Table of Contents

History

Incense in cultures

What is incense?

Fragrance groups of incense

Shapes of incense

Incense in the rooms

Incense for moods

Incense for the seasons

The history of incense

Aromatic fragrance has been part of human life since the beginning of time. Living close to nature, people naturally also used its products to help their physical and mental well-being. It is known that plants were used in medicine around 20,000 years ago. Instead, the spiritual and ritual significance of plants can be traced back as far as a hundred thousand years.

The use of incense was naturally given the initial impetus by the invention of fire. Fire created warmth and protection from beasts, and with it, it was also invented to burn fragrant plants. Through organic culture, the use of incense was transferred to shamans, who in addition to treating with herbs, constantly recorded information about the properties of different herbs. Due to the valuable position of shamans, aromatic plants also gradually began to be considered gifts from the gods.

This is how incense also moved into the religious world. The smoke of incense was seen as a force that carried prayers up to the heavens, taking requests from people with it while purifying the mind and soul. Similarly, incense is still seen in many religions and in their rituals, e.g. in Catholicism, Buddhism, Judaism and Shintoism.

The important position of incense later extended to the regions of almost all early cultures. In the times when the nations in the East were built mainly on the trade of herbs and spices, incense also became a valuable commodity. Christians remember that the Bible tells one of the gifts brought to the baby Jesus was incense, a holy smoke that was not disgraced next to gold. The use of incense became established in most cultures as part of valuable party expenses.

Incenses in different cultures

As the spice trade expanded, incense also slowly moved around the East: first from Egypt to Greece, from Greece to Rome and, with the great empires, still around the world. In ancient Greece, incense gained not only a religious status but also a foothold in the field of medicine. For example, Hippocrates praised the power of incense as a healing agent. In Rome, incense was used to perfume oneself.

In India, incense gained a very special status because they were considered to increase a person's divinity, Sattva, and maintain the harmony of this soul. Incense became an important part of the temples' activities. Hindu temples were often built of sandalwood and were known as the "house of fragrances". Also, for example Kama Sutra considers incense as one important sensual element, which essentially also belonged to the world of sexuality.

In ancient China, fragrances were considered the elixir of life and the purifying element of fire. The incense combined these two elements and thus kept the good spirits close. Through Buddhism, incense also reached Japan in the 5th century, where incense was used to heighten and control the senses. Even special schools were founded where the use of incense was reviewed on a Buddhist basis.

Buddhism has included the use of incense from the beginning for many reasons. The Japanese celebrated e.g. change of seasons with different incense and used incense to reach new spiritual levels. The Japanese also strictly divided incense into two categories: those that were burned for personal enjoyment and those that were offered to the Buddha.

Also among the indigenous peoples of North and South America, incense was used in ceremonies. The most common medicinal substances in these regions were created from herbs such as sage, while ceremonial incenses were created from tobacco and birch. The Mayans, Incas and Aztecs used incense, especially copal, which the Incas offered to their sun god as their greatest gift.

In Arabia, the passion for incense spread to every area of ​​life. Incense were used to celebrate family events such as the birth of a child and weddings, but they were also burned during evening parties. Incense played a big role in Islam. The Prophet Muhammad's favorite incense, musk, was used in the construction of mosques, the fragrance of which was released by the heat of the sun. The fragrance of the rose later became an important part of Islamic culture when rosewater became a basic element of religious rituals.

Our own perfume tradition is also based on the rose water brought to the West by the crusaders. This tradition was dominated in Europe for a long time by Italy. The upper class supported the perfume trade by all means: fragrances were added to both gloves and shoes. Even the money used by the elite was perfumed. Incense was also sold in pharmacies because people believed that the fragrances protected against diseases. In the 18th century, the popularity of incense and perfumes moved from Italy to France, where many cities adopted the production of fine perfumes.

In the 1800s, modern medicine began to supplant the use of incense and set aside our ancient ways as a marginal and despised phenomenon. It wasn't until a hundred years later that incense returned to medicine under the name of aromatherapy. However, modern man has separated himself from the surrounding nature so that using timeless herbs does not seem to be suitable for the current rhythm of life. However, the part used for smelling is one of the oldest areas of our brain, so fragrance should have an important meaning for us, biologically speaking alone.

Even though the sense of smell no longer determines our survival, an environment full of scents is still important to humans. Scents can evoke thoughts and memories, affect emotional states and mental well-being, or help you relax.

Nowadays, our breathing air is filled with impurities and small particles, and the natural world full of scents is not always present. The gentle fragrance of incense can create a small world of fragrances and give you time to calm down as the smoke rises to the heights, just like at the beginning of our time. So nature can still live close to us, enrich our lives and inspire us through our senses.

What is incense?

Incense is usually an aromatic substance that, when burned, spreads a fragrance into the environment. Actually, incense is the substance itself, not just smoke. In the past, incense was made from both plant and animal-derived materials, nowadays all incense is plant-based. The incense ingredient can be either resin, bark, herb, spice or oil. In the manufacturing process, the ingredients are dried and ground into a powder or alternatively mixed into a paste.

In general, incense is a mixture of more than one substance, for example resin, herb and oil. Almost all parts of the plant can be used, from roots to leaves, from seeds to petals and from fruits to flowers. Consequently, there can be thousands of different types of incense and the range of aromas can be quite wide.

In order to enable the incense to burn evenly, some combustion promoter is added to the mixture during the making phase, which is usually charcoal.

