NEW INCENSE RECIPES FOR THE YEAR 2001

Previous Recipes

    Greetings: here are 5 Incense recipes freely and creatively adapted from Henley's Formulas , 1907 (a facsimile reprint is available from Avenel Books, N.Y.). These are NOT the Henley's formulas, but are original modern formulas based on similar materials. Many of these recipes are generic in incense making, and the individuality of our versions comes from years of experience and experimentation.

    NO WARRANTY IS GIVEN AS VARIATIONS IN CONDITIONS OF PREPARATION AND USE ARE INFINITE: YOU MAKE AND USE THESE RECIPES SOLELY ON YOUR OWN RESPONSIBILITY. ALWAYS HAVE ACCESS TO ADEQUATE VENTILATION, AND KEEP A FIRE EXTINGUISHER CLOSE WHEN YOU ARE BURNING INCENSE. DO NOT USE ANY INCENSES IF YOU HAVE RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS.

    NOTE: measures are given in "Parts" by weight, so 1 Part can be 1 ounce, pound, drachm, kilo, or ton, etc., according to your need. These recipes can be compressed into cakes, cones, (as per the instructions below) or kept as loose powder. For loose powder do NOT use any saltpeter or binding agents.

    DO NOT USE SELF IGNITING CHARCOAL FOR THESE RECIPES OR FOR ANY INCENSE MAKING AS THIS CAN BE EXPLOSIVE OR CAUSE FLARING. Self-igniting charcoal tablets should only be used as advised by the manufacturers.

    A HINT: Many incenses improve with standing. Herbal mixes will degrade after about 1 year (from picking and drying) unless mixed with Sea Salt, in which case they can last up to 2 years. Resin and oil mixes last for many years, and often improve with long standing in air- tight vessels, kept in the shade and cool.

RECIPE ONE: A Sweet Fumigant

1 Take plain powdered charcoal 1 part. Soak in a solution of water and saltpeter (. 015 parts saltpeter). When completely dried, this gives the base powder for incense cones.

NOTE: the saltpeter is used MINIMALLY...

  1. 1 part of plain Charcoal to 0.015 of Saltpeter by weight.
    The Saltpeter is traditionally dissolved in water, and then the charcoal soaked in the solution. When this dries, the saltpeter is spread minimally throughout the charcoal powder. You can also leave it out altogether, and thus use dry powered charcoal only as a base.

  2. Once the charcoal is dry and powdered, mix with the following, all parts are by weight unless listed otherwise, such as in drops (oils).

    • Benzoin: 1 tenth part
    • Styrax: 1 tenth part
    • Gum Mastic: 1 twentieth part

    • Frankincense: 1 twentieth part (can be increased to 1 tenth part if required) Powder it all finely in a heavy pestle and mortar.

    HINT : I use a substantial stone pestle and mortar bought from a Sikh grocery store, intended for grinding curry spices. Do not waste your efforts with the little toy pestle and mortars that you see on sale everywhere: they are too small and too light.

Now you add the oils:

  • Lavender Oil

  • Lemon Oil

  • Bergamot Oil (twenty drops of each)

  • Neroli Oil (5 drops)

  • You may want to increase the amount of oils, but start small and work up to higher amounts if you need them.

  • Drop the oils into the mass, and stir well with a metal spoon, to ensure thorough mixing. I put the mix into a large air tight jar after stirring, and shake repeatedly like mixing a cocktail. Seal the airtight lid, and allow the mix a few days, minimum, to blend. Shake repeatedly each day.

     AT THIS STAGE: you can try compressing your mix into cakes or cones that will smolder when lit. If they fail to "stick" together, blend with Tragacanth gum or a solution of Gum Arabic as a binder, until you have a solid but essentially dry consistency. Use the binders Minimally.

    NOTE: If you compress the incense into thin Cakes, then these can be placed onto a small amount of hot ignited charcoal to release the perfumes.

RECIPE 2: An Old Fashioned Purifying Incense

  1. Charcoal, with or without saltpeter, as in (1) above:1 part

  2. Balsam of Tolu:1 tenth part

  3. Musk (nowadays synthetic or substituted) 5 drops

  4. Rose Oil 10 drops
    NOTE: you can substitute Rock Rose (Labdanum) for the Musk. I prefer this.

Make into cones or thin cakes as above. Or use as loose powder incense (without Saltpeter).

RECIPE 3: A rich and complex Sweet Sandalwood Incense

  1. Sandalwood powder or fine chips 5 parts (say, 5 ounces)

  2. Cloves 1 part

  3. Benzoin 1part

  4. Liquorice root powder 0.5 parts

  5. Cascarilla bark 0.5 parts

  6. Cinnamon bark 0.5 parts

  7. Labdanum (rock rose) 0.25 parts Powder and mix thoroughly.

You can add saltpeter in MINUTE proportions into the dry mix (0.015 parts), blending thoroughly. Or leave it out altogether.

NOW ADD OILS AND OTHER INGREDIENTS AS FOLLOWS:

  1. Styrax liquid: 0.10 parts

  2. Cinnamon Oil: 6 drops

  3. Clove Oil: 6 drops

  4. Geranium Oil: 3 drops

  5. Frankincense Oil: 3 drops

  6. Oakmoss Oil: 3 drops (you can increase the drops for 2-5 if you wish. Do not increase the Styrax liquid, as it will smoke and dominate if used excessively. Do not increase the Oakmoss unless you want it to dominate)

Mix thoroughly (spoon and jar method as described above) Can be blended with gum Tragacanth or Gum Arabic solution to thicken and bind as cake or small cones. Can also be burnt on hot charcoal.

