by Carl F. Neal
Summer Solstice Circle
This isn’t a ritual but rather a circle casting. This casting can be modified for use outdoors but, as with most incense rituals, it was written for indoor use. Typically when I offer incense as part of a circle casting, I will place censers in all four quarters. This casting is a nice exception to that pattern and offers a more elaborate circle casting than many solitary practitioners use. It is easily modified for group use. It can also be modified for any type of circle. The summer solstice is used here merely as an example.
Using a hanging censer (thurible) or a censer with a handle that allows you to move the censer while in use will enhance this casting. Place one aromatic or incense blend in a container on your altar for each quarter. A single “quarter blend” could be used for all of the quarters, but I really like making a special offering to each (use aromatics that your tradition associates with each quarter, or you can consult the correspondence charts in the appendix at the end of this book). You will also need a bit of paper or cardstock (3x5 inches is perfect). Prepare your censer and complete your normal circle-casting preparations.
When you begin to cast your circle (typically in the eastern quarter) use this invocation:
Great Powers of Air
I call to you at this moment when
Earth tips closest to the sun
I ask you to come into this circle
and bring your gentle breezes
As the promise of the colder days that are to come
Bring with them your power and knowledge
That I/we may be blessed with your presence.
After completing the invocation and calling the quarter, sprinkle a pinch of the incense for that quarter onto your charcoal (or plate). If you have a censer that can be safely moved while in use, lift the censer and carry it around your altar for three complete circles. If your censer can’t be safely handled while in use, simply circle the altar yourself. As you walk around your circle, feel the powers of air draw into the circle behind you. Like a wake, the energy will enter through the eastern quarter and stream in behind you. Circling the altar will mix that energy throughout your circle.
After circling three times, replace the censer on the altar and move to the next quarter (typically the southern quarter). Use an invocation similar to this one:
Great Powers of Fire
I call to you at this moment when you
are at your strongest point of the year
I ask you to bring your power and energy
into this circle on this day of honor to you
As a sign of your intensity of passion and victory
That I/we may be blessed by your presence.
Sprinkle the incense for the southern quarter onto your charcoal and circle the altar three times. As you circle the altar, see the power from the southern quarter flowing in behind you. Initially it is separate and distinct from the energy you previously pulled in, but as you continue to circle the altar, the two energies begin to blend.
Next move to the western quarter and repeat the process.
Great Powers of Water
I call to you at this moment
when you often stay hidden
I ask you to come forth on this special day
to join in this work I/we do today
As a sign of your purity and cunning
That I/we may be blessed by your presence.
Sprinkle the incense for the western quarter onto your charcoal and once again circle the altar three times. As you pull in the energy from the western quarter, you will again see the distinctive energy from the western quarter pull in as a separate energy at first. As you circle the altar, more energy will flow into your circle and begin to mix with the other energies you have already invoked.
Move to the northern quarter for the final invocation.
Great Powers of Earth
I call to you at this moment when you shine brightly from the energy given by the sun
I ask you to join in this work I/we do today
Bring your wisdom and compassion into this circle
That I/we may be blessed by your presence
Complete three circles around the altar and end back at the eastern quarter where you began. Turn back to your altar and take a pinch of each of the four incense or aromatics you have used for your quarters. Sprinkle each onto the paper or cardstock you placed on your altar. Stir them together with your finger and then fold the card lengthwise down the center, creating a trough. Sprinkle some of this mixture onto the charcoal and complete one final circle of your altar. You now have circled your altar thirteen times and have an energy-filled circle ready for any work you choose to do.
Rituals for Powdered Incense
Powders behave a little differently than loose incense. They tend to burn more evenly and as a result may produce the desirable scent for a longer period of time. This also means that you need to control the amount you use carefully if you want the incense to burn only for a short time. It is easy to overdo incense when putting powder onto charcoal.
Prosperity
You can, of course, use any aromatic or incense blend you choose for this spell. I like a powdered blend of 1 part cinnamon, 2 parts allspice, 3 parts oak moss, and 1 part calamus. Make sure that whatever blend you choose is completely powdered. If you blend the ingredients yourself, it is a good idea to sift them through a screen to ensure there are no lumps or foreign materials.
You can begin this spell after casting your circle (if you use one) and invoking any other powers, or you can leave it for the end of your work. It’s always best when you can limit a circle casting to one piece of magickal work, but we all know that sometimes there is a lot of work to be done and not much time. When you do have to combine several different workings into a single ritual, this prosperity ritual can be done at any point.
