Incense and heka

[WebenBanu]

I'm working on a theory that the scent of an item carries the spiritual essence of the thing- as if aroma were the most tangible part of the ka (energetic component/spiritual "double"), and the one part which is readily accessible through our more physical senses. Hymns sometimes praise the way the ntjr is "present in the incense," and liturgy from the Daily Rite (routine Kemetic ritual) links the scent of the incense with the god's presence. It's much more than just something that smells nice- it's a part of the ntjr's being and that's why burning special types of incense (thereby releasing their essence into the ritual atmosphere) can strengthen a ntjr's presence in ritual. The ntjrw are manifest in everything- the materials of this world were created from Their bodies, and Their power is still locked inside every object here. You just have to figure out which ntjr's inside, and how to release and focus that energy. That's the essence of heka (magic). We interact with the ntjrw everyday in this world. What you do with that presence, and how the ntjrw react to that... that depends on the situation.

That being said, incenses which are specifically formulated and/or charged to invoke a certain ntjr- or a certain manifestation of a ntjr- are extremely effective. I keep my incenses in a compartment within my altar, so they're fed and charged by their proximity to the working space and the images of the gods. I just have to find a good quality incense with which to start, and the guy who runs the shop where I pick up most of my ntjrw-specific incenses has demonstrated a great talent for formulating incenses which both evoke and satisfy the individual ntjrw with great efficacy. It's important to select incenses which are pure- meaning that they don't use dung as a filler (incenses from India, and stick and cone forms of incense are notorious for this) or urea as an accent (a small amount of urine is sometimes used as a sweetener in "perfume" oils). That's why most Kemetics prefer loose incense- it's a lot easier to do quality control that way, and also easier to blend incenses if you're calling on a syncretic or dualistic deity.

The shop I mentioned earlier, where I get most of my stuff, is in San Francisco. If anyone's in that area and would like to contact me, send me a message and I'll see about getting you directions. They have a very nice Djhwty oil, among others, and though I don't know exactly what's in it (they never give out their recipes) it smells strongly of Frankincense. Otherwise, Akhet Hwt-Hrw (one of the major Kemetic temples) has offered their temple blends to the community at large. They also have an incense specifically formulated for Djhwty, though it seems to be tailored toward invoking prophetic dreams. You can try using things like these for general honoring/invocation purposes, but you just might have some interesting side effects.^_~ Also, an author I recently encountered at PantheaCon (a San Francisco Bay Area Pagan gathering) recommended another site, owned and operated by a friend of his. He assures me that these incenses are hand blended, using high-quality ingredients and no fillers. I've never ordered from this guy, so I can't personally vouch for his stuff, but I might be ordering some time soon since he offers the only Skhmt blend I've seen made generally available. You can check his list of deity-specific incenses to see if there's Anyone you need represented there. He doesn't specialize in Kemetic deities and there aren't very many of Them on his list, but I thought I'd throw it out there in case anyone's interested. It has also recently come to my attention that a member of the House of Netjer community is creating Kapet/Kyphi incense- she hasn't posted a handle anywhere that I have seen, so I'll just post a link to her store for those interested. There is one more store I'd like to point folks to- Alchemy Works has three different formulations of Kapet (a.k.a. Kyphi), into which the compounder seems to have put quite a bit of work, research, and energy. The other formulations on the site are probably of similar quality, as well.

I'm hoping that others will add their own comments on the uses of incense, reputable sources for obtaining them, methods for making them, projects involving them, and understanding of the mechanisms behind them in this thread.^_^  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

I've never really had a call to use inscence in any of my rituals. it tends to make me sneeze xp Allthough what you said about how a specific inscence corresponds to a certain deity makes sense. They all have things that correspond to Them, why should smell be left out? Or taste for that matter, maybe a specific type of baked good would be good as an offering. Hmm, now that's a thought...  

