How to burn loose incense using a charcoal burner

So you got your incense, your burner and charcoal discs.
Now what?

 

1. Prepare your vessel:

A screened charcoal burner like this one is best!
Make sure the screen in concave, this way it will create a nook for the disc to stay in place inside your burner.

(Charcoal touching metal won’t burn, so if your burner does’t have a screen place sand in the bottom of the vessel, and place charcoal on top)

This is important: make sure your container is heat-proof. Metal is definitely the BEST option. Charcoal gets very hot! Other materials can/will break and you can end up starting a fire. Please be cautious.

 

2. Light the charcoal

Always hold charcoal with tongs.
Light the charcoal with a candle or a torch lighter.
Quick-igniting charcoal will start sparkling. Avoid the first smoke released from the sparkles. (For not quick-igniting charcoal we suggest burning it for a couple of minutes on stovetop or on burner with torch lighter)
When charcoal gets a ring of ash, it’s ready for the incense!

3. Add your incense

Add a pinch of loose incense (with fingers if you are careful, or use a metal spoon if you’re extra careful)
Resin will boil, then melt into the charcoal. Herbs burn faster, wait until they are charred to scrape them off the charcoal to add more.
This is why screened burners are the best! It’s so easy to scrape them off into the vessel!

To make the charcoal burn hotter or faster, tap the ashes off, leave the ashes if you choose a slower burn.

 

THE RITUAL / SETTING INTENTIONS

Since ancient times cultures all over the worlds burned sacred plants and their resins into smoke for spiritual, therapeutic and aesthetic purposes.

Mixtures of raw aromatic herbs have been sprinkled into charcoal and fire since the beginnings of humankind, before essential oils, before incense sticks and cones, simply loose incense.

Today, burning incense is a way for people to bring an ancient element into their homes. It's a way to connect to the plants more deeply, as our ancestors have done since early history, and create a bridge to the natural world in these modern times.

This practice calls us to be more present in the experience, by adding pinches of incense to the fire element and witnessing what unfolds:
The aromas, the feelings and sensations in the body.
The scent stimulates our nervous system and it can move us into a state of relaxation, bring joy and even evoke a sense of nostalgia: have we experienced this scent before? how does it make me feel?

Burning loose incense is a unique experience. The endless combinations in every pinch you place onto the hot charcoal makes for a dynamic aromatic experience, as the proportion of herbs and resins in each pinch will be slightly different from the one that burned before.

 

We believe that the smoke from burning incense is a vehicle that can carry prayers.

Burn incense for deep inner work, gratitude rituals, opening and healing your heart.

Burn incense as a ritual for letting go, while journaling on your relationships, the state of your heart, and the way you give and receive love.

Burn incense when you want to make sure the Universe hears your call.