People have been burning sage, wood and other incense since ancient Egypt and Roman times. Many people would assume that Native Americans and Indigenous people were the first on record to use incense but in fact it goes back further in time. In Egypt and Roman times people would use incense to help treat digestive issues, to help aid in memory problems, to soothe sore throats and other sicknesses that took over villages and cities. In fact, the word sage derived from the Latin word for “Salvia” which means “to feel healthy”, the word frankincense derives from the Old French expression "franc encens", meaning "high-quality incense" and the word rosemary derived from the Latin word Rosmarinus meaning “Dew of the sea”. The magic using these amazing herbs and resins from trees has been known for generations and even could be found depicted in the bible, and paintings of Greek gods and goddesses. One popular painting was the first Aphrodite painting, in that painting you will find rosemary.
In many cultures’ plants are just more than living things, that they believe they have a soul, a spirit and because of such they believe that it was sacred to be working or using them. You would find priests in the churches burning incense like Frankincense and Myrrh to cleanse the air-purifying any illness that may have came in and clearing the energy for the holy spirit. Once people saw the benefits these amazing herbs and wood from these plants did many people would plant these beautiful herbs in their gardens and use them for tea’s, cooking’s, spiritual rituals and ceremonies, cleansing a person or space, and use them to help promote healing. Young women would be found wearing a crown of these beautiful herbs and wood on their wedding days in hopes that it will bring them happiness and a true lasting love with blessings from the gods and goddesses.
If you’re not familiar with using incense and would like to know how you can incorporate these into your life that’s wonderful. Burning incense is a beautiful thing that I believe everyone should be doing as it helps on many levels. Common plants that can be used to burn (smudge) in your home is Rosemary, Lavender, Sage, Frankincense, Myrrh, Palo Santos, Cedar, Sweet Grass, Juniper, Roses, Mugwort, Tobacco, Sandalwood, Pine, and Copal. You can either grow some of these yourself and when it comes to harvesting time bundle them together with some string and hang them to dry. If you don’t want to grow them yourself then you could buy them from stores in either in bundles, loose-leaf or in the form of Incense Sticks. Burning these wonderful magical herbs and wood will help purify the air of toxic particles, cleanse negativity, unwanted energy and spirits. In return you will feel less stress, it will help increase your memory, sweep away unwanted nightmares and uneasiness, help sooth anxiety and depression and overall boost your mood. You can even use it to cleanse your crystals and belongings of unwanted energy too. All you need to do is take the incense or smudge stick of herbs, place them into an abalone shell or a fireproof bowl and smolder the embers until you get a good amount of it lit. Then blow it out and let the smoke flow over the items or take a feather and direct the smoke throughout the home or person.