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The Building Blocks of Incense Revealed

The Building Blocks of Incense Revealed

Disclaimer: All of the posts related to Northwest School of Aromatic Medicine are limited time offers and bonuses are likely not going to be relevant if you sign up at a much later date than this post was written. 

Incense is the Original Aromatic Medicine.. It's been around since before essential oils, even before perfumery.

It's the oldest aromatic practice for healing the emotions, psyche, physical body, and spirit.

Not to mention it's the most universal tool to accompany all things spiritual, and is present in nearly every sacred ritual on earth.

And of course, it's aromas are heavenly.. beautiful.. relaxing.. and the ultimate comfort. Incense is the universal modality for enriching and bringing about greater balance in life.

How would you like to harness the countless benefits of this timeless aromatic practice by learning to make your own incense at home?

Today my friend Evan, founder of The Northwest School of Aromatic Medicine, released his second complimentary training session in The Hand-Crafted Incense Workshop Series and he'd love to show you how you can make your own incense for healing, ritual, or fragrance.

Whether you're an at-home healer, aromatherapist, health practitioner, use incense in a spiritual practice, or you just love the heavenly fragrances of plants and resins...

...this complimentary series will help you learn all you need to know to make your own successful, effective, fully burning incense at home for yourself, your loved ones, or clients.

In his 2nd training session Evan will walk you through the Core Pillars of Incense Crafting one by one, explaining how they'll work together to strengthen an incense crafting practice. 

 

 

In this new session you'll learn:

  • What botanicals make the best foundation for a natural incense blend
  • How to properly use gums and binders to hold your incense cones and sticks together
  • What types of plant materials are most commonly used in incense and why
  • Why learning the art of incense is crucial for practicing aromatherapy holistically
  • How prayer, intentions, mantras, and sacred songs are traditionally infused into incense around the world 

After watching this next lesson you'll be well on your way to crafting amazing and effective incenses. 

You're gonna love this session! And don't forget to download the Building Block of Incense electronic workbook.
I'll see you in the workshop. 

xo
Ayala

P.s. In case you were wondering - in later videos I will be also presenting a mini-series of perfumery workshops in the Northwest School of Aromatic Medicine.

 

Make Your Own Incense for Healing, Ritual, & Pleasure

Make Your Own Incense for Healing, Ritual, & Pleasure

Disclaimer: All of the posts related to Northwest School of Aromatic Medicine are limited time offers and bonuses are likely not going to be relevant if you sign up at a much later date than this post was written. 

Incense is the oldest form of aromatic medicine. It's been used to treat the psyche, emotions, body, and heal the spirit for ages. Plus it’s the most ancient and universal tool for nearly all sacred rituals.

And of course, incense is a timeless aromatic treasure used to help us celebrate our sense of smell and have a bit of natural luxury and pleasure in our lives.

I’ve always loved incense. And am thrilled to share with you a new course that is offered online that will teach you how to make simple and fun incense, for any intention you have in mind, whether for a lovely fragrant gift for someone, or a medicine.

If you've ever desired the ability and skills to hand-craft your own beautiful, effective, and successful incense blends for yourself, your family, or others - you should check out this program! 

For almost a decade now my good friend Evan Sylliaasen, founder of The Northwest School of Aromatic Medicine, has been crafting aromatherapeutic and ritual blends for his company Higher Mind Incense, one of the top producers in the US. He’s definitely seen what works best, and what doesn't work when it comes to incense crafting.

That's why he’s put together a special gift for you, the Hand-Crafted Incense Workshop Series!

Join this complimentary Workshop and start watching the 1st Lesson now.

In this workshop series, Evan will show you step-by-step how to craft your own incense cones for healing, fragrant enjoyment, or spiritual purposes, plus give you the ultimate background on the many uses and virtues of incense.

This fun and informative series is available for a limited time so be sure to sign up today, at no charge!

Join Evan in the Hand-Crafted Incense Workshop Series, his gift to you. 

Enjoy and I’ll see you inside!

xo
Ayala

P.s. In case you were wondering - in later videos I will be also presenting a mini-series of perfumery workshops in the Northwest School of Aromatic Medicine.

Triple Goddess Incense

Triple Goddess Incense

This week I've been burning the Triple Goddess incense. The Triple Goddess is representative of the three main phases of the moon: waxing, full and waning; of the women's menstrual cycle from the start of lining of the womb, through ovulation and followed by shedding layers of the womb and bleeding; and finally it is representative of a woman's circle of life: Maiden-Mother-Crone. Our culture celebrates the maiden, the woman at its sexual peak, yet also naive and most vulnerable, alluring and raw/fresh state. It pretty much ignores and diminishes the woman at the times when she is most in need of support, when she is dedicating herself to raising the young ones - Motherhood; and the time when she is wise and no longer fertile or "of use" to the patriarchal culture - as she is no longer a desirable sex-object, and can no longer bear children. At this stage, however, the Crone is most precious for its polished and refined state of being, it is most beautiful from within, having gained much wisdom and life experiences. She can teach both men and women how to live and how to be in tune with nature's cycles. She's seen many dark nights turn into daylight. She is the woman who knows. 

