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Herbal Incense Information Ii/Iii

Category: Misc

Author: The Savvybearcat

Date: 1/1/2007

Rating:

(3.0) by 1 users

Ingredients:

1 Info below
- Basic Incense I

Instructions:

"AROMATIC: Any herb, spice, or botanical powder that gives off a
pleasingly scented smoke when burning. These include many kinds of
wood (such as sandalwood and juniper) and bark (such as cinnamon) as
well as some leaves. The smoke from burning herbs smells different
from the fresh or dried herb itself. To test the fragrance of herb
smoke, drop a small amount of the dried herb on a hot piece of
charcoal. I have never heard of an herb whose smoke was toxic, though
certain mushrooms can produce narcotic fumes. Essential oils also can
be substituted for the aromatic plant material; again, test on hot
charcoal.

"BASE: A substance that burns readily with either a pleasant aroma
or no aroma at all. The base aids in the burning of the aromatic and
often enhances or tempers the scent. The most popular bases are
powders derived from woody plants: sandalwood, cassia, vetiver,
willow, evergreen needles, and charcoal. You can make the wood
powders yourself by processing sawdust in your blender for two
minutes on high speed. Talc or clay is sometimes added to slow the
rate of burning, but I don't recommend talc because it can cause
respiratory irritation. Potassium nitrate (saltpeter, available at
drugstores) may be added to a base to ignite it more quickly and
evenly.

"BONDING AGENT: A resin or gum that holds the aromatic and base
together. Bonding agents that burn well without giving off toxic
smoke and are readily available include agar, karaya, gum arabic, and
tragacanth. Of these, tragacanth is the binder most often
recommended...it's the easiest to work with and gives the best
results for shaped incense."

"LIQUID: Water is easiest and cheapest, although creative incense
makers may not be satisfied when there are much more interesting
liquids to use: wine, brandy, herb waters, olive oil, and tinctures,
to mention just a few. I haven't noticed a significant difference in
either the odor or the burnability of the incense.

"COLORING AGENTS: The easiest way to color incense is with food
coloring, but plants can also supply natural colors: for example, red
sandalwood for red, willow for brown, safflower for yellow, and
charcoal for black."

Excerpted from Sandy Maine's "Herbal Incense" article in "The Herb
Companion." Dec. 1992/Jan. 1993, Vol. 5, No. 2. Pg. 37. Posted by
Cathy Harned.