Loose
incense, sticks, and oil
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The word incense The
word comes from the Latin "Incendium" which means "a
torch", which shows its great history. In everyday life we mean with
incense all vegetable and chemical substances that produce scent by means of
combustion. Sticks, cones or loose incense, everything that goes up in smoke
is incense. There is sometimes confusion with Frankincense with this we mean a gum from a certain middle eastern tree. |
"tears of the Frankincense tree : Olibanum |
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Loose incense This is the traditional way to release scent.
Aromatic plants,gums, resins and oils are put on glowing coals, after which
they will release their scent almost immediately. The censers that are used
in some Christia churches is a fine example of loose incense, but also
smudging, like some Amerindians do in their ceremonies. |
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Advantage of this type of incense is your
independency. You can apply your own fragrancies as an incense and discover
your own combinations. As a matter of speech you can have an idea of putting
together equal amounts of Lavender, Pine needles and Rosemary, and ten
minutes later you can experience the effects. You go very quick from idea to
practice. There is a great supply in the shops, also ready for use mixtures
to burn on hot coals. Another great advantage of loose incense is its
originality : during a meditation or a ceremony the sometimes thick clouds of
smoke really look beautiful, and you feel emerging a contact with other
levels of reality. For people who feel at home in Shamanistic traditions loose
incense is a recommender since contact with natural substances and processes
is passed into spirituality wthout a seam. |
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Disadvantage of loose incense is that it can
be unpredictical : often sharp burning odours arise that counter the original
delicious scents, the smoke development can be very uneasy and cause coughing
of other fysical problems. The cause of the burning odours is that substances
will combust completely when they are not removed from the hot coals in time.
During this complete combustion toxic odours that are harmful for health can
arise. Another disadvantage is obviously safety : Often coals are extremely hot and sparks can fly around. The
container in which you burn the coals can get overheated so that you can't
pick it up. Also the incense itself can start spitting or shedding sparks. But there are many different systems of
burning loose incense, like the Japanese Kodo-system, and it would fair to
research these systems and give them a chance. |
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Incense sticks About 1500 years ago the incense stick is
invented in Tibet. The stick can be ignated at the top and will burn up slowly until it is
finished. The stick can be put in a special holder or in a bowl with sand so
that the ash is caught. Such a stick consists of powdered aromatics and fuels
(woodpowders for example) that are glued together with the help of a bonding
agent. Roughly we can distinguish to types incense sticks : •Tibetan
incense sticks In this model incense stick there is no
bamboo core and the stick consist only of aromatics and fuels. They are
famed for their purity. Japan as well
as Tibet are famous for their tradition of Tibetan incense sticks. •Incense
sticks with bamboo core The heart of the stick is now a thin piece of
bamboo around which aromatics and other substances are glued. During
combustion bamboo only smells a little so that we can still smell the other
substances. Sticks have become unbreakable now so that they can be used and
transported much easier . The interest of the general public for incense had
begun because of the stick with bamboo core. They are sold in all kinds of
measures and lengths and can be divided into two subsorts : -Dipped
incense sticks Bamboo
sticks are being coated with sandalwood- or charcoalpowder. Then the sticks
wil be dipped in solution of perfume or ethereal oil to supply them with a
scent. After that they will be sealed in plastic foil and further packed. The
principle of this stick is the evaporation of ethereal oils in a smart way. -Masala sticks : This is the Hindu term for sticks with natural ingredients. More
expensive but with a higher quality then dipped sticks. |
Tibetan model stick |
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Sticks with bamboo core |
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Compared with loose incense, stick incense had
as advantage that it is only a matter of igniting and hardly any fuss at all.
Very practical. As disadvantage there is a
limitation in what scents we can reach cause we are completely
dependent on the manufacturers and what they supply. Sticks need to have more
fuel on board because they need to
combust independently, as opposed to loose incense. Also manufacturers put
chemical additives in their incenses like Saltpeter, Potassiumchlorate and
Colours. Some of these substances can be poisonous. A social disadvantage of
stick incense is that they are often completed with children's labour, other
forms of slavery, or plunder of nature. Unfortunately there are few rules or
fair-trademarks in this realm. Rarely we find on packages information about
the circumstances under which the incense came into being. By starting yourself with the making of
incense sticks you can deal with those disadvantages, an experience the joy
of making an incense stick out
of your own recipe. |
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•Cones and other
shapes : Like sticks, these are also
self-combustible, only the shapes are different. We have cones, spirals,
blocks. There are also incense that serve as an insect repellant, or on which
the ash remains solid and on which
text appears. These products are usually dipped in perfume or have a separate
core with perfume in it.
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Essential oils Their typical aromatic substances plants can
be taken out of many plants, for example by means of distillation. We speak of
essential oils. Rose oil is made by heating roseleafs in a distillation
vessel. Vast amounts of leafs are needed for this, 5000 kg rose gives one
liter oil. No wonder a small bottle rose oil is quite expensive. Next to
ethereal oils we know chemical manufactured oil, no vegetable material is
used for this. An example of an artificial made oil is Musk. In ancients days
this was a very rare oil because it could only be won from a gland of the
Musk deer. The poor animal nearly died out until laboratories came up with
acceptable alternatives. Ethereal oils can be used in many ways : |
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•As perfume :
(Literary 'per fumum' = Latin : via the smoke) In fact perfume is nothing
else then a mixture of diverse essential oils in a base of alcohol. You can
easily make it yourself. On the recipes page you will find a recipe for
yourself. In the cosmetic industry essential oil is applied in enormous
amounts. For example, of all the produces Sandalwood 80% is bein used for the
production of oil, which is being put in all kinds of other products like,
shampoo, showergel, eau de toilette, etc. •As a medicine :
For example within homeopathy, aromatherapy of ayurvedic therapy the healing
powers of ethereal oils are often
used. This is a vast subject of which you can find some links on this site. • As an aromatic to evaporate : a little less known is to put some drops of essential oil in hot
water after which a slow evaporation of scents takes place. Many different
scents come into reach, it will become very easy to discover your own sense
of smell this way. Also you can mix your own combinations and evaporate them.
As a disadvantage you could say that it is a very sterile method that is void
of cultural roots, but this is only my opinion. Objectively you can say that
essential oils are a fine means to be busy with scent. |