This post, as well as the incense, is in memory of my brother's sister-in-law. She passed away a week ago, on Monday night, surrounded by her closest family and loved ones, after a year and half of battle with breast cancer. Her courage and her suffering serves as an urgent call to us women: to live our lives truly and fully, and to reach out and ask for support from our sisters, mothers, aunties and grandmothers. In good times and especially in bad times, we always have one another. Even if it seems like they won't understand us or support us. Maybe in our darkest moments we don't even think we are loved. But this is not true. We always have other women to turn to and trust. Find those women and keep them close to you. Don't let anything come between you - but keep leaning on each other through motherhood, marriage, relationship, hardships, careers, and also take them along with you when things are just fun and light and happy. So that you have those sweet and fond memories to feed on in times of famine. 

And since you are dying to know: the incense has three colours in it, and three incense materials, representative of the red, white and black of the woman's psyche. White of purity and light and fullness, represented by White Copal, which smells just as bright and fresh when burnt. Of course the white can also be associated with the Crone's wisdom, as well as with snow, winter and death (being the colour of bones and of the white cloth used to wrap the dead with). The red is the colour of bleeding, of giving life, of her wounds, represented by Dragon's Blood, not only because it is blood red, but also because of its flaming, aggressive aroma, purifying and protective properties and perfume. And lastly, the Black of earth,  of a decaying yet fertile soil, of the Crone's wisdom.  I chose to use Black Copal for this stage, which is suitable not just because of its colour but also because of its musty and mysterious scent. Of course the meanings and associations of these colours could be different. This is simply one layer of a deeper wisdom. 


This post as well as the incense is dedicated to all womanity so that we accept, no - embrace! - both our waxing, waning and darkest hours. May we never resort to artificially and superficially inflating our light to cover up sorrow, grief, emptiness and flaws. Bleed, cry, dance, swim, laugh, weave, play, create, destroy, sing, listen and heal when it's the right time. You are enough! 


Peace Incense

Incense for Peace












 

It is a long standing tradition to create at least one form of incense during the Oriental Perfumery courses. This fall (November 10-14, 2019), we created incense cones using a very unusual material fire tree resin AKA grass tree (Xanthorrhoae) that one of my students harvested herself and brought all the way from Australia. 

The incense blend was born out of the concept of marrying plants and resins from both Australia and the Middle East: bay leaves, eucalyptus leaves, fire tree resin, Australian sandalwood, and an array of Middle Eastern resins. On the leaves we've written prayers before causing them into pieces and grinding them. Prayers that will go up in smoke and come true. 

As we were writing on the leaves it, I recalled a dream I had about teaching perfume and incense to youth with the vision of harnessing the alchemy of it to sawing seeds of peace - first within and then outwardly to our environs.

I am now praying to have the courage, strength, wisdom, and the right help and partnership to be sawing these seeds for real in my everyday life.

Without any messed up politics, but through meeting people's true essence, and mine... This requires serious self reflection and internal alchemical transformations that transcends trauma, hurt and long history of pain and destructive defense mechanisms.

Of course, it is so much easier said than done... So I am hesitantly putting it here and trusting you to guard this and save this as a reminder to make this come true on all levels. The process begins from within. I hope that soon enough I will be ready to share it and bring it outwardly and lead others through this process.
Thank you

Incense for Peace




Ras El Hanout Incense, Three Ways

Ras El Hanout Incense, Three Ways
I ran out of my Ras El Hanout mixture (which I always make myself, using very peculiar spices from my overflowing spice rack). You can see some of them in the images below (how many of them can you guess?).
Ras El Hanout

Ras El Hanout

Ras El Hanout
Most of the grinding is done the old fashioned way using mortar and pestle, as it should be. I believe it is a more direct connection to the material because this way I can smell them as I crrrrrrrush them! Whatever I'm unable to grind fine enough, I will pass on to the electric grinder. I kept most of it for my cooking (nothing beats a homemade couscous topped with a homemade couscous stew spiced with my very own Ras El Hanout!). But some I just felt compelled to burn as incense.
Ras El Hanout Nerikoh Snake
My first idea was making it into nerikoh (kneaded incense, which is not actually burnt but placed on a hot micah plate). Nerikoh traditionally uses honey or plum paste. For this experiment I used a combination of dates and honey. I named these Oasis Nerikoh.
In the picture you are seeing the incense dough shaped as a spiral, and waiting to be hand-rolled into tiny balls.
Ras El Hanout Nerikoh
Ras El Hanout Nerikoh (kneaded incense balls), rolled into a mixture of ras el hanout and sandalwood powder.
Ras El Hanout Incense Sticks
My second attempt at making incense sticks! Practice will eventually make perfect I hope.
 Ras El Hanout Incense, Three Ways
The whole line up, from top to bottom: Ras El Hanout Incense cones, norikoh, incense sticks.
Ras El Hanout Incense, Three Ways
Here they are, all dried up and ready to use! The ornamental brown ceramic dish in the background is my aromatherapy diffuser, which I use to heat up nerikoh.
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