From: Rowan Fairgrove About ten years ago I was very interested in botanical incenses and spent alot of time studying and teaching the use of same. After a hiatus I am getting back into this and would like some feedback on what has been happening out there. I will type herein parts of a booklet I published called "A Handbook of Botantical Incenses" to give you some idea of where my thinking was at that time. I had generated the schema as something useful to my own work, it is not something widely used. I would love to hear other schema such as astrological, diety correspondences, seasonal, etc. I may append some of those sorts of categories to this if I have the time. My meaning come mostly from "traditional" sources but in my actual teaching and working I place more emphasis on what an individual scent does to the worker. In my beginning classes I simply passed around a collection of incenses and had each member tell what it meant to them and then we talked about the "traditional " meaning. If, for example, the traditional meaning for cinnamon is concentration and you smell it and think of grandma's pumpkin pie and all you can think about is food, it is not going to be appropriate to burn to help you study! A HANDBOOK OF BOTANICAL INSENSES Introduction: ...Botanical and other incense are a tool which can be tailored to the user's desire. At their simplest they may be used to stimulate the sense of smell and bring enjoyment to those nearby, alternatively, they can be a suble compilation designed to create a specific ambiance for a ritual or magical operation. The following guide contains some botanical (and a few other substances) and their uses when burned. The attributes have been derived from a great many sources, both published and personal communication, and like most magical properties they are most effective when tailored to the individual or group using them. So sit down and burn some and see if they work for you. Try combinations. I have included some recipes which have worked for myself and others in the hopes that you will find them useful. Happy Censing! A Scheme of Things: The botanicals which I will discuss fall into several broad categories: 1) EVOCATIVE - used to get the attention of divinities or to summon spirits 2) DIVINATORY - used to foretell the future or to see hidden secrets 3) PURIFICATORY - used to purify the purpose of a rite or the action of a given object 4) ENHANCING - used to intensify the purpose of a rite or the action of a given object 5) PROTECTIVE - used to shield the user or area from harm 6) BANISHING - used to drive out unwanted influences or spirits 7) HEALING - used to promote wholeness in mind, body or spirit 8) SPELL CASTING - used to promote a purpose, e.g., love, fertility, money, luck, fortune, concentration, etc. Many botanicals fall into several categories, for example: Wormword (Artemesia) can be used 1) to evoke Artemis and call\ the dead 2) to promote divination 6) when consecrated to Mars in banishing 6) & 7) it was used to banish the Black Plague fleas 8) when consecrated to Mars, in works of anger. Some Examples: 1) Evocative Almond Lotus Ash Mandrake Basil Myrrh Bay Olive Blessed Thistle Patchouli Damiana Rowan Dittany of Crete Rue Elm Thyme Frankincense Verbena Henbane Vervain, Blue Life Everlasting Flowers Wormwood Yarrow 2) Divinatory: Ash Linseed Bay Mugwort Cinquefoil Rowan Clove Thyme Elm Wormwood Frankincense Yarrow 3) Purificatory: Angelica Mastic gum Bayberry Myrrh Burnet Olive Cinnamon 4) Healing Balm of Gilead Myrrh Lavendar Rosemary Life Everlasting Wormwood 4) Enhancing: Anise seed Lotus Angelica Mandrake Celery seed Mastic gum Cinnamon Mugwort Cinquefoil Orris root Cloves Peppermint Damiana Sandalwood Dragon's Blood Styrax Frankincense Uva Ursi Henbane 5) Protective: Alfalfa Juniper wood Basil Life Everlasting flowers Blessed Thistle Mastic gum Bay Mistletoe Camphor Mugwort Cinquefoil Orris root Elder Rosemary Five Finger Grass Rowan Frankincense St. John's Wort Garlic Vervain, Blue 6) Banishing: Agrimony Lavendar Ash Pine Camphor Rowan Dragon's Blood Vervain, Blue Juniper wood Wormwood 8) Spell Casting: Basil Patchouli Bayberry Peppermint Bezoin gum Rosemary Camphor Rowan Cinnamon Rue Damiana Sandalwood Dragon's Blood Tormantil Frankincense Uva Ursi Lavendar Vervain, Blue Lemon peel St. John's Wort Life Everlasting flowers Wormwood Mandrake Yarrow Mistletoe Ylang Ylang Orris Root