or in community, can be symbol and ceremony and is intended to dissolve old, clinging energies and increase clarity, vitality, and drive, to pave the way for the desired but still unknown.
Instructions and a small guide – What do I need for incense burning?
Classically, incense made from plant parts and resins is placed on a special charcoal. Due to fire and combustion hazards, the charcoal cannot simply lie on a plate. It usually lies in a sand bed on a fireproof surface. Either the incense is placed directly on the charcoal (burns quickly, gets very hot, blisters with resin) – or, for slower smoldering, it is scattered on a special incense screen. Before new incense is placed on the charcoal or screen, it is advisable to first remove the burned residue with a metal spoon. An old spoon is best suited for this as it may be slightly damaged.
We recommend the use of special incense charcoal. This is a quick-burning charcoal that burns through on its own after ignition. For this, place the flat charcoal on a spoon and ignite it on one side. The burning-through process takes a few minutes. After 10-20 seconds, small sparks should spray. To speed up this process, you can gently fan or blow. Be careful not to fan sparks or sand around the room. Do not inhale the smoke from the charcoal; if necessary, seek proximity to a window.
Here's what you need for a relaxed and safe incense experience:
- Fireproof container. Can be made of metal, stone, or clay
- Metal spoon. For igniting the charcoal, placing the blend, and removing residue
- Lighter / matches
- Incense charcoal. We recommend quick-lighting charcoal, which comes in two sizes and tablet form
- Sand. For the charcoal base and for extinguishing the glowing embers. Fire sand, bird sand, or quartz sand
- Can but doesn't have to: Incense screen
- Incense of choice
Checklist for preparing rituals, ceremonies, clearings – intention, timing, place, personal condition, tools
If you intend to do more with incense burning than just scenting the room, prepare yourself mentally for the process. Bring to mind the purpose of your incense burning, visualize what the smoke should accomplish in the room – and thus in you. Plan timing, location, and execution according to your own dramaturgy.
- Set your intention and formulate your wishes clearly. Ask yourself: Why should be purified? What do you hope the ritual will bring you? Whom do you ask to support your wishes? What do you believe in?
- Once the intention is set, find a suitable day. This can be today, because you're in a good state of mind. But it can also be a special day, for example the winter solstice, Rauhnacht, New Year's Eve, the beginning of spring, your deceased grandmother's birthday, the day before the opening, etc.
- With intention and timing set, choose the location to be cleansed. Tidy up this location – the smoke should distribute to all corners as unhindered as possible.
- Planning the ritual and tools. The focal point. What should the ritual look like? It can be exactly as you imagine. Small, short, and inconspicuous or large, loud, and colorful. Choose the right tools: salt, rice, fire, but also fragrances, sounds, colors, crystals, flowers, water, candles, and the right incense vessels.
- Once everything is prepared, cleanse yourself, for example with a salt bath. Drink plenty of water and prepare yourself quietly for the ritual. Center yourself, perhaps with a short meditation. A yoga practice. A sound journey.
Instructions and implementation for a space clearing ritual
Phase 1. Centering:
You are in a good state and have created a space you want to enter and fill with your planned ritual, expanding it. Your tools are ready and you know what you want to do.
- Start with sounds to raise the energy in the room. This can be clapping, a singing bowl, cymbals, a bell. Light the incense charcoal.
- Arrive in the space and center yourself. Short meditation.
Phase 2. Implementation:
Rooms are cleansed clockwise in many cultures. Begin in the east.
- We can do much alone. But we have more energy when we ask existing (primal) forces for support. Each element changes room energy through its own quality: fire illuminates, water purifies, wind ventilates, etc. What do you believe in? Formulate your invocation in your own words. An example would be: "Spirit of fire; I ask you for help cleansing this space, help clarify it." Then you could either light a candle or begin placing incense on the charcoal.
- Once the space is opened and a connection beyond yourself is established, formulate your intention, your wish. For example: "May the light of this candle fill the space with trust and confidence" and now imagine how the space fills with the energy quality you desire.
- You either stay in the space sitting and spread your intention with the smoke, or you move quietly from one end of the room to the other.
- For purification and / or blessing, in addition to incense, you can distribute small sprays of water droplets in the different directions of the space.
Phase 3. Ending the ritual:
Once you've made all your wishes, close your ceremony.
- This can be done by gently circling yourself with the incense
- These can be recited mantras, self-created prayers, a silent meditation
- Extinguish the charcoal by sprinkling enough sand over it
- Sit for a moment in silence and enjoy the newly created space
- Give yourself a smile and open the window – let fresh air into your new space
- Cleanse yourself with an energizing shower, eat and drink something to arrive back in the here and now
Often, after space clearing is complete, a salt circle is drawn in front of the cleaned space to neutralize it. After a day you can remove this again.
Safety information for burning incense
- Never leave your incense burning unattended. After the ritual, make sure the charcoal is completely extinguished.
- Neither children nor animals should be exposed to the smoke for long periods.
- Fabrics and carpets are flammable. Pay attention to sufficient distance of your textiles to sources of fire.
- After burning incense, definitely ventilate thoroughly.
- Drink plenty of water after incense burning to regenerate mucous and retinal membranes.
- Never burn incense near easily flammable materials.
- Beware of burns! Incense charcoal and vessels heat up. Lay enough sand underneath and NEVER touch glowing charcoal with your fingers.
Forms of incense: What is burned?
Incense comes in ready-made blends and as pure scents. Sometimes chopped, sometimes in the form of a herb bundle or wooden stick. While chopped incense is placed on incense charcoal, herb bundles and wooden sticks are lit directly. Prominent examples are white sage and Palo Santo. Sticks and bundles don't have to burn completely. After use, you can simply extinguish them in sand and reuse them.
Classic incense are flowers, (medicinal) herbs, berries, bark, roots, and woods. Examples include lavender, jasmine, cedarwood, sandalwood, tonka, sage, and rose petals. They stand out mainly for their well-known and pleasant aroma. More potent aromas are usually released by burning resins, such as frankincense (Olibanum or Boswellia), myrrh (Commiphora mukul), dammar resin, or styrax. But there are also dried beans, such as the black elongated tonka bean. It is ground and either scattered directly on the incense charcoal or placed on the incense screen. Tonka immediately releases a captivating and sweet smoke.
What was that again with the Rauhnächte?
Rauhnächte begin at the deepest point of darkness, when the night is longest at the winter solstice on December 21, and end on January 6. According to old folklore, during this time the gate between the three worlds (upper, middle, and lower world) is open. This means that the souls of the deceased as well as spirits now have a way out. Protective spells, oracles, and other ceremonies are tradition during this time. Especially in some Alpine villages, the tradition continues to this day that spirits, benevolent or not, put on parades. So demons parade with the wild hunt or chase through the land and put on the so-called Perchtenlauf. This is sometimes a real brawl. Making noise at New Year's Eve is supposed to keep the unearthly at bay. By the way about New Year's Eve: Tin pouring is also a remnant of the old tradition of divination.
Conclusion
Incense burning is a deeply rooted practice that encompasses both spiritual and practical aspects. Whether for purification, blessing, or simply for relaxation – the use of incense can help clear and harmonize spaces and mind. With proper preparation and intention, incense burning can be a powerful ritual that brings clarity and peace into our lives.
