Resin Incense Magical Correspondences

Benzoin

Resins are plant and tree saps that either bleed naturally from their organic sources forming beads or tears, or are extracted in some way and come in peas.  There are a lot of commercial and practical uses of resins, ranging from glues to varnishes, perfumery to food additives, but I’m not going to concern myself with those applications today.  As is usual here in Thornesworld, we’ll be talking about magick.

Resin is incense in its most pure and natural form. Resin incense has been used for thousands of years and is still used today in religious ceremonies around the world and across many cultures. They’re also just wonderful anytime for the delicious and pure scents they release as they melt/burn. Resin smoke is fragrant, pure and very intense so only a small amount is needed – even a small bag will go farther than you think.  

Some resins are harder to find than others and can be very expensive. It’s also sometimes difficult to be sure one is actually getting what one is paying for, so you may not find all resins available in my shop.  Until I’m sure, I just don’t buy.  I try really hard to source my resins ethically and make sure to know the province of my resins. It’s just good magick, y’all. 

When burning resins you will need a heat resistant container, preferably with a heavy layer of sand in the bottom, and charcoal tablets to burn the granules over. Some of the chunks may be more than you wish to burn all at once. Try a small piece at a time and add more as needed.  The resins may be crushed using a mortar and pestle, or chopped with a sharp knife or shaved with a razor into smaller pieces or even pulverized into a fine powder for easy measurement. Be aware that powder will burn faster and produce more smoke, quickly.

You can experiment with making your own loose incense blends, adding resins to crushed herbs, aromatic woods and essential oils, (I’ll cover that in another post), or just enjoy pure resin for its particular magickal purposes and scent.

I’ve put together a few magical correspondences for you.  They are partly from various sources like Cunningham and Wylundt, much from my own experience and magical use of these resins along with a sprinkling of random folklore.  I wondered a bit about adding the gender info, because really the gender of these resins (like so many wonderful things and creatures) tend to be somewhat fluid, depending on the the way they’re being employed, and the purpose to which they are being used. So do feel free to either utilize, change or ignore the gender correspondences.

White Copal – Indonesia

Copal is sometimes called young amber, and it’s said that it becomes darker and more golden as it ages toward the deep golden hue of true amber.  True amber, however, is the fossilized resin of plant material from the cretaceous age (and younger) and interestingly, true amber resin has very little scent, even when heated under very specific conditions.  The scent we think of as amber is in reality various blends of resins and essential oils.

Gender: Masculine

Planet: Sun

Element: Fire

Uses: Attraction, celebration, clearing, cleansing, inspiration, invocation, happiness, purification, love, protection, exorcism, meditation, cleansing stones/crystals

Mayan Copal – (Gold or Black Copal) – Mexico

Resins from Thorne’s World Arts

Gender: Masculine

Planet: Jupiter

Element: Fire

Uses: Consecration, contact other planes, exorcism, increase spell power, meditation,  spell breaking, protection

Frankincense – (Gum Olibanum Tears) – Ethiopia (Boswellia carterii)

Gender: Masculine

Planet: Sun

Element: Fire

Uses: Courage, joy, protection, purification, consecration, exorcism, Solar rituals, honoring solar deities, meditation, luck, to induce visions, peace, relaxation, assist in psychic development & spiritual growth, clairvoyance, divination, spell power, strength, inspiration, knowledge, magick,  satisfaction, success, spell breaking, wisdom

Myrrh – (Commiphora Myrrha) – Ethiopia

Gender: Masculine

Planet: Sun

Element: Fire

Uses: Brighten disposition, compassion, consecration, healing, exorcism, increases powers of other incense in blends, spell breaking, success, transformation, wealth

Opopanax – Sweet Myrrh – (Commiphora Guidotti) – Kenya Small Pea Exudation Resin

Gender: Feminine

Planet: Moon & Dark Moon

Element: Water

Uses: Protection, healing, grief healing, exorcism, moon rites, to honor moon goddesses,  honor the dead, shadow work, purification, meditation, contemplation, raising energy/vibrations, increases powers of other incense in blends, healing, bless and consecrate spaces, places and items

Arabic Gum

Arabic Gum – (Acacia Senegal)

Gender: Masculine

Planet: Sun

Element: Fire

Uses: Contact with other planes, calling up the dead, harmony, gain, increase spell power, insure agreements/contracts/pacts, attract money, peace, purification, protection, psychic development, growth & awareness, psychic powers, spirituality, tranquility, money, platonic love

Benzoin – Loban Gum – (Lindera Benzoin) – Sumatra

Gender: Feminine

Planet: Venus

Element: Air

Uses: cleansing, exorcism, harmony, inspiration, knowledge, love, memory, peace, peace of mind, protection, psychic protection, purification, prosperity, spell breaking, tranquility, wisdom, also used to marry/blend other scents/resins.

Dragon’s Blood – Daemomorops draco,

Dragon’s Blood

or Dracaena draco (Canary Islands) (a softer ball of resin sourced from fruit), or Dracaena cinnabari (Socotra, Somalia), Croton draco (Mexico)

Gender: Masculine

Planet: Mars

Element: Fire

Cleansing, clearing, exorcism, courage, magickal protection, money, luck, personal power,  increases the potency of magickal workings, aid in returning lost love, energizing psychically, magickally and spiritually, health, virility, to raise sexual energy and to cure impotency.  Mix with other resins and/or herbs to enhance their energy and aid in blending

I’m still on the hunt for Storax/Styrax (which is a confusing quest of language, culture, history and misinformation) and may end up using the nest best thing, which is Siam Benzoin (Styrax tonkinensis). I have found a good source for Labdarum and Balsam, but I’m afraid it’s pricey and not in the shop budget just yet. Contact me if you’re interested in these two.  If I get enough interest, I’ll get some, but be prepared!

Blessed be,

93

In Light and Shadow,

~Thorne  

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