The Christmas season inevitably raises awareness of two blessed aromatic gifts: frankincense and myrrh. Among the gifts that the Wise Men brought to honor the newborn baby Jesus, frankincense and myrrh resins were precious, sacred, and celebrated.
It’s no wonder frankincense and myrrh come to mind for a holiday resin incense blend.
Pure frankincense resin is a beautiful creamy color. Its the perfect offering for the winter solstice as it honors the Sun.
Purifying, clearing, sanctifying, and meditative, frankincense resin smoking on charcoal is a beautiful ally in prayer and meditation.
Frankincense quiets the mind and facilitates creation of sacred space.
It’s a stunning facilitator of deepening the breath.
In myrrh, we reinforce purifying and sanctifying energies. There’s particular affinity for connection with other worlds, especially the depths of our shadows.
Myrrh encourages recovery, healing, and serenity.
To create a Three Kings incense representing the gifts of the Magi we of course also need to include or represent gold.
Luckily, aromatherapy offers a gorgeous stand-in: opoponax resin.
Opoponax (Commiphora guidotti) resin, like frankincense and myrrh, is sweet, warm, balsamic, resinous, and opening of the breath. It just so happens opoponax resin also looks a whole lot like gold!
So, with opoponax resin standing in for gold, we have three resins representing the Gifts of the Magi for our ground resin incense.
Gifts of the Magi Resin Incense
December 5, 2017
: n/a
: 15 min
: 15 min
: Easy!
A simple resin incense for burning on charcoal featuring frankincense, myrrh, and opoponax (symbolizing the Gifts of the Magi).
Ingredients
- Whole frankincense resin
- Whole myrrh resin
- Whole opoponax resin
- Charcoal for burning
- Heat-safe/sand-based incense burner
Directions
- Step 1 Measure equal parts of each of the three resins in an amount totaling the volume you want to prepare. (I make about 3 ounces at a time, so one ounce of each, for gifts…).
- Step 2 Grind them together to fine in a coffee grinder dedicated to herbs/resin (or a mortar and pestle).
- Step 3 Apply a pinch of the combined ground resins on prepared charcoal on sand in a soapstone or other heatproof charcoal incense burner.
- Step 4 NOTE: Do not leave burning incense unattended. Use only a tiny amount at a time! The smoke from the burning resin can quickly overwhelm a space.
