Incensemaking.com

As far as aromatherapy goes, there have been a number of studies but none of the research so far has proven the claimed effects to actually exist, at least beyond the general mood improvements that people often get in response to scents they like.

It is quite possible that some essential oils do really have some beneficial effect that has not yet been proven, but it is also a distinct possibility that many of the benefits people claim to have gotten can be attributed to the placebo effect.

The most concrete benefit you are likely to see is that people tend to find pleasant scents to be relaxing, so if you find an incense that you really enjoy that alone can be enough to improve your state of mind. I would suggest focusing more on the scents you personally find to be enjoyable rather than any specific claimed benefits.

Do it! This monastery makes incense and home censers

https://www.holycross.org/collections/incense-worship

I can't really answer it. I would like to know myself but sharing what I thought about it a few years ago. I thought it was cool but it looked un natural the way the smoke goes and looks. I thought not to buy it.

Here is a website that has articles on spiritual vibrations of many things we do in our life. https://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/about-us/what-we-offer/

to me as long as i am not attempting to cast spells or anything like that, i can lawfully dive into what we think of as “spiritual” today. specifically with incense, many of its benefits are comparable to aromatherapy and there’s nothing wrong with that. for things like this though, it’s always best to just reflect on your intentions.

Yes

Symbolically, burning incense is representative of prayers ascending to God. It would be like having a cross on your shelf to remind you of what Jesus did for you.

If you feel the wish to burn incense, then go ahead. My only proviso would be manufacturer steer clear of the cones and sticks as they can contain some quiet nasty chemicals like formaldehyde.

Pure resin incense on charcoal would be okay, and remember that frankincense and myrrh were resins that were brought to Jesus, so it's okay. My favourite blends come from Prinknash Abbey, a Christian group based in the UK, but ship worldwide. My all time favourite is "God's Smile" - an ancient recipe that is used by the Coptic church iirc.

I've used incense on hundreds of occasions when in my prayer room as well as in church services (including Baptist and Methodist churches, once we'd had a grown up conversation about incense and Christianity). For me, it lifts my mood and helps me focus on knowing God's presence.

It's one of those "If it works for you, great. If not, don't bother". You'll not go to Hell for using incense, and it's only puritanical folk that deny the senses which will attempt to demonize the use of incense today with pseudo biblical reasons why it shouldn't be used.

Enjoy!

Smoke offering is considered to be pleasing to the gods. They don't need to eat, drink, or obtain sustenance, so the things we give them are sensory or good will gifts. Basically they like the smell. Classically these incenses were often exotic and expensive, and so considered high status and especially nice to give.

I offer incense of various kinds. I don't love myrrh, but it's indicated for certain gods and rituals. Where my religious practice overlaps with my witchcraft practice there can sometimes be really funky stuff being burned.

Smoke cleansing is popular now, but is a classical, if less common, practice to Greek religion. Normally purification by water was preferred.

Try mastic or pine (Aleppo, Greek fir, or black pine) resin (native to Greece) rather than frankinsense (not native to Greece, but they traded for it). Or burning bay leaves (or making your own incense from it) would work well, as bay laurels are associated with him, cypress too (you can buy incense from vendors for these two as well).

Restina is a wine flavored with Aleppo pine resin that is widely considered the Greek national wine.

I don't smudge as smudging is a word associated with Native American practices.

I do burn herbs, incense, and resin (I have some burning now). Burning resin is done with a small charcoal disk with resin placed directly on the live coal. I prefer copal. I use them as offerings.

Interestingly, in mythology Helios transformed Leucothoe into a frankinsense tree. Maybe it's a misinterpretation that confuses Apollo with Helios?

The frankincense is for Apollo, not you. I don't care for the smell of storax, but I'll burn it for Dionysus or Hades because storax is an offering in which they delight.

Look at it this way - the Frankincense was Apollo's first. The religious use of incenses generally and frankincense in particular predates Christianity by millenia.

