The Resins and Herbs of Ritual

Incense, the resins, woods and herbs burned in ritual, is attached in the correspondence literature to planets, elements and deities: frankincense to the Sun, myrrh to the Moon and to mourning, copal in Mesoamerican practice, sandalwood and agarwood in the incense cultures of Asia. The smoke of incense carries prayer, purifies a space, honours a deity and sets a mood, and its uses are among the most widespread of all ritual acts.

Incense recipes appear in Egyptian temple texts, in the Hebrew Bible's instructions for the sacred incense, in the grimoires' recipes for planetary suffumigations, and in the ritual manuals of many traditions.