I make my own grain incenses from scratch on a semi regular basis as part of my faith, but grain incense I mean taking herbs, resins, barks ect. and grinding them down with a mortar and pestle until the resultant mixture consists of material no larger than the size of dry (japonica) rice grains and is then burned in small amounts on a charcoal disc

I have found my spirits take an interest in the process, and when circumstances allow, I burn a little of a blend I make. I can't always do that though, but when I do they enjoy it, even if it's a bit of a dud blend that needs to age a little more before burning so it doesn't stink the place out with a nasty smell. I can burn stick incense more readily during the summer months with a bit of jury rigging a holder on an outside window sill so the wind blows the smoke in but the ash drops to the ground outside. I have noticed that they are not so keen on the premade sticks. I'm thinking it's because there is considerable difference between the energies in something you've made yourself compared to something that's bought premade by a third party.

Do any of your spirits have a preference to the type of incense you burn, be it grain, stick, cone, powder and such? Are there any types that they dislike for any reason?

I have a similar process as you, making incense by hand.
My companions preferences regarding what form of incense they like greatly varies.

While my companions aren't terribly picky about what scent of incense I offer to them, there are a few kinds I have burned that created an increase in spirit activity and manifestation. They have told me which specific ones they like and it all varies depending on the individual.

For some reason my dragons seem to really really like fruit scented stuff. I learned this by accident and observation. So I decided to try infusing my honey Amber resin with fruit oils like peach , mango, and strawberry, before grinding everything down fully. This is very popular with my dragons, but most of my other companions are "ok" with it. A few of my angels enjoy the fruit scents though.

I won't go through every single companions preference cause that would take forever lol but my vampires generally like sandalwood if nothing else is available.
I have some sandalwood powder, grounded red coral powder, musk , and resins that I grind together for my vampires. I then add a drop or two of a special perfume oil called momento mori to it...once it's cured and dried, I burn it on a coal, they love the smell so much that they almost act like it smells like blood to them. None of them reject this blend offering.

For some of my individual vampires, I add their preference to that. For example I have a vampire who enjoys pepper , so I add that to it.
Another who loves cinnamon... Etc.

For my nephilim, I use jasmine and lavender flowers alone because this combination is his absolute favorite, so this by itself is sufficient for him.

Outside of that, I made a special oil mixture of those two flowers, added blue topaz, sapphires , aquamarine, and blue apatite gems to the oil mixture and stored it in a special dropper vessel for him. He also likes when I apply a light amount to my wet hair after a shower.
He seems to prefer the oil over the burning. Offerings don't have to be in the form of just incense, I found, and I discovered that being creative with their likes can be powerful. I bought him a labradorite heart necklace that shines his favorite blue color, it has a top that unscrews ..I filled it with his gem charged oil and wear it for him when he asks.

One of my companions doesn't like the smell of jasmine

I have a few companions who don't like the popular vampire incense sticks that are sold at various places.
I also found that before burning anything for my companions, saying this while lighting resulted in everyone partaking and enjoying-
"May this smoke take the form of whatever energy pleases you the most "

I have 4 different trays that I use for 4 separate burn offerings. One metal bowl for the charcoal, and 3 stick trays for the variety that my keep enjoys. This allows me to make an offering to everyone in my large keep, simultaneously.

My fire fairie loves when we pick a tree in the forest to collect a small amount of fresh glistening sap. We bring it home and burn it on a coal..and she goes nuts for it.

Anyways..there's my ramble lol

Thank you for sharing your experiences @Daciana, it's really appreciated.

I have only recently delved into burning incense. I live in a very small space so scent can go a long way especially being winter depending on if I can open the window or not. I found a small shop that hand makes all of theirs and a scent that is lovely without the smokey smell being overpowering. I find my keep seems to understand maybe not getting many scents and still appreciate the incense.

I try to do associated or preferred candles for those that have a preference to just to broaden the offerings out. Luckily many also enjoy food offerings which I can do much easier. I do find that I myself find incense very calming and have found myself burning it more often than just a weekly or so offering. I look forward to the day I can burn it more freely in a bigger space.

I have also experimented with essential oil diffusion in its place but I have found many of the essential oils that are not directly fruity or botanical are synthetic fragrances which then smell off. I found that especially with things like black pepper, but also some floral scents did not seem true to the flower.

Nightrunner404 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 17, 2024 5:38 pm I have also experimented with essential oil diffusion in its place but I have found many of the essential oils that are not directly fruity or botanical are synthetic fragrances which then smell off. I found that especially with things like black pepper, but also some floral scents did not seem true to the flower.

