Incense
There are many ways to get "smellies" into the air during ritual working. The most common three types are the simple joss-stick, the oil burner, and charcoal burner.
Each type have both advantages and disadvantages, and your choice may depend on what type of ritual you intend to do, what type(s) of incense you intend to use, or even just taking account of any allergies you or your guests may have!
Joss Sticks are cheap, readily available and are common enough not to appear scary to a newbie (or the local vicar if he happens to be visiting!) Disadvantages are.....The aroma can be pungent and dry to the throat - especially in a long ritual or even many people see joss sticks and think "1960s drug taking Hippy Culture" straight away.
Oil Burners are the next step, again oils are plentiful and fairly
cheap. They give a gentle aroma in the air with no dryness to the respiratory
tracts. Disadvantages are that they need regular maintenance with water
and oil, and if they burn dry the ceramic container may crack (also
a problem during cold water refills!)
Finally, we have the charcoal burner. These can give either pungent
, overpowering aroma, or a gentle scent to the air, depending upon amount
of incense used. Because it is active charcoal it also negates foreign
smells in the room without neutralizing the incense. Disadvantages are
that you are basically lighting a one charcoal brick bar-b-que in the
house, and you know how hard they are to light!
How to get your charcoal burner working!!..Read on!
THE BRICK IS NOW EXTREMELY HOT!!!......Handle with tongs or tweezers only!
NEVER NEVER NEVER just throw the charcoal block in the bin when
you have finished.......even if it appears to be out it will have a
lot of heat inside, maybe even still live fire. Dispose of in water,
down your toilet bowl, under a running tap, outside in the water tank......
Alternatively, place everything in the sink, including the container,
and dispose in the morning......
Open your packet of charcoal blocks, and take one out with a set of tweezers
(or your fingers if you don't mind getting sooty!).
Place the rest in an airtight container, charcoal sucks moisture from the air, and if you don't reseal the blocks lighting then next time will be a nightmare!
You can use matches to light the charcoal, but either a taper or spare candle are much better. Hold the charcoal on one side, and apply the flame to the opposite side until the block starts to spark......don't worry, the sparks won't hurt you. Keep the flame in place until the sparks start to move across the brick, you won't get burned, they move very slowly. The part that is alight behind the sparks will show blacker.
Now put the charcoal brick down on its rim, standing like a little wheel, lit side down. This will draw the fire up the entire brick. Make sure the surface you are standing the brick on is fireproof/heatproof and that the brick will not roll onto anything flamable.....ie onto the altarcloth or off the altar onto your carpet!!
REMEMBER......The charcoal brick is now hot!!!..You won't be able to just grab it and put it back in the heatproof area you want the block to be in!. I place the brick actually IN the part of the burner that it will be staying in.
If the advancing line of sparks stops before it reaches the far side of the brick apply the flame from the taper/candle again. This may happen if your charcoal is slightly damp.
When the charcoal is alight the sparks will disappear. Knock the little
brick over so that the hollow is upermost.....the opposite side will
be flat.
One brick will burn for about an hour, and you can add many different types of incense.
Place your incense in the hollow and watch the tendrils of aroma gently rising, be careful not to smother the brick, little and often is the rule here. After 15 - 20 minutes you can add some more, it is better to clear the debris from the first "burn" before adding the second load, use a knife point or tweezers..once again...THE CHARCOAL IS EXTREMELY HOT!
