The incense is undoubtedly one of the most widespread and used essential oils. It has incredible properties for both our physical and mental health and is great for our magical art. Let us reveal all the properties and wonders of the incense and learn what the essential incense oil is used.

What is incense?

Boswellia is a rich foliage plant that can reach 6 meters high. Its flowers are white or pink. It is characterized by producing a gumous resin that is collected by making cuts in the cortex.

Boswellia trees grow along the coast of the Red Sea, in African and Arab regions such as Yemen, Oman, Somalia and Ethiopia. In particular, Oman is known for the production and trade of incense with India, China and the Mediterranean countries for thousands of years.

Oman is considered the oldest source of incense. Incense trees can produce resins of different colors. The yellow-brown and murky incense is considered the cheapest and easiest to access, while the silver and clear is considered high quality. If it is in Oman, the latter is usually reserved for the Sultan and is rarely sent outside the country; It is difficult to buy it if you live in western areas of the world.

There are several species of incense. All share some similar therapeutic and aromatic properties. This tree is also known as Opian, a name of Arab origin that means «milky juice» and refers precisely to the yellowish resin that comes out of the incisions of the cortex: it was probably one of the first substances that were used individually in fumigations and for other preparations.

It is curious to assume that the name of Lebanon can lead to the fact that in those areas that were once very flourishing, this plant grew in abundance.

Why is incense essential oil used?

1. Help against sharp wounds, guts and burns. To obtain greater benefits, apply lavender essential oil and then a layer of incense oil. The combination of these two essential oils is very effective to cure this type of wounds.
2. Neurological support Incense oil is probably the best essential oil for neurological support. Help especially to the functioning of the central nervous system. It helps us to be more prudent and to balance our emotions.
3. Reduce and eliminate scars. Combine 2-3 drops of incense oil with coconut oil and apply it directly to the skin.
4. Reinforces the immune system. Massage the soles of the feet with a few drops of oil to improve your immune system. You can also spread it around the house or in your bedroom during the night.
5. Reduce stress and anxiety. Infuse a feeling of relaxation and calm. Just combine a few drops of essential oil with a carrier oil and extend the mixture on the neck when you feel stressed.
6. Hormones and memory. It helps maintain hormonal balance and improves memory.
7. Mature skin. Combine a few drops of incense oil with an toilet oil (coconut oil) and apply it to the skin. You can also add a few drops to your daily moisturizer.
8. Head tension. It can be used to relieve tension and pain. Put more than 6 drops in a container with very hot water and cover it with a towel, covering your head to contain the steam. Inhale the steam for 5 minutes, adding more hot water if necessary. Be careful not to burn you; The water must be hot, not boiling.
9. Relieve the sneezing. A single drop applied to the affected area produces immediate relief.
10. It relieves the pain and inflammation of the joints. Combine with a carrier oil and extend on the painful joints during the day and at night before bedtime.
11. Purify the skin. Extend a drop of incense essential oil on the grains in the morning and at night.
12. Help your mood. Add 5 or 6 drops to a diffuser and breathe the oil to create an atmosphere of peace. To improve your mood, a few drops are enough.
13. Improves view and concentration. Put 1-2 drops in your hand and massage both temples with the index fingers. This improves view and concentration.
14. Eliminate moisture odors. Put a couple of drops on a plate full of water and the room will have a cooler smell.
15. Oral cavity health. Useful against problems of oral cavity such as bad breath, teeth pain, caries, gusts and other infections. Try to combine it with sodium bicarbonate and coconut oil to obtain a natural toothpaste.
16. Improves sleep. Spread incense oil at night to slow down and relieve nerve tension and anxiety. You will sleep like a stone! Also read more about sleep magic here.
17. Improves the effectiveness of other essential oils. Add incense oil to the other oils to improve the properties of the latter and make them absorb better.

Origins and History of incense

It was not necessary to have much humans, after the discovery of fire, they realized that depending on the quality of the burned wood the smell produced also varied, especially when there were branches, roots, flowers, resins or fruits among the different stumps.

Air and fire are, therefore, the two main elements, but also the Earth, from which the essential components for mixtures proceed. For its part, water is represented by the liquid form in which resins are usually found before crystallization, as well as an ingredient used to dissolve the gummy elements so that the mixture is compact and elastic before the transformation.

The perfume, in essence, can be assimilated to the spirit or the ether.

This vision of natural archetypes gathered in a single matter can be the reason why the wise men of all times decided to use the incense during their sacred ceremonies or ritual works.

In addition, some substances present in the ingredients can favor the end for which they are used: for example, during combustion, the Opnabin resin produces cannabinoids very similar to those of Indian hemp, which was used in Egyptian rituals to favor concentration.

It is impossible to say with certainty who were the first peoples that integrated the use of fumigation into their mystical practices.

However, we have evidence of the use of some substances from the oldest texts of Ayurvedic medicine and the findings of the Assyrian populations, which knew their physical, subtle and energy properties three thousand years before the Christian era.

West would have waited for some eight hundred years before the Babylonians incorporated the incense to their religious practices.

Other evidence is found in the Egyptian’s book or in Tibetan writings, which provide precise instructions on the ceremonial use of incense as an adjuvant for meditation or prayer.

In the Bible we find the rules to compose the sacred incense, and similar uses have been found in the ceremonies of pre -Columbian populations, in those of Amerindian or Siberian shamanism, and in Nordic, Hellenic and Roman paganism.

There are also pharmacopoeia elements based on fumigation in Chinese, Tibetan and Indian medicine and in the entire eastern part of the world, as well as in the shamanic practices of African and South American tribes.

Some made the preparation and combustion of aromatic substances a true art: in Japan, we found a discipline called Koh-Doh (Koh = incense; doh = path) with their own philosophy, encoded rules and spirit of continuous research and improvement of mixtures that, in addition to the psychophysical effect, develop delicate and harmonious perfumes.

The principle underlying this method is the belief that observing, listening and concentrating on the smoke produced by incense, it is possible to drain all our anxious concerns and states that prevent the emotional and mental dimension of our being from finding harmony.

It was also a fundamental part of the funeral ceremonies for detached energies to accompany the soul of the deceased to the world of the dead.

Magic properties of incense essential oil

Incense essential oil is a wonderful ingredient to enhance your magical practices such as spells, rituals and also visualizations and concentration. It brings harmony and calm, the incense is a great ingredient for love spells as well. You can more information about the incense in this article!

Practical uses and tips on the essential oil of incense

Purifying masks: Add 2 drops of incense essential oil to a tablespoon of sweet almond oil to add to the airy clay already diluted in water. Astringent power adds to purify the skin of the face and neck.

Anti -aging creams: Add 2-3 drops of essential oil of incense to a jar of its moisturizer or usual reaffirming to enhance its effect.

Massage: Add 3 drops of incense essential oil to two tablespoons of sesame oil, to rub on the part to be treated. Cover with a hot cloth and let it absorb.

Fumigation: Add 1 or 2 drops to boiling water to breathe and spread in the environment in which it lives.

Contraindications of incense essential oil

There are no particular contraindications, except for internal use, since all essential oils must be used with caution and always vehicles by another means; For example, honey is an excellent oil bearer …