[Jameta]

Okay, I need to post my thoughts before I loose them while reading the rest of what you said:

Smell is one of the stronger senses, as the information recieved through it bypasses the cortex to go to whatever-system of interpretation. Hoever, as in the case of Nihl, me, and others, incense can actually be too powerful and make our bodies uncomfortable, so we must turn to other senses. In fact, as each person is different, each person is able to better percieve and understand things in different ways. That's why we have 5-6 senses to choose from (special thanks to Who/Whatever came up with the idea of man and planned ahead if we ever lost one... sorry, I'm feeling silly... with the popping of the pills and the needles in the eyes...).  

[WebenBanu]

There's another really good article on incense here:
Making Your Own Incense as a Magickal Art

Jameta

Smell is one of the stronger senses, as the information recieved through it bypasses the cortex to go to whatever-system of interpretation. Hoever, as in the case of Nihl, me, and others, incense can actually be too powerful and make our bodies uncomfortable, so we must turn to other senses. In fact, as each person is different, each person is able to better percieve and understand things in different ways. That's why we have 5-6 senses to choose from (special thanks to Who/Whatever came up with the idea of man and planned ahead if we ever lost one...

*nods* Everyone has their own ways of sensing and interacting with the Divine- for me, it's perhaps because my sense of smell is so weak that it plays a very noticeable role in occult matters. I frequently can't smell much of anything, so when I do strongly notice a scent it's practically a miracle, and I know that something Very Special is happening.^_~ So I use my sense of smell to sense when offerings have been accepted- after reciting the offering prayer, if I can catch the scent of the food wafting up then I know that deity is partaking of the meal, which is part of what prompted my connection between the spiritual double of physical objects and their scent. The spiritual double is the part of the offering which spirits take, and I can tell by scent when offerings are being accepted, and which ones specifically are being taken while others are being left behind. Thanks for describing how scent works, biologically- I think a similar line of reasoning is given for the effectiveness of aromatherapy, which is another area I'd like to learn more about.^_^

Of course, there's more to incense than just smell- there are the visible aspects of it as well, which can provide for hours of entertainment and/or enlightenment.^_~ Unfortunately, it can also provide for sneezing as well- that's really unfortunate. Those who can't stand incense but still would like to incorporate something similar could probably still use oil diffusers. The steam is less dramatic than the smoke, but it works pretty much the same way.

I've had some wonderful experiences just sitting and watching the incense. In Japanese Zen culture there's a path to enlightenment called Kohdo- "The Way of Incense" (not to be confused with Kodo, which is an awesome performance art involving drums^_^). Practitioners of this art refer to their activity as "listening to the incense," i.e. reflecting on the unique scent of the blend and the effect that it has on your mind, body, and spirit. It's very similar to the way we teach young Kemetics how to interact with Ntjr- the "listening" part doesn't have to be done with your ears alone, it should involve your entire being. The ntjrw contact us in many ways, and each person develops their own combinations of feelings and stimuli for communication- I happen to include scent, and incense in my spiritual language. I wrote something a while back, trying to express this concept:

In rite today, I was watching the incense which rose from my censer as it passed before the oil lamp and between the figures of Bast and Skhmt. Back in my Wiccan days, I used to end every Circle by extinguishing the candles and saying, "May the smoke carry my prayers." And so I was watching this smoke drifting upwards, thinking about what kind of prayers it was carrying, or if it was carrying my love to Ntjr, and I noticed that the stream of smoke was actually divided into two thin lines which ran side by side. And as I watched it I noticed that one stream seemed to be running up as the other would slide down, and that now and then they seemed to exchange directions. Now and again, the smoke would suddenly break, falter for a bit, and then resume this two-way flow. It seemed to me that this was a wonderful metaphor for the connection the rite fosters between Ntjr and the people. A two-way flow which is dynamic in the way both sides give and take at different times, but every now and then something happens which breaks the flow. The connection falters, like a stream of smoke disturbed by the wind, but inevitably weaves itself back into shape once the wind has passed. Mbiti (an author) says that most African societies have a story about how Heaven and Earth were once connected by a rope or bridge, which was later severed or broken, and that this explains the separation of God from the world. It seemed to me at the moment that this smoke, which carries the prayers of the people and the blessings of the ntjrw, was the rope which binds Heaven and Earth. And it is frayed, cut, and broken over and over, but it always knits itself back together. Which explains why Ntjr is never lost to us.

