Sweetgrass: Native Americans have burned braided sheaves of sweetgrass for centuries. It is so scentful, it can also be wafted around as a wand to clear energy without lighting it. Native folks also brew a tea from it to use as an astringent body and hair rinse; you can do this by steeping a tablespoon of the dried chopped sweetgrass for five minutes in a standard teakettle or four cups of boiling water. .It is also used as an adornment woven into braids or as a crown. They go by the philosophy that “strong hair means a strong mind.”This power herb cleanses both body, soul and your home but the highest use is for rituals when you burn it to call forth the ancestors and send away anything unwanted.
Copal: Mexican and South American tribal healers and modern shamans gather this tree resin to employ as ceremonial incense throughout the year. You will still smell the sweetly pungent smoke of copal on Day of the Dead as it helps us connect with our ancestors and loved ones who passed to the other side.While burning it is part of the ritual, it is also believed by shamans and healers to help tap into the spiritual realm. Copal also has the power to bring about total relaxation.
As you may have noticed from your reading, I treasure cinnamon incense. It brings a positive energy to your space, an appealingly sweet and spicy scent. It also brings prosperity and calm. What could be better? This may become one of your favorites, as well as it is truly easy to make.
There are three basic shapes for self-combusting incense.There are cones, masala sticks, and joss sticks.Most incense users are familiar with the cone.It is the shape I generally teach first to new incense makers.Masala sticks are probably the most common form in North America.Masala sticks have a wooden rod (usually bamboo) to support the stick.Although the wooden rod can cause significant problems when the incense burns, it really is the most popular form on this side of the world.The other type of incense stick is the joss stick.Unlike a masala stick, the joss stick has no wooden rod.It is just a solid stick of incense.
Erin Lale
Fellow faculty at Harvard Divinity School posted an open letter to Wolpe in response to his article. It's available on this page, below the call for p...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. The Wild Hunt has a roundup of numerous responses on its site, but it carried this one as a separate article. It is an accoun...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. This one is by a scholar of paganism. It's unfortunately a Facebook post so this link goes to Facebook. She posted the text o...
Erin Lale
Here's another link to a pagan response to the Atlantic article. I would have included this one in my story too if I had seen it before I published it...
Janet Boyer
I love the idea of green burials! I first heard of Recompose right before it launched. I wish there were more here on the East Coast; that's how I'd l...