Incense and Incense Rituals

Book excerpt: The author offers concise and many faceted guide to the world of incense burning rituals, as well as descriptions of the 81 incense substances comprising its core. Incense burning of the aromatic plant substances described focuses on spiritual and also magical ceremonies. A direct experience of fragrances may be so intense that, as the smoke unfolds, time seems to stand still. Fire - as a source of transformation is a frequently used symbol. For every type of crossing into new dimensions of perception it is the essential energetic catalyst, as it is for the fragrant messages still enveloped in their material form. Succumbing to its power, they emerge to beguile our senses. Just as there are heavenly messengers who send their vibrations to earth, plants also send their fragrant messages from the kingdom of nature into higher realms. Each description of an individual plan includes a depiction of its fragrance message and practical advice for burning it as incense.