The different types of loose incense and how they burn
Here are a few ways I use different types of loose incense.🔥
Since it comes in such a wide variety of types, scents, and applications, every person’s approach is unique. The resulting smoke and essence depend not only on the qualities of the incense but also on how and where it’s burned (humidity’s a big one). An herb will burn differently than a resin, but lavender will also burn differently than sage.
Taking notes or journaling while trying out options is a great exercise in finding which blends spark certain emotions. For example, which elements feel most like home? Which feel otherworldly? Getting a sense of those characteristics (and how they make you feel) is extremely helpful when incorporating incense into spellwork and ritual.
Here are my personal correspondences:
Resin (copal in video): dense, heavy smoke and scent. Great for divination. Sets the tone for ritual.🌲 Themes: passion, severity, ceremony, tenor
Bark and woodsmoke (pine in video): lighter smoke with a slower burn. Good for an atmosphere of celebration (reminiscent of fire festivals and bonfires).🍂 Themes: mythology, connection, earth, desire
Herbs and flowers (sage in video): depending on the herb, they’re usually pretty consistent. While at first using herbs as incense smells mostly like burning plant, it was eventually helpful (for me) in distinguishing how a plant or flower will work in a spell or charm. There are different levels of strength and varieties of undertones when a plant’s ignited.🌿 Themes: witchcraft, spirit, tradition, ambition
As always, use caution and never leave your charcoal unattended. If you’ve never used a disc, it’s more intense than a stick or cone and burns quicker, so I’ll only do it once or twice a week at most. Unless I’m performing a seasonal house cleanse, I burn incense at my altar (which is closed off in a separate room) under open windows. Plus the outside air helps me feel instantly grounded.🖤