Moon Offerings: Incenses

Hail, Aradia! From the Almathean Horn
Poor forth thy store of love; I lowly bend
...my prayer upborn
Upon the rising incense smoke...
There are certain botanicals and scents associated with the moon and the moon spirits and deities: jasmine, lotus, almond, white rose (and sometimes red rose), vervain, verbena, myrrh, sandalwood, white sage, mugwort, fennel, artemia, garlic, orrisroot, white poppy, wormwood poppy, and lavender.

In theory, any of these herbs can be dried and then burned on lit charcoal as an incense offering. Some herbs, however, burn better than others, and some are more odorous than others.

There are a number of moon incense blends sold commercially in loose, granule, or powdered form, as well as cones and sticks. In incense, as with oils, the nose knows. One should sniff a blend before buying in order to pick out something appropriate. Kamini Aromatics in India made a very nice Moon incense cone. Eventually, you may want to mix your own incense blends.

Among herbs that are particularly sacred to Aradia are rue, vervain, and fennel. All three can be burned as dried herbs with a drop of lemon verbena essential oil on a lit charcoal.

Dried mugwort burns with an earthy smell on lit charcoal. Equal parts of mugwort and wormwood can be burned to accompany or enhance spell work. There is also a Tuscan protection incense which can be burned on charcoal (see Tuscan Protection Incense).

Years ago, I stumbled across a stick incense actually called Aradia. It was a strong, bitter, earthy blend; it is possible it had some patchacoli in it. Nevertheless, I can't find it anymore.

Unfortunately, much of the commercial incense sold in the USA is not quality incense, but cheaply made joss sticks, which are created by dipping a reed into glue. The glue is smeared with wood dust, synthetic oils, and burning agents. Ideally, one should always sniff any incense before buying it. If it smells like artificial crap, don't buy it; don't burn it.

At the time of this writing, HEM Corporation had a very nice Night Queen incense blend in stick form. This HEM product, which is hand-rolled in India, smells like roses. One of Aradia's titles is Regina della notte, which in English means "Night Queen."

If I ever make a quick incense offering, I prefer to lighting a single cone to lighting a single stick. If I want to light a quick offering of incense, the following cone incenses can be offered to Aradia.

A scented oil may be rubbed on a cone, or stick incense, to enhance it. See Moon Offerings: Oils and Waters. Citronella has a nice, lemony scent, which recalls lemon verbena and van-van. However, it's difficult to find as a cone incense and ought to be burned only outdoors. Jasmine is a classic scent offered to the moon, as is sandalwood. Lavender is often as easy to locate as jasmine and sandalwood. Lavender, in modern times, is often times burned to honor Aradia in her Regina Fata aspect, "Queen of the Faeries." White lavender is most often associated with Aradia's lunar aspect. Interestingly, lavender was considered a fitting offering to Hecate in ancient times.

Moon Offerings: Oils and Waters
Farrar-Alexandrian Invocation of Aradia
Wiccan Offering for Aradia
Tuscan Protection Incense
ABC of Aradia: Rue
ABC of Aradia: Vervain
Dianic Altar
KaminiAromatics@yahoo.co.in

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