Incense/Oils/Smudges

Resins

Most of the resins I use are from the trees around my home. Fir, pine, and juniper make wonderful resin for burning in a small cauldron or to mix with other herbs and essential oils. Herbal incenses are burned on censer charcoal and are used for purification, protection, cleansing, astral work, or for any intention.

Copal – purification, protection and may be substituted for frankincense
Dragon’s Blood
Frankincense
Pine – from my own trees
Fir – from my own trees
Juniper- from my own trees
Myrrh Gum
Benzoin

 

Ritual Oils

Now in my Crone phase of life, my focus in using ritual oils is on my own spiritual alignment. I never perform spells to derive monetary gain or to influence someone else’s outcome other than to help them align. The only real exception might be a binding spell if someone is truly out of control. Spells and rituals are primarily used to keep me aligned in my Source Energy. Anything else is a reflection of ego which is illusion-based. I prefer to stay in my own non-physical essence and proceed from that standpoint and I like my craft to follow that lead.

There are two types of ritual oils that I use: essential and infused. Infused oils I make myself using herbs and carrier oils. I also use essential oils sometimes when making infused oils along with the herbs. But ritual oils are typically essential oils mixed into a carrier oil such as almond or grapeseed. For an earthy type oil, I like to use hemp oil, but it needs to be refrigerated after opening, so I typically make only enough for whatever I’m doing. Ritual oils are for a specific purpose such as astral travel or invoking Goddess energies. There are various authors such as the late Scott Cunningham who have written books about making ritual incense and oil and I recommend them highly for correspondences as well as the formulas they include.

Carrier oils can include olive, grapeseed, hemp, almond, apricot, jojoba, and coconut oil. Typically I use grapeseed and almond because they’re lighter. From there I add whatever essential oil(s) I want to use for the spell or ritual I’m involved in. Below are some examples, but you’re only limited by your imagination and creativity.

To enhance a spell or ritual for healing, you could create a ritual oil that included cinnamon and sandalwood for for example. A love ritual might include lavender and rose ritual oil. Use 1/8 cup carrier oil, or more if you’re making a larger batch, and then add the essential oils. The ritual oil can be used for anointing candles or even yourself. Anointing your third eye with an astral travel oil can be helpful for example when hedgeriding. A meditation blend can assist the witch in accessing her Higher Self. The uses for ritual oils are as varied as the reasons for using them.

Oils/herbs I use most frequently by Element:

Earth	Air	Fire	Water
Cypress	Lavender	Basil	Chamomile
Vetivert	Lemongrass	Cinnamon	Eucalyptus
Horehound	Lemon Verbena	Frankincense	Jasmine
Mugwort	Yarrow	Juniper	Lemon
	Sage	Peppermint	Myrrh
	Marjoram	Rosemary	Spearmint
	Anise Star	Rose Geranium	Ylang-Ylang
		Sweet Orange	Sandalwood
		Bay	Melissa

Oils by Purpose or Intention:

Note: I’m only including the purposes for which I use these oils. There are many, many other magickal purposes a witch may have and is more than capable of using her own vast research library to choose her own.

Hedgeriding	Divination/Intuition	Healing	Alignment	Protection	Purification
Cinnamon	Sweet Orange	Cinnamon	Cinnamon	Basil	Chamomile
Sandalwood	Mandarin Orange	Eucalyptus	Lemongrass	Cinnamon	Basil
Sage	Jasmine	Rosemary	Yarrow	Cypress	Lavender
Mugwort	Cinnamon	Sandalwood	Lemon	Eucalyptus	Lemon
	Lemongrass	Spearmint	Myrrh	Frankincense	Melissa
	Mugwort		Peppermint	Bay	Lemon verbena
	Sage		Rosemary	Juniper	Cinnamon
			Sandalwood	Myrrh	Copal
				Pine	Frankincense
				Sandalwood
				Dragon's Blood
				Copal

From the tables above, I think about my magickal intention and choose the essential oils, herbs and resins that best support my efforts. From there I look at the corresponding Elemental influences to see if there’s anything else I can add such as a crystal or thorn or something else that might bring additional vibrational support. And always remember that these things are just here for support. You are the power and the magick.

Smudges

My favorite herbs to use for smudges are sage and mugwort. Cedar is nice, but I rarely have any. Mugwort is particularly useful in hedgeriding and it goes crazy in the garden if I let it, so I typically have a lot of mugwort on hand. I’ve seen flowers used, but I don’t use them. Occasionally I add a sprig of rosemary to the smudge when I want something pungent.

Sometimes I use thread to wrap the herbs into a bundle, other times I use thin hemp cord. Embroidery floss works in a pinch and there are lots of great colors to use. I find my smudges either burn or they don’t. It’s probably how I pack them together, either too tight or too loose. Sometimes I just burn sage in a small cauldron on charcoal. I’ve also made some incense disks that burn nicely on charcoal. Or, you can simply throw some herbs on charcoal. Select herbs based on your intention and appropriate correspondences (day, element, planetary hour, etc), grind them together in your mortar with intention, chanting aloud if you like, and then burn some in the cauldron and either cast the rest to the wind, bury it in the ground, or cast it out over water to release your intention to the collective consciousness. So you get a little spell work in with your smudging. Witches multitask better than anyone.