There aren’t many activities better than making a batch of incense to get my witchy vibe humming… Basic directions are to pulverize herbs and resins with the mortar and pestle, then mix them to make the perfect balance of scent. It’s a great way to kick off the dark half of the year.
Here are some tips and tricks to get you started:
- The fresher the ingredient, the better quality the incense.
- If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can use a manual coffee grinder. Electric coffee grinders are not recommended. They produce too much heat, allowing for the loss of vital chemicals from our ingredients. Also, most resins will break the blades of electric coffee grinders, and besides, it’s cheating ! 🙂
- If you freeze your resins for about 15 minutes, they will be more solid and therefore much easier to pulverize.
- Woods are very difficult to powder with a mortar and pestle and really require the use of a hand crank coffee grinder of some sort or simply begin with powdered woods.
- Start with the powdered woods, then crush the herbs thoroughly. Save the resins until last, because they will make the most mess. Once every thing has been powdered, all ingredients should be combined and crushed together to merge the scents into one unique fragrance.
- The new incense should be be stored in an airtight container (preferable dark glass), and “aged” in a cool dark place for a few weeks before using.
Once you have mastered the basics, try this:
- Add some dried fruit or honey to the mixture. This will allow you to mold the incense into ‘cakes’ or ‘pellets’ that are even more versatile.
