I have started to gather and dry some ingredients for my planned Fall Equinox loose incense blend, for using in my celebrations and rituals throughout Autumn.
I’m using ethically foraged ingredients and, so far have, oak leaves and moss, pine needles, wild hops, a few pine cones (under the leaves!), Rowan berries, Rosemary and Sage. I’m also drying some apple and orange slices in the dehydrator, and will be gathering some haws (hawthorn berries), and perhaps some mugwort or mullein.
I will be trying out different blends — using Scott Cunningham’s formulation below as an inspiration — and have typically worked with formulations that have frankincense and/or myrrh resin as a base, as well as ones with sandalwood powder as a base. All will also use local ingredients and perhaps a drop or two of essential oils ! I love wildcrafting my own incense blends!
For me, it’s important to align with the plants in my locale as much as possible. So, although the frankincense and myrrh are not local for me, I can find mosses, herbs, berries and leaves that are. This year, I’m also considering working with a local pine resin for this autumn’s loose incense rather than imported tree resins to truly reflect the energies of autumn of this land. If you’re considering working with local tree resins, the Druid’s Garden blog has a great post on gathering and using tree resins.
Testing out the blends is the fun part for me, and I like to try different formulations with my daily meditation to see which blend(s) speaks to me most strongly. Once I find what works best for me, I make up a larger batch to use throughout the Autumn.
What do you use in your Fall Equinox loose incense?
FYI, here is the Mabon Loose Incense from Scott Cunningham’s classic book “Incense, Oils & Brews”:
2 parts Frankincense
1 part Sandalwood
1 part Cypress
1 part Juniper
1 part Pine
1/2 part Oakmoss or a few drops of Oakmoss EO (Evernia prunastri )*
1 pinch pulverized Oak Leaf
*If you don’t have Oakmoss, you could make an “Oakmoss Bouquet” using equal parts of Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanoides) Essential Oil and Cinnamon Essential Oil… use just a few drops