Today’s recipe is the last for this winter series–it’s also the final item I’m making and sharing to use in my 2017 Yule ritual.
This is incense for the longest night, essentially an aromatic altar offering for Yule.
Stick incense using essential oils can easily be made using incense stick blanks. Since a friend first shared how relatively easy it is to make one’s own incense cones with makko powder, I have actually begun doing that for incense cones in my custom and seasonal spell kits–homemade cone incense is noticeably superior in its quality and more straightforward for large batches.
In the interest of not making more than I need for this recipe, however, I’m using blank incense sticks here–one to open the circle, one to offer, and one to close the circle. If you want to create more than one or two sticks (or use the base blend for other uses, like in a diffuser) you could also make a stock blend.
The base blend is simple: 15 drops Boswellia sacra, 7 drops Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), and 5 drops Palo Santo (Bursera graveolens) per stick.
You can drop your essential oils right onto the stick– about 25 drops total per stick should do it.
Allow them to cure overnight to let the scents synergize and settle. Burn as you would typical incense.
Overall, this blend is protective, nurturing, and calming–it facilitates our making the connection we desperately long for (but may be too weary to seek).
Frankincense creates safe space for meditation and quiets the turbulence of logic as we seek to connect our highest mind to something bigger than ourselves.
Cypress, my old friend, is a glorious support for navigating change, enduring transitions, and remaining whole during major disruptions to our emotional and psychic bodies.
It purifies, enlivens, and encourages, too.