Fragrance groups of incense

The fragrance groups of incense can be roughly divided into six different main groups:

Flowers

Floral scents include, as the name suggests, fragrant flowers such as lavender, rose, violet, ylang-ylang and jasmine. The aromas of the floral fragrance group cover the entire range of fragrances: from a gentle subtle scent to a strong and sensual one. Floral fragrances are generally sweet and pleasant.

Fruits

Fruit fragrances include e.g. aromas of citronella, apple, orange, coconut and peach. As incense, fruity fragrances are mainly energizing and uplifting.

Herbs

Herbal fragrances include herbal plants, for example sage, lemongrass, chamomile and aloe vera. Herbal fragrances are fresh and have many uses.

Trees

Woody fragrances include sandalwood, cedar, pine, agarwood and eucalyptus. The fragrances of the trees are earthy and soothing. They are widely used, for example, in connection with meditation. When combined, the fragrances create a world of forest aromas.

Resins

Resin fragrances include strong and distinctively fragranted resins, or resins, which come from tree sap. These include, for example, frankincense, myrrh and dragon's blood.

Spices

Spicy fragrances, as the name suggests, include spices such as cinnamon, rosemary and cloves. The selection of spicy fragrances covers both warm and gentle fragrances as well as piquant and fresh ones. Spicy fragrances are particularly suitable for dark winter evenings.

Different forms of incense

Incense can come in many forms. The most common shapes are sticks, cones and spirals. In Japan, the incense tradition also includes the so-called fragranted balls. Incense sticks used at home are usually made of bamboo slats coated with incense powder. Stick-shaped incense can also be made without a bamboo stick, in which case it is called dhoop incense.

Cones and spirals are made of paste that is either pressed through a mold into cones or twisted into spirals. Because of this, there can also be other forms of incense. Church ritual candles are also made in the same way, where some aromatic substance is used.

Incense always needs a fireproof stand as a base. Optimal platforms have been developed for each model. From the very beginning, sticks require a simpler stand than other models; they are by far the most popular incense because of their ease. The advantages of cones and spirals are their long burning time.

Incense in different rooms

Living room

The living room is a room where every member of the family can spend time. In the living room, you can lie on the sofa, watch TV, listen to music or otherwise hang out and enjoy yourself. It is also a room to which guests are brought and which by its essence expresses the personality and lifestyle of the residents. Therefore, the living room must be comfortable and practical, but also stylish and attractive.

Incense for the living room should be chosen according to the user and the current activity. For example, children like fruity fragrances like coconut, peach or apple the most.

However, a safe choice for normal everyday use is preferably a fine floral or citrus fragrance. Violet, for example, goes well with rose. On a hot summer day, the citrus fragrance is the most recommended, as it brings freshness to the room and gives energy to those staying there.

The living room should also be used for relaxation, especially after a hard day. For example, sandalwood or jasmine are good fragrances to release stress quickly. Just a quarter of a minute of silence with incense is enough and raises energy even at the moment of severe exhaustion. In the evening, you can create an atmospheric, pleasant relaxation space in the living room with deep, warm fragrances or heavy resinous aromas.

Vanilla is perfect for a quiet, peaceful evening. An earthy fragrance, for example patchouli, is suitable for socializing. Spicy aromas such as clove or cinnamon are suitable for the joy of winter evenings. If there is a fireplace in the living room, it should be used for burning incense. If there is no fireplace, you can create a symbolic fire around the incense from burning candles.

Dining area

Dining is the moment of the day when the family or circle of friends can gather to spend time together after a hard day's work. It is indeed worthwhile to devote proper time to enjoying food. Even moving to another space to eat helps to move to a new, peaceful moment of eating after cooking. It is best for the dining room to be well lit and rather minimalistic, as well as its scents: this way the attention is focused on the table itself.

Incense can be used as part of the table setting; especially the small Incense cones are beautiful placed on a cute base. However, you should only really enjoy incense after eating.

Small candles, scattered in groups of two or three like cones, are also suitable for covering with incense. Fresh flowers also go well with the setting. When dining in the garden or in the middle of nature, incense is absolutely perfect.

Kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of the home, so it must be warm and comfortable. The kitchen is also a place where you can socialize over cooking or a cup of coffee; it's the place where people at parties usually gather. That is why it is important that the kitchen is clean, tidy and smells good. Many incense also have antibacterial effects, so burning them will keep the kitchen fragrant pleasantly.

Pine and citronella are both excellent incense for freshening up the kitchen; both are also used as fragrances in many cleaning products. Fragrance combinations suitable for the kitchen are, for example, eucalyptus, cinnamon and pine. All fragrances can also be used individually.

When you cook, clean or plant herbs on the windowsill in the kitchen, you can burn incense at the same time and make the work feel more comfortable. For this purpose, it is recommended to use warm fragrances such as cinnamon, vanilla or clove with an invigorating orange.

Corridor

It doesn't matter if the corridor is narrow, wide, long or short. It's a transition from one room to another, and that's why it's all the more important to make it cozy. In a dark corridor, you should create more light to open up the space. Few, but carefully selected items also create a lived-in feeling.

The fragrance of incense, why should you choose orange or bergamot for a dark hallway to cheer you up and lift your spirits. Homely, warm fragrances can be created with cinnamon and cloves. Myrrh, sandalwood and patchouli, on the other hand, make the hall a calm and valuable entrance area for quieter occasions.