RECIPE 4: FUMIGATING CONES or INCENSE ( STRONG !!!)

  1. Sandalwood (Yellow is best) 1 part

  2. Benzoin 1.5 parts

  3. Balsam of Tolu 0.30 parts

  4. Frankincense: 0.30 parts Powder and blend as small as possible 4 Red Sandalwood Oil (or yellow) 0.25 parts (by weight)

  5. Cassia Oil 0.25 parts

  6. Clove Oil 0.25 parts

Dissolve and blend the oils ( items 4-6) in UP TO 0.25 parts (weight) denatured alcohol, or 100 proof grain alcohol.

A MINUTE amount of saltpeter can be added, but is not essential. Just enough alcohol to blend the oils and saturate the powder mix. Blend the dissolved oils and alcohol solution in with the powdered ingredients, mixing thoroughly (spoon and jar method).

Shape up as cakes or small cones as before. Store in airtight jar, as with all incenses. These can also benefit from being wrapped in aluminum or similar fine foil: it keeps the inflammable alcohol inside, and prevents the cones from sticking. Do not use plastic or clear film, as it may dissolve and stick to the cones.

RECIPE 5: PURIFICATION INCENSE

  1. Prepare 1 part powdered charcoal base as above (with or without saltpeter)

  2. Sea Salt: 0.10 part

  3. Rosemary Oil: 3 drops

  4. Wintergreen Oil: 5 drops

  5. Tragacanth powder: 0.10 parts

  6. Menthol crystals: 0.02 parts

NOTE: Sea Salt in incenses will CRACKLE and SPIT . Be advised. Burn in a safe container. Blend together and shape as before, if you want cones or cakes. As with all of these recipes, the loose powder can also be used (without saltpeter) on hot charcoal.

Sekhmet incense

I am testing a batch at present.

It uses frankincense, myrrh, cloves, honey.

The resins are powdered roughly (or finely) and dissolved in strong spirits, the cloves are whole, and the honey is added last.

The mix is left in an open bowl by the statue of the goddess, and gradually the spirits evaporate.

The cake that is left is burned.

The alchohol extract is medicinal, and the liquid can be painted on things, to heal, and to preserve them (such as mummies).

COPYRIGHTS and PERMISSIONS : You can make the above formulas freely, and give the formulas away freely to others but you may not sell the formulas, or include them in any commercial publication or on Web sites, as this material is copyright (c)2000 R J Stewart. Permission is given to make links from other Web sites to our Incense formula page. Please contact us if you intend to make a link.

Faery Incense

As used by R J Stewart and made for the workshops.

Contents will vary according to supplies, to intuition, and to region. This is a base Formula.

NOTES: Do not powder or machine grind this incense: the ingredients should be mixed but allowed to remain in original leaf, berry, and resin, rough forms. Equal parts by weight, say 1 ounce each (which means more flowers, less leaves, and less berries in bulk) of all or most of the following:

1: Feverfew/vervain/tansy/mugwort/mistletoe leaf and berries/elecampagne root /hellebore/hawthorn berries and flowers/juniper berries/broom flowers/ red rose petals/rose hips/vetivert/oakmoss.

Other optional ingredients to include are: hops/cronewort/rosemary (less of this)/thyme (especially seeds)/fern seeds/rowan berries and or flowers/elderberry flowers and or berries/poppy seeds/lemon balm/wormwood/cedar wood (powder or shavings)/pine resins in moderation as some are very strong.

2: Add: equal parts by weight (1 ounce, or 1/2 ounce, or 1/4 ounce depending on how resinous or herbally you want the mix to burn of: benzoin powder/ frankincense powder or Grains/white copal ( if you wish for USA, but not for use in Europe).

3: Valerian root (use 1/3rd of a part, whatever base weight you use for One Part per herb or resin ex: if you use parts of 1 ounce, pound, or tonne each, use Valerian in 1/3 ounce, pound, tonne) NOT 1/3 weight of your total mix, which the recipe may seem to suggest incorrectly.

4: Next add: organic or at least natural pure rose oil: 20-30 drops. Do not use synthetic.

Other essential oils that may be added instead of rose, or sometimes in addition are vetivert, oakmoss(makes sharper incense). Amber and Labdanum (rock rose) deepen the tone of the incense. Do not use synthetics.

Do not use oils such as sandalwood, patchouli, neroli, etc.

NOTE: adding myrrh powder, grains, or oil, changes the effect of the incense. Try with and without, and experiment.

NOTE: try adding other herbs according to regional growth, intuition, or faery tradition. Use the two primal incense polarities to make variants, Sharp and Sweet.

5: MIXING and STORING

Blend the mixture by shaking thoroughly and sealing in an airtight glass jar. Shake occasionally, to blend the resins and oils into the leaves. This incense improves with shaking and storage. After six months it is really well blended, though you can (of course) use it straight away if you have to.

Burn on charcoal: use liberally until the room is thick with smoke and everyone is coughing (well, that's how I like to do it, you might wish to moderate your use according to need).

R J Stewart

 

Mystic Rose

 

By weight, mix:

50% Faery Incense 
25% Red Rose 
25% Frankincense

These recipes are for personal use ONLY. All copyrights worldwide are asserted. These recipes may not be published or redistributed without permission. No reasonable request for permission will be denied. All commercial use is prohibited. They are NOT to be sold in any form.