Although this is intended as a prosperity spell, you should decide on exactly what form of prosperity you need. While prosperity often means financial prosperity, even that can come in many forms. Magick works best when it is specific, so try to narrow your focus to the one aspect of prosperity that you need the most. If money is your need, then use the word money. Perhaps your real need is a better job, a way to relocate, replacement of a car, or one of hundreds of other needs that fall under this heading of prosperity. For my example, I will use the generic goal of money.
Clear your mind and then focus on your goal. Apply a pinch of the incense powder to the charcoal or plate and allow the smoke to waft up your body. As you feel the scent penetrate you, visualize the successful outcome of this work. In this example, I would imagine myself looking at my bank balance and seeing the amount I need, waiting to be used. Apply a second pinch of incense and “sweep” yourself with the smoke (see chapter 6). You can feel the negative energies you have accumulated, the energies that are preventing you from reaching your prosperity goal, being driven away from you by the powerful smoke.
Add a large pinch of incense to your charcoal and stand. If you use a wand, athame, staff, or sword during your magickal work, I would point it at your censer and slowly circle the altar chanting something like:
Money, money, come to me
It is my will
So mote it be.
I would circle the altar at least three times, but you can continue for as long as you feel it is necessary. If you feel more and more energy building then, by all means, continue to chant until you feel you have reached the limit of the power you can gather. Return to the front of your altar and repeat your chant one final time. As you say “So mote it be” the final time, raise your arms and release the gathered energies to the universe. That energy will move from you, now that you have been cleared of the negative energies, into the world to help create opportunities for you. Keep in mind that no amount of magick can help you change your life if you do nothing else to further your cause. Magick can open doors and
create opportunities, but it is up to you to walk through those doors and take advantage of those opportunities.
Invoking the Power of Air
As I’m sure you can tell by now, I find a lot of value in communing with the elements and gaining a personal connection with each. That is the purpose behind this working. Its primary purpose is to create a conducive atmosphere to reflect upon air, the element of the east (in my tradition). It is easily incorporated into other spell or ritual work.
For this invocation, I like to use an even mixture of lemongrass and yellow sandalwood. I think that particular blend is light, like a gentle breeze. It is a fresh scent and, when used sparingly, will never overpower your space. Remember, to take care not to overdo it when using powders.
After casting your circle, if you use one, move into this work immediately. Meditations such as this one are not only beneficial for contemplation of a particular topic, but they also help to relax your body and open your mind to other work you have planned. This example is particularly effective before doing work that benefits from a large amount of elemental energy from air.
If you have a censer that can be handled while in use, carry your prepared censer to the eastern quarter along with a small container of your selected incense powder. Sit with your back to your altar, facing the eastern quarter. If your censer cannot be moved, sit before your altar with the censer between you and the eastern quarter, so you can look to that point on your circle while the censer is in your line of sight. Add a tiny pinch of incense to the charcoal. Control your breathing (I like to inhale for four seconds through my nose, hold for two seconds, and release my breath for four seconds through my mouth for most incense work, then wait another two seconds before beginning to inhale again). Allow the scent of the smoke to penetrate you on the inside, from your lungs outward. Also allow it to penetrate from the outside as the smoke swirls around your body.
As you immerse yourself in this enchanted air, open your mind to that element. Let the smoke take you where it wants you to go. Watch the swirling eddies and currents in the air and allow the energy to wash over and through you. As you do so, think about the powers of air. What messages have they for you? How does the element of air interact with the other elements to make your life complete? You can continue this exercise as long as it is productive. At some point, no matter how trained or experienced you may be, humans reach a point of overload. Stop as soon as you see this possibility approaching. The more often you do this invocation, the more insight and relaxation you will find in the process.
Rituals for Moist Incense
Unlike most forms of non-combusting incense, moist incense tends to smolder very slowly. As long as you keep the heat underneath the incense at a low level, one pellet of moist incense can smoke for ten minutes and leave its scent for more than an hour after it has gone out. As a result, I sometimes use a modified form of “air mixing” by placing two pellets adjacent to each other over the heat. The scents tend to blend as soon as they leave the censer, so it isn’t the same experience as true air mixing. The work that I do with moist incense is generally focused on adding incense to the censer only once. If you use a source of strong heat (such as “self-lighting” charcoal), the pellets will burn away very quickly and you will need to scrape the charcoal and replenish the incense frequently.
Here is a recipe for one basic type of moist incense that I make myself. It is simple and you will be amazed at the results. Even the most novice incense maker can successfully make moist incense that will amaze all who happen to smell it. This recipe is reprinted from my first book, Incense: Crafting and Use of Magickal Scents. If you want to explore moist incense making in more depth or are interested in making many other forms of incense, I think you might enjoy reading that book. The charcoal used in this recipe is a step to significantly cut the curing time of the incense. You can leave the charcoal out (I would replace it with wood powder) but that will extend the curing time considerably. Traditionally, this type of incense would be rolled and then sealed in a container and buried for a year or more. You should only use low-scent charcoal for moist incense. Never use “self-lighting” charcoal for incense making.
