Incense And The Spirit World: All You Need to Know Before You Burn It

This year 2021 marks 10 years since the inception of this blog. I wrote a post in May celebrating this milestone and thanking all of you who read, comment, share and contact me, but I was told by spirit not to post it. I am always obedient to spirit, so I did as I was told. Later they told me why.

This blog has been a saving grace for me, and I continued to write when dictated to, even though I never knew anyone was ever reading it. I have healed a lot since I began blogging about my life, and I have grown extremely with every post and discussions with you all. I know Embracing Spirituality has also played a major role in the spiritual development of many others who have discovered it.

Today’s post is about incense, its metaphysics and its benefits. There are so many things in the world to aid mankind, but they are often not taught about in the correct way and many people who use it are often unaware of the depths of what they are partaking of. In spirituality, the use of incense is very important as ritual, whether you are of the Christian or Catholic religion, Occult, or otherwise, incense is always ritualistically important.

What Does Incense Do?

Many people burn incense for many different reasons, but whatever the reason, the result is always the same.

Burning incense of any kind is a bridge between the human world and the spirit world.

There are many seemingly everyday things that Spirit will immediately react to, such as alcohol, fire, water, music, fragrance, drums, rice water, blood, oracles, to name a few. The burning of incense creates a link that brings the human closer to contact with Divinity. Whenever humans partake of any of these “spiritual links”, there are invisible spiritual doors, portals/vortexes, that will open, and almost instantaneously Forces will respond or react to the shift in vibration, whether or not this was your intention.

This is why it is important to know what vibrations radiate forth from certain types of incense before you decide on burning it, because each varying vibration will attract different types of spirits, and some carry a higher frequency of vibration that is not easily handled by most humans.

In every culture you will find incense burning. The Chinese burns it to honor their ancestors at their shrines. In Asian temples they are found burning everywhere, even in my own country, Jamaica, no one dare move into a new house before “burning it out” to remove negative energies. When certain spiritual practitioners give baths, they will pass an incense burner around the client or around the bath that is prepared. At times there are certain rituals done with incense alone where it is specifically passed in a certain way around the spiritually afflicted with the intention to remove whatever is blocking the persons way or causing them general malaise.

In my own personal work, I use incense daily for as long as I can remember. When I was being taught by my non-physical elders, the mysteries of incense was one of my lessons. I can only share what I am permitted to on the world wide web, but the depth of what I know will be reserved to be passed down or handed over to worthy students who may happen to find me along their life’s journey.

Now, as soon as light (fire) is used to activate the incense, two things will occur:

1. Smoke arises
2. Smoke and fire bring forth fragrance

These are very important actions because the fire, smoke, color, and fragrance acts individually and collectively as a spiritual message and door opener. Everything about the incense, including the color of the smoke, color of the incense itself, the direction the smoke blows, and the odor that comes forth are all a spiritual language. What they communicate is unknown to the unconscious human who sees only a burning stick or resin with a pleasant aroma, but to the knowledgeable, a message is being conveyed and he should know the result to expect.

All things that we see and know here in this reality we call Earth are but a manifestation of Spirit. However, the sleeping mind is limited and can not conceive what the invisible realm has or even how it functions, so when the invisible world materializes into this world, it materializes into a lower, denser form of itself. If it looks like a Lion in the realm of spirit, it will materialize here as a cat, or sometimes lesser. This is not an exact example, but I use it for you to understand the lower nature of how humans perceive things when they arrive in physical form from a higher order.

The Smoke

When you light an incense, you never want to see a weak smoke.

The smoke that arises from the incense should be strong or thick, and as it rises it should spread in swirls. What this means as the smoke is swirling is that more and more energies manifesting from the invisible world is gaining access to your environment and whatever it is that you are lighting the incense for, i.e. cleansing, pulling positive energy, meditation, etc. Therefore a weaker smoke means a weak connection to the invisible world. And yes, there is a reason for this, too.

When incense is being burned for whatever reason, the spirit itself manifests as the smoke. If the person who is doing this particular ritual is a knowledgeable elder, the smoke will act as an oracle that this Elder can now read, as it will weave a story about what is occurring at the moment or communicate a message regarding the reason the incense was burned. Now, for clarification, the Elder can see the smoke manifest in this reality as he looks at it, or the message from the smoke will be communicated to him telepathically or through the mind. This is how powerful incense is.

The smoke being the most important for lighting the incense, activates best when prayer is applied while the incense is burning.

For this, I would like you all at any time you wish, to light some incense and pray as you burn it, and watch the difference in the smoke and how it moves as you pray. If you do this experiment, come back with your observations in the comments!

The Fragrance

Not all fragrance/odors from incense are pleasant, and there are reasons for this also. But before I go into this topic, you should know that burning incense is one of the most effective ways of spiritual communication, and it should always be used during any spiritual practices as it is a door opener.

