How to Make Natural Incense

There's an entire generation out there who think incense is only used to cover up the smell of marijuana smoke. But incense has many purposes, including inducing relaxation prior to meditation, cleansing the air of damp or smokey odors, even setting the mood for an evening's dinner party. You can make natural incense right in your own kitchen and save money in the process.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Natural powder incense
• Incense burner
• Sand for incense burner
• Makko powder
• Measuring tools for recipe ingredients
• Lighter or candle

1. Choose your favorite scents. Even though cones and sticks are more portable for travel, loose incense is easier to make yourself. Loose incense is known as the "incense of the ancients." You can buy synthetic-free incense powder like sandlewood or other ready-to-use finely-ground incense powder mixtures like Zukoh, a nice mixture of cinnamon, cassia, clove, sandlewood and star anise.

2. Decide whether you desire combustible or non-combustible incense. The latter is easier to make. Take the incense powder and heat it up with natural, slow-burning Makko powder, found in parts of Asia.

3. Select a container for burning your incense. For loose, non-combustible incense, a simple cup or saucer-shaped vessel filled with sand is perfect. The container itself can be made of wood, metal, pottery or can even be an abalone sea shell.

4. Experiment first with a recipe including three to five of your favorite ingredients. Once you become more experienced, you can add more. Several Web sites offer recipes using various fragrant powders. Mix the ingredients together and "age" them for at least a week before heating them for use.

5. Pour sand into the bottom of the incense burner and make a pathway through it with a tablespoon. Sprinkle in enough Makko powder to fill up the pathway. Light the Makko powder with a lighter or candle. After you heat the prepared incense powder mixture on top of the Makko powder, sit back, take a nice cleansing breath and enjoy your own wonderful homemade, natural incense.

Tips & Warnings

• While incense in powdered form isn't toxic, it can cause respiratory problems in some people while burning, so be careful who is present when you are enjoying your incense.

Resources

• Good source for Zukoh powder
• Good source for Makko base powder
• Incense information and recipes
• Powder incense recipes