2 tsp. red cedar powder
¾ tsp. clove powder
½ tsp. charcoal
¼ tsp. benzoin
½ tsp. oak moss
½ tsp. rosemary powder
(up to) 1½ tsp. honey
Grind all of the dry ingredients to a fine powder. You might find it easiest to add all of the dry ingredients into a large pestle and grind them to a blended powder with the mortar. Before adding the honey, you should sift all the dry ingredients through a fine mesh. Use only real honey and beware of “honey-flavored syrup” (which is just corn syrup and flavoring). Add the honey a tiny bit at a time. The listed amount of honey is a very loose suggestion. You should add just enough honey to bind the dry ingredients into a single ball of incense. After each drop of honey is added, knead the incense carefully to make certain the honey is evenly dispersed throughout the incense.
Ideall,y you will be able to gather the mixture into a smooth ball. If there is too much honey in the mixture, you might find it difficult to roll. Once you have rolled the incense (be aware, even perfectly proportioned uncured incense will be very sticky), place it into a plastic bag and seal it after pressing out all the air in the bag. If your mixture is too sticky to roll, you can still scrape it off your gloves into a bag. In some of the workshops I’ve done, we’ve even taken gloves covered in particularly sticky mixtures and just turned the gloves inside out. With the opening of the glove tied tightly, the mixture will cure normally.
If you included the charcoal in the recipe, it will be ready to open in four to seven days. If you make a blend without charcoal, I wouldn’t consider burning a test sample of the incense until it had aged at least three weeks. You will see the texture of the incense change as it cures in the plastic. Once you can open the bag and easily handle the incense (it will have lost 90 percent of its stickiness), break it into pea-sized pieces and roll into a smooth ball. Put the individual pellets back into a sealed container for storage. Only remove the number of pellets that you plan to use at any one time and keep the rest sealed. If kept in an airtight container, the incense will continue to improve as it ages. The longer it cures, the more blended the scents will become.
Incense Meditation
This is the most general meditation included in this book. It is easily modified to fit any contemplation need, but I prefer it as an “open” meditation, as it is written here. This is not an elaborate ritual at all and is well suited for use outside a circle. This is a slightly modified version of a morning mediation I did for a very long time. Set aside ten minutes in your busy morning schedule and your whole day will often flow in pleasant and unexpected directions.
Take a few moments to prepare your censer. Sift the ash and use an unlit charcoal brick to make an impression in the ash that will hold the burning charcoal. Hold the charcoal with a pair of tongs and light it in the flame of a candle. Once the charcoal is glowing on all corners you can place it into the impression in the ash. If you have been using a mica plate or ceramic tile, you can place that atop the charcoal. For best results, bury the burning charcoal once the brick is glowing all over its surface. Use this time as the charcoal is being prepared to clear your mind. One good method to accomplish this is to focus on your breathing. Count the seconds and focus on nothing but putting your breathing into proper rhythm (see page 155 for a sample breathing pattern).
It is best to sit before adding the incense. Once your charcoal and optional plate or tile is in place, add one or two pellets of moist incense. You can use a single pellet, two of the same scent, or two different scents. I wouldn’t use more than two scents for any one meditation.
Once you move your hand away from the censer, place both hands in your lap. If you are a highly visual person, you might benefit f
rom watching the smoke, but I prefer to close my eyes and let the incense become the focus of my attention. Simply allow the smoke to enter through your nose as you practice controlled breathing. After a few sessions you will find yourself falling into the appropriate breathing without any conscious control on your part.
Use the focus of breathing to clear your mind of all other thoughts. Once you are able to let go of the conscious control of your breathing, you can set your mind free. This is the process I use to “listen” to incense and aromatics, and it is a wonderful way to start any day. If you have the kind of crazy mornings that so many families do, get up a few minutes early and use this meditation before anyone else is awake to disturb you. This type of regular meditation will reveal many surprising things to you once you learn to quiet your mind and listen to the energies around you. This is especially true if you learn to listen to your incense.
A Goddess Invocation (Bast)
Bast is the goddess of Upper Egypt. Although generally pictured as a delicate house cat, she also takes the form of a great cat prepared to defend her children. For this invocation, I like to use a moist incense containing catnip and palo santo wood, but any incense that you feel is appropriate will work just fine. If nothing else, the simplest moist incense made from honey and yellow sandalwood is a fine choice.