Nihilistic Seraph

Or taste for that matter, maybe a specific type of baked good would be good as an offering. Hmm, now that's a thought...

Good idea- bread is a staple offering in Kemetic religion, and my favorites are the ones which are shaped like little mounds (kaiser rolls, etc). This was a similar shape to the loaves which were offered in ancient times, and represent the ben-ben mound which first rose from the sea of Nwn at the time of Creation. It was the foothold from which Divinity created the rest of the world, and so this symbolism is incorporated in the offering. But it would also be fun to bake bread into the shapes of other things- ducks, for instance, if you wanted to offer duck for some symbolic reason but couldn't find or afford any actual duck. The shapes of things act like keys to invoke the substance of whatever they represent, so bread would be a very malleable material with which to form these shapes- and it has the added advantage of ingestibility after the rite is finished, to bring that symbol and the deity's blessing into yourself.  

[WebenBanu]

I'm bringing this up for relevancy to another thread.^_^

*poke*  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

How do you thinks oils would correspond? Would burning them have the same effect as the incense, or would the medium differ the inner meaning? We had a lesson on oils at my pagan club (the making of I missed due to overload of homework) and adding essences of herbs to waters and oils.

Oils, I imagine I'd have the same problems with as incense if I was burning it, but I see no problems with annointing. Or simply letting diffuse gradually to get a less strong scent.  

[WebenBanu]

Nihilistic Seraph

How do you thinks oils would correspond? Would burning them have the same effect as the incense, or would the medium differ the inner meaning? We had a lesson on oils at my pagan club (the making of I missed due to overload of homework) and adding essences of herbs to waters and oils.

Oils, I imagine I'd have the same problems with as incense if I was burning it, but I see no problems with annointing. Or simply letting diffuse gradually to get a less strong scent.

Yes, I use my oils in much the same way that I use my incense- and for some blends (such as my Skhmt incense) I combine them and burn them together. Most of the time that I want to use an oil in the place of an incense, though, I use an "oil burner" which is actually more of an oil diffuser. I have one which is basically three sacred cats, facing out in a ring and balancing a shallow dish on their ears; a tealight is held in place at their backs. I fill the dish with water from my libation vase, and put a few drops of whatever oil(s) I intend to use. As the water evaporates, it releases the scent.

As far as my theory goes, it's the scent which is important. So long as you can release and focus the scent in some way, you are releasing and focusing the power of the material. Whether it's incense, oil, or a food offering, the result is the same. And oils are known for holding magical charges; they can be very useful.

Annointing with oil was also an important part of AE magical/religious practice- they annointed people, statues, amulets, and probably a host of other objects as well. The standard technique was to use the pinky finger (the gentlest finger), touch the surface of the oil or unguent, and then touch it to the base of the statue (usually), or to some part of the person or amulet.

So by all means, oils are great if that is more conducive to your style. They can be used on their own, or in tandem with other mediums. And if you ever come down this way, I know a little shop with a Djhwty oil which you would just love.^_~  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

Hmm, now I just need to find the time to get all the materials and make some oil...The holidays can't come faster enough.

Well, after I gt a Bachellors, I plan on travelling Abroad for a while, and I plan on visiting as many people I know on Gaia that will agree to meet me, so I hope to go to San Francisco if you're willing ^.^  

[WebenBanu]

That sounds like fun- if you could plan to make it down this way in mid-February (of any year), we could take you to an awesome Pagan convention, as well. Let us know when you get closer to actually making any plans, and we'll set something up.  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

WebenBanu

That sounds like fun- if you could plan to make it down this way in mid-February (of any year), we could take you to an awesome Pagan convention, as well. Let us know when you get closer to actually making any plans, and we'll set something up.

If we're both still on Gaia when I'm done my bachelors. That will be in...three years(I think) should everything go according to plan.