Contents
Why Use Incense?
Fragrances
The Ten Virtues of Koh
Why Use Incense?
Incense has been used for thousands of years for many different reasons. It is used in religious ceremonies and spiritual practices, such as burning incense to supplement meditation. Apart from the spiritual and religious reasons, incense is often burned for the simple pleasure of the scent.
Incense can be burned to create a nice ambiance for parties, meetings, and gatherings. It can be used for therapeutic purposes such as balancing and calming one’s mind and emotions. It can be used for smudging, as is described on the Sage/Smudges page.
It's also great for masking foul odors…could prove handy to keep a box of incense in the bathroom, kitchen, and any other place where undesired odors may arise.
Here are another couple uses of incense, copied partly from the Scent of Gaia Blog:
Incense Can Keep you Awake While Driving
The fourth virtue of Koh (See below: The Ten Virtues of Koh) is “It keeps one alert.”
I've heard of many techniques that people have used to keep themselves awake while driving. When you don't have enough coffee, ginseng, or energy drink to keep you going, or if just don't want to take stimulants, you can try rolling down the windows if it's cold or munching on hot chile peppers. I know someone who plucked eyelashes out to keep himself going, though I wouldn't recommend that one!
And then, you could use incense. This could be useful for driving long shifts or night-driving. Simply light a stick or two or five of incense (Energy, Red Ginger, or Mocha Fudge might do well) and if you don’t have an ashcatcher you can keep the incense sticks in an empty soda can in your cupholder.
It promotes happiness
Has science slightly caught up a with what's been experienced and known by people for thousands of years? Possibly!
From ScienceDaily, 20 May 2008 – Religious leaders have contended for millennia that burning incense is good for the soul. Now, biologists have learned that it is good for our brains too. An international team of scientists, including researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, describe how burning frankincense (resin from the Boswellia plant) activates poorly understood ion channels in the brain to alleviate anxiety or depression.
Fragrances
This is a list of some of the fragrances of incense we sell, their descriptions. Listed are also the effects of some of the fragrances, which are used in aromatherapy.
Note: Some of this information was gathered from other websites. Sources are listed at bottom of this section.
Amber
Fragrance: Rich, earthy
Effects: grounding, centering and uplifting
Buy amber incense
Vetiver
Scent: Earthy, musty
Effects: Grounding, calming, reassuring, relieves anxiety and panic
Buy incense with vetiver
Cedar
Scent: Woody, soft, hint of freshly-sharpened-pencil, undertone of sandalwood
Effects: Soothing, calms the mind, relives anxiety
Buy cedar incense
Sandalwood
Sandalwood is a wonderful exotic fragrance that has been used for a long time in India.
Scent: Sweet, exotic, woody
Effects: Warming, Relaxing, Used to relieve depression, anxiety, and fear
Buy sandalwood incense
Patchouli
Scent: Woody, earthy, musky-sweet, strong spicy
Effects: Calming, grounding, balancing
Buy incense with patchouli
Gardenia
Scent: Floral
Effects: Aphrodesiac
Buy incense with gardenia
Ginger
Scent: Warm, spicy, sharp
Effects: Used to relieve nausea, colds, flu, lethargy, feelings of loneliness, loss of libido
Buy incense with ginger
Frankincense
Scent: Woody, spicy, pleasant , slightly camphoric
Effects: Soothing, calming, used to supplement meditation and to relieve anxiety and obsessive states linked to the past
Buy frankincense incense
Myrrh
Scent: Warm, slightly musty
Effects: Sedative
Buy myrrh incense
Musk
Scent: Rich, sensuous, spicy-floral
Effects:
Buy musk incense
Sage
Scent: Sharp, herbal
Effects: Calming, relieves grief and depression; Used for metaphysical reasons to purify and cleanse a place or a person (i.e. from dark energies linked to negative sentiments and dark thoughts).
Buy sage
Coffee
Scent: The wonderful smell of coffee!
I'm not sure what studies show about the effects of the scent of coffee, but I love the smell...happy and intoxicating.
Buy coffee incense
Lavender
Scent: Floral, Fresh
Effects: Calming, Therapeutic; Used for metaphysical reasons as a protection and purification from negative energies (such as those linked to negative emotions and dark thoughts and sentiments).
Buy lavender incense
Cinnamon
Scent: Warm spicy, sweet
Buy incense with cinnamon
Plumeria
Plumeria is also known, particularly in India, as Champa. It is a key ingredient in the Nag Champa fragrance.
Scent: Lovely sweet floral
Buy incense with plumeria
Buy organic nag champa incense
Vanilla
Scent: Rich, sweet, smooth
Buy incense with vanilla
Coconut
Scent: Sweet, smooth, and nutty
Buy incense with coconut
Rose
Scent: Deep, fresh, rosy
Effects: Soothes the mind, used to relieve depression, anger, grief, fear, and stress.
Buy incense with rose
Jasmine
Scent: sweet, exotic, richly-floral
Effects: Revitalizing, promotes feelings of confidence, optimism and euphoria
Buy incense with jasmine
Clove
Scent: Warm, strong, spicy
Effects: Warming
Buy incense with clove
Sources:
essentialoils.co.za
herbalhealing.co.uk
anandaapothecary.com
The Ten Virtues of Koh
Koh is a word for incense in Japan. The Ten Virtues of Koh are a list of 'virtues' (useful qualities) of incense from ancient Japan. The comments in parentheses are not part of the traditional Japanese list.
1. It brings communication with the transcendent.
2. It purifies mind and body.
3. It removes uncleanliness. (For bodily scum, though, Koh is not a recommended replacement for showering with good soap)
4. It keeps one alert. (When driving long shifts at night, you can light incense in your car, to help keep you awake. When burning more than a few sticks at a time, though, I would recommend rolling down a window, so as to vent out some smoke...see above section titled "Incense can keep you awake while driving")
5. It can be a companion in the midst of solitude.
6. In the midst of busy affairs, it brings a moment of peace.
7. When it is plentiful, one never grows tired of it.
8. When there is little, still one is satisfied.
9. Age does not change it’s efficacy.
10. Used everyday, it does no harm.