It never crossed my mind that essential oils in a diffuser could be a possible alternative to burning incense. Though with your experience of some of the oils you encountered being synthetic fragrances and being a bit off/not smelling right. I'm not sure if I would want to try.

I'm on my phone, and this forum's design is't mobile.device friendly, so if my post looks weird, that's why.

Anyways, incense. Where do I begin? I've been using incense since 2011 for just about everything-both magickal and mundane. Ditto for candles too! I have sooo many candles, and sooo much incense, I have 4 5 gallon boxes filled that are stored in my hall closet. You could call me a border. : I keep telling my Spookies "Oh my gutz you guys, I have so much smelly schtuffs, I can't buy anymore!" But, lo and behold, I end up buying more! (Seriously though, I need to dig into my storage bins one day very soon, with my Spookies, and pick out some scents for Them, before I buy anymore.)

Rant over.

I have a big Spirit Family, much larger than I planned on having, and so I have a lot of scents for Them! A few of my Spookies have Their own candle, most of Them have Their own incense sticks that I buy from craft vendors or Etsy shoppes. There used to be a woman, a friendly acquaintance of mine, who ran her own essential oil business. She had oils of scents some of my Spookies love, but were hard to come by in candle form. So, a few of my Spookies have Their own bottle of essential oil that I use with a heat lamp.
A few of Them have Their own candle. But most of my Spooky Family have incense sticks or cones.

I need to be careful when I use any oil, incense, or candle, because I have "Birbs", and the smoke can hurt them. Because of this, I've considering looking into one of those candle warmers, or switch to wax melts to solve this issue.

I know reason incense exists. Personally, I only like to use resin incense when it's been made into a stick. Any incenseade with herbs, resin, and "tree gums" is my favourite and my go-to incense stick!

By the way, great thread title!

Umbra_Arcana wrote: ↑Sat Feb 17, 2024 6:22 pm

Nightrunner404 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 17, 2024 5:38 pm I have also experimented with essential oil diffusion in its place but I have found many of the essential oils that are not directly fruity or botanical are synthetic fragrances which then smell off. I found that especially with things like black pepper, but also some floral scents did not seem true to the flower.

It never crossed my mind that essential oils in a diffuser could be a possible alternative to burning incense. Though with your experience of some of the oils you encountered being synthetic fragrances and being a bit off/not smelling right. I'm not sure if I would want to try.

Yeah I would like to explore it a bit further eventually and see if I can find some better quality oils, the ones I found on amazon were the ones I had issue with.

I used to make my own beard oil so I have thought of making my own diffusion blends by just using a carrier oil like almond oil or similar and letting it infuse with things like black pepper etc. Probably low on fragrance but would be at least the actual item infused vs synthetic fragrance.

That being said, there is something nice about good incense and the sort of campfire comfort the smokiness can bring along with it.

VanNocturne wrote: ↑Sat Feb 17, 2024 7:07 pm I'm on my phone, and this forum's design is't mobile.device friendly, so if my post looks weird, that's why.

Anyways, incense. Where do I begin? I've been using incense since 2011 for just about everything-both magickal and mundane. Ditto for candles too! I have sooo many candles, and sooo much incense, I have 4 5 gallon boxes filled that are stored in my hall closet. You could call me a border. : I keep telling my Spookies "Oh my gutz you guys, I have so much smelly schtuffs, I can't buy anymore!" But, lo and behold, I end up buying more! (Seriously though, I need to dig into my storage bins one day very soon, with my Spookies, and pick out some scents for Them, before I buy anymore.)

Rant over.

I have a big Spirit Family, much larger than I planned on having, and so I have a lot of scents for Them! A few of my Spookies have Their own candle, most of Them have Their own incense sticks that I buy from craft vendors or Etsy shoppes. There used to be a woman, a friendly acquaintance of mine, who ran her own essential oil business. She had oils of scents some of my Spookies love, but were hard to come by in candle form. So, a few of my Spookies have Their own bottle of essential oil that I use with a heat lamp.
A few of Them have Their own candle. But most of my Spooky Family have incense sticks or cones.

I need to be careful when I use any oil, incense, or candle, because I have "Birbs", and the smoke can hurt them. Because of this, I've considering looking into one of those candle warmers, or switch to wax melts to solve this issue.

