God I love incense.
I feel like incense is one of those things that every witch loves passionately and lately, it’s been getting a bad wrap from those moms. You know, the ‘Gregory doesn’t need vaccinations, I have essential oils and gluten-free pasta’ moms.
But for witches, incense is like… my jam.
Incense is used to bring fire into a spell or ritual, safely (cause you can’t logistically have a bonfire in your living room). Then, the fact that each scent has it’s own alignments.
Like, every one secretly loves incense and lighting shit on fire. It’s something in our primal caveman brain.
So what do you need to get started with incense?
Nowadays, most stores are carrying incense (for those Karens out there).
So you can trek down to local grocery and pick up some sticks and light up.
Here are some of my go-to flavors I love to have around the house.
- Lavender – I mean, duh. Any witch worth their salt keeps some lavender around the house in one form or another. Incense is one of the easiest form to keep around and light up when you need it. Lavender is used for promoting peace and calming, whether through aromatherapy or through potions (i.e. some Celestial Seasonings Lemon Lavender Lane tea, which is also my jam).
- Sage – While not a traditional sage bundle, I keep a couple sticks around to help with quick, on-the-go cleanings. Like, when I need to sequester myself away and recharge, I can sit in my office space and light up some sage, and create a space just for me to recharge my energy.
- Lemon – I just really love citrus. Citrus, especially lemon and orange, always makes me feel like something is clean and fresh and bright. Lemon incense is good for luck and success.
Now a few things you have to know about incense.
You can’t just light it up like a blunt and start smoking.
Okay, you can, but you need a little something extra.
Just like with candles, you have to watch incense around small children and animals, and you should never leave it unattended for extended periods of time (if you have to leave for a moment to get your cup of coffee, then cool, but don’t light it then go out partying with your friends all night).
If you do have to leave (emergencies happen, no biggie) then make sure to put out your incense. You can put it out by dunking the tip in water, wetting your fingertips and squeezing the tip (like an old-timey candle), or mashing the tip, like a cigarette butt, into an ash tray or the incense holder ash groove.
Lavender and cats don’t mix. If you have cats and want to burn some lavender incense, just be aware they cannot breakdown certain aspects of lavender and it can cause moderate health issues, like nausea and vomiting. When I want to burn lavender incense, I seclude myself in my office away from my cats and my cats’ food with an open window and the fan on. I make sure the room is completely clear of smoke before allowing them back into the room.
There’s no right way to pick incense. Of course, there’s some traditional flavors everybody swears by, but honestly, if a certain scent gives you a headache or brings bad memories to mind (cinnamon is my bane, if you know what I mean), then don’t try to make it work. There are always alternatives you can use, and you can always tweak a spell to work for you. Maybe lemon doesn’t bring to mind wealth, but pine does (you know, pine trees are green, money is green), then focus on the intent instead of the community.
So here’s a quick breakdown of the most common incense flavors.
| Flavor | Alignment | Uses (rituals, rites, and spells) |
| Amber | Fire and Air | wisdom, truth, love and desire |
| Cinnamon | personal power, protection, inflaming passion, countering love spells | |
| Citrus | Lemon for confidence, good luck and goal accomplishment Orange for joy, good fortune, prosperity, and marriage happiness | |
| Dragon’s Blood | Fire | The coffee of incense: because of the rarity and power, it adds a kick to any spell work, esp. useful in love magic, protection, and oath-making |
| Evergreen | wisdom, cleansing, protection, money magic | |
| Frankincense | The stand -in: because of the commonality works for most spell work, including setting sacred space, offerings, and purification | |
| Honey | Ideal for works for drawing prosperity wealth, and luxury | |
| Jasmine | The Moon | For New moon and Full Moon rituals, encourages prophetic dreams and spiritual magic |
| Lavender | cleansing for the home, body and mind useful for healing and meditation | |
| Patchouli | attraction magic, like money spells | |
| Rain | cleansing, healing, relaxation, esp. good for ‘clean slates/fresh starts’ and calming anger (Fresh Linen scent can be used in a pinch) | |
| Rose | Venus | love incense: attracting and keeping love, usher in romance and self-love, can also open the heart |
| Sandalwood | only for benevolent works; cannot be used to curse or compel, used to consecrate, heal, removing negativity, , bringing peace, wishes, bless altars and ritual spaces | |
| Vanilla | calming an area, promoting mental and physical arousal, stimulate good luck happiness, prosperity, and knowledge-seeking |
Incense is a great way to jump feet-first into witchcraft. It’s pretty affordable, and even if you spend too much at first, there’s no way you’ll burn through 50 sticks of incense super fast.