Frankincense and Myrrh are some of the most popular types of incense, especially among the Christianized world. However, it is rarely known among many that these two types of incense have two opposing symbols, and is therefore not to be burned together. One is of Life and the other of Death; one of Light, the other of “darkness”; Frankincense is of Light, balance, restoration, etc.; Myrrh is of Darkness, Death, etc.

But do not be confused by the words “darkness” and “death”, or “light” and “restoration”, because to call forth a particular result, it is the way these symbols are used that is important. Myrrh, in its darker symbolism, is a wonderful banishing agent, but when used wrongly, it will attract the negative Forces rather than banishing them. But when two opposing energies are mixed with the intention of “cleansing” or “banishing”, confusion, instead, is the result.

When it comes to fragrance, all things sweet and smelling good attracts spirits, and, likewise, all things with offensive odors does the same — the difference is in the types of spirits they attract. Frankincense has a particular scent that is perhaps, otherworldly to say the least, and it takes some getting used to. But when you do, the fragrance is attractive and it is excellent in removing negative energies.

However, when incense of any type is being burned and persons around can not stand the odor, there are reasons for their disgust unbeknownst to them. It may seem to be due to their own preference of smells, but it is not they who dislikes the fragrance, but their spirit instead.

Remember that a spiritual message is conveyed when incense is burned, and depending on the message sent forth, it may repel those whose spirits or intentions are contrary to the message.

Thus, a person of pure heart may be repelled by darker odors, and those of a malevolent nature may be immediately repelled by incense of Light. But in any of your observations, always take heed to apply wisdom.

As stated before, fragrance itself carries its own vibration and the scents that come forth are the sensible manifestations of the invisible energy. Everything perceptive about the incense, including the fragrance, are physical manifestations of what the physical eyes can not see.

Incense is more than just sage and Frankincense. Anything from the smoke of meat on the grill, the smoke from a cigar (dark forces), the smoke from marijuana (prophetic forces), burning fire wood (nature forces), and so much more, are all forms of incense burning in the sense that they all attract a particular force, and yield a particular result.

The Fire

Fire is mysterious and it is the activator and “life giver” in all things. Fire in burning incense is what opens the door, and it is also what closes the door, for it is the last to depart when the incense burning is complete.

So the next time you light incense, keep in mind that there is a lot happening in the action that you have just taken, even if you are lighting it to remove the ganja smoke from your environment so your landlord doesn’t smell it.

Incense Burning Tips:

1. Burning incense in a condenser (incense burner) is always best for purification or ritualistic reasons. Stick incense are okay for ancestral veneration, however if you are venerating your ancestors by celebration, it should be done with an incense burner.
2. It is also my advice to use a blazing red-hot charcoal, encouraging a stronger smoke, to burn your incense.
3. If you are using incense for purification of your home or environment, it is always best to start from the back of the house or environment and work your way to the front, leaving the container at the front entrance to finish burning. Never go from front to back if you are trying to banish or dispel negative energies. The opposite is true for attracting positive energies, prosperity, or goodness, then burn the incense from the front of the house towards the back.
4. Ritualistically incense should be burned constantly to keep a purified space. Every 3 months is good, but every month is preferable. If you do not know what to use, Frankincense is a good start (used alone).
5. Burning incense can also act as a revelation tool. It is good for those who have difficulty remembering dreams, and also for revealing negative invisible entities in the forms of particular insects, ashes, or other mysterious things that may suddenly appear after burning incense for purification.
6. NOTE: Know that the results from incense works with many different things here in this reality, such as time, conductor (what the incense is burned in), the prayer, and more. So if you are burning incense for positivity, ensure that everything else in the ritual is aligned with the same intention. Therefore if you are burning incense for calm and peace, it would not make much sense to be clothed in full black or full red, or to be in an argument, or to be having dark thoughts while burning the incense. Because as soon as the fire ignites the incense, doors will open and the result from your ritual is wholly dependent on what the ritual consisted of and the message that you are sending as well.

Whenever we do anything spiritual, lighting a candle, burning incense, prayers, etc. these actions assist in your elevation and spiritual ascension. But performing even simple rituals incorrectly can have the opposite effect, and block one’s way or cause destruction in some form. Apply wisdom before partaking in anything ritualistic, so that you avoid wondering why arguments keep happening, or illnesses, or stagnation, bad news, disappointments, or financial lacking, etc. Despite the “cleansing” you have been doing. Although life must be balanced, many errors are made of our own ignorance, and where they can be avoided, they should be.

We are all here for our spiritual growth through experiences, learn well and teach from what you have learned.

Love and Light!

Obara Meji

PS: For people who light stick incense or any incense for intimacy or just for pleasant scents, or for any reasons other than spiritual reasons, know that all that is written here still applies to the action, regardless if your intentions are spiritual or purely for your own enjoyment.

PPS: The ashes from incense are also very useful and powerful! But we will explore that another time…

“The growth of one’s spirituality may seem very slow, but it can be hastened with the addition of patience.”

Franz Hartmann