I know reason incense exists. Personally, I only like to use resin incense when it's been made into a stick. Any incenseade with herbs, resin, and "tree gums" is my favourite and my go-to incense stick!

By the way, great thread title!

I have had good experiences with wax melts. They just can get expensive if you use them every day like I tried at one point. I highly recommend a wax melter with a silicone insert as it makes cleaning them a breeze.

Umbra_Arcana wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2024 10:48 pm [..]

Do any of your spirits have a preference to the type of incense you burn, be it grain, stick, cone, powder and such? Are there any types that they dislike for any reason?

Preference for types?

Not as far as I can tell. I buy good quality stick & cone incense and also have some gum resin. Although I can make up a some simple folk magic-type incenses myself - like honey & sugar, cinammon, other spices, dried fruit peels - I don't use those in spirit keeping.

My general incense of choice as an offering is frankincense, which most of my spirit family seem to appreciate - although I'm aware some don't appreciate offerings at all or if they did it wouldn't be incense. Frankincense has a good, 'high' spiritual quality and was much sought after in ancient times. An incense suitable for royalty. A good one if I want to demonstrate respect, imo.

I have quite a lot of other fragrances too, so I can offer suitable ones to appropriate spirit types. (Dragons Blood for dragons etc.)

Incenses they don't like?

Only one comes to mind.

I also have a frankincense & myrrh fragrance, which is said to promote a more directed spiritual influence in the home. It reminds of me of when I was a Catholic altar boy, lighting the sparking charcoal in the thurible then adding a spoonful of frankincense & myrrh, before swinging it left and right, dispersing the smoke around us as we processed out into the church. I like the feel of that fragrance still.

When I offered this once, I was surprised to noticed one water spirit companion, who to me seems very sensitive, really didn't like it. I think it was the addition of myrrh. Maybe it felt too 'down' and heavy to them.

Lewk wrote: ↑Sat Feb 17, 2024 10:32 pm
It reminds of me of when I was a Catholic altar boy, lighting the sparking charcoal in the thurible then adding a spoonful of frankincense & myrrh, before swinging it left and right, dispersing the smoke around us as we processed out into the church. I like the feel of that fragrance still.

I find the same, I was raised as Roman Catholic (and turned my back on catholicism a long time ago), though I was never an altar server I was in the choir. My sister was an altar server though.

I have fond memories of when we would plot pranks on one of the priests in the parish. This priest was 'unsavoury' thought it was difficult to prove and the pranks were fully warranted in our opinion. The favourite regular prank was during midnight mass, on Xmas eve. My sister was responsible for 'swinging the handbag' as she put it so prior to mass starting she add finely ground down lavender and chamomile would to the jar of resins used during service. Said priest would then struggle to not yawn during the service, grow steadily more tired and then not try and 'fraternise' with the younger altar servers after mass.

It's a curious thing how different scents bring different memories to mind.

VanNocturne wrote: ↑Sat Feb 17, 2024 7:07 pm
Anyways, incense. Where do I begin? I've been using incense since 2011 for just about everything-both magickal and mundane. Ditto for candles too! I have sooo many candles, and sooo much incense, I have 4 5 gallon boxes filled that are stored in my hall closet. You could call me a border. : I keep telling my Spookies "Oh my gutz you guys, I have so much smelly schtuffs, I can't buy anymore!" But, lo and behold, I end up buying more! (Seriously though, I need to dig into my storage bins one day very soon, with my Spookies, and pick out some scents for Them, before I buy anymore.)

Rant over.

How much incense?! Damn that is a lot of incense! Ahhh the things we do for our spirit families.
I cleared out a lot of my candles, something like 40 or so dinner table tapers and then hundreds of little squat thumb sized ones. I just have my tealights and beeswax ones left, and I won't buy a new box of beeswax ones until I have just a pair left in the box, and I'm looking to move over from budget tea lights to beeswax ones.

I need to be careful when I use any oil, incense, or candle, because I have "Birbs", and the smoke can hurt them. Because of this, I've considering looking into one of those candle warmers, or switch to wax melts to solve this issue.

I tried wax melts but generally could not get on with them. I can understand your want/need to change to something less hazardous to your 'Birbs'.

I know reason incense exists. Personally, I only like to use resin incense when it's been made into a stick. Any incense made with herbs, resin, and "tree gums" is my favourite and my go-to incense stick!

Do you think you might ever try and make your own tree gum based sticks for your Spookies?

By the way, great thread title!

Thank you, I like trying to come up with catchy titles