The Church(es) do not have a monopoly on pleasant scents to please or link you with the divine.

Why wouldn't it be appropriate?

The scent of frankincense reminding you of Christianity is something I faced when I left Catholicism. Let me share some advice with you.

At first, when I was going through my agnostic atheist phase after de-converting, I had a literal pound of frankincense. I used to burn it while saying Vespers or Compline. Not wanting to waste it, I burned it JUST for its aromatic qualities in that period of non-belief.

Since I adore history, I began researching the use of incense in Antiquity and found that (like u/Fit-Breath-4345 mentioned) the use of frankincense dates back as far as the Sumerians, possibly even earlier. While sitting there enjoying the scent and smoke rising, it ignited my imagination, and I let my mind wander.

I was thinking of sun-drenched streets bustling with life, cats stealing fish from a merchant’s stock in the market, dogs barking at those passing by, and livestock in pens, whipping a fly with their tail. In this daydream, I imagined copious amounts of incense smoke drifting out of a temple dedicated to some ancient god or goddess, hearing a beautiful song being sung to said deity, with a sistrum or rattle accompanying the song.

In no way did that imaginary scene involve smells and bells in a stuffy, restrictive monotheistic sense.

This is what I have learned in my time since tossing Christianity and its toxic worldview to the rubbish heap: That life is utterly beautiful outside of the cage that is Monotheism. Why be free, yet keep looking back at your former enslavement?

My honest opinion? Burn the frankincense to Lord Apollo. Give him an offering that he was given in antiquity, and after a while, you will start to eventually forget the association with Christianity. If you do this, you will one day come to associate the smell with burnt offerings to the Theoi.

Now, because of all that I have described, every time I offer resins during ritual or recitation of the Orphic or Homeric hymns, I think of the gods I am worshipping. NOT some jealous Canaanite storm/war god and his overly zealous ilk of cultists.

Practice is what it takes, friend. Neuroplasticity is an amazing thing, so use that to your advantage.

Edit: grammar and formatting

If you can't burn any sort of incense because of the smoke, then you can use a diffuser.

Just go to Mass

I don't care if the science is bogus, any excuse for more incense is fine by me

Correlation ≠ causation

In general I would answer with correlation doesn't mean causation but the correlation is not even there - the distribution of incense use per country is very much not like the distribution of depression.

Also makes sense why I feel better after sniffing my veil (which has absorbed plenty of incense smell lol) on a rough day 😆

Not do your plant any good, that close

And they might hurt ONE leaf doing that ALL DAY EVERY SINGLE DAY..... maybe... I highly doubt they are doing that for longer than a few sticks of incense if that ..

I have loved incense since I was a teen but it wasn't until I was in graduate school that I really understood just how beneficial it is for enhancing focus, stillness, and concentration. I would highly recommend some quality sandalwood sticks to help you in your studies. Good luck in school!

I just made a coffee re heater out of a tin can and a jar ... materials... knife , jar , can , little candle...probably super dangerous to make ,potentially dangerous to use ... and yes I have a microwave... I just like it... Wanted to post a clip of it it looks pretty cool...

So how do you upload video clips like that ... have some stuff I wanted to do that with...

Oh is that the little present box thing?

I burn them for concentration, since the smell is calming and thus I can concentrate more and also for meditation

I started using incense like 3 weeks ago because my room smelled like ass, but now Im burning them for pleasure. My room is dark- covered the window with blankets, and I have a sick gmaing PC with a rasta style light scheme on its LED's, blacklight posters on the wall, a blacklight, and 2 lava lamps 1 red 1 green on either side of my computer monitor. The incense is a nice addition to the room because its calming to see a trail of smoke rising in my peripheral vision.

Smells good. I burn maybe 2-3 times a day.

I sometimes want my room to smell nice.

Sometimes I burn it for religious reasons (an offering to my gods, or a meditation aid), and sometimes just because I like filling my house with lovely scent.

It reminds me of my father. He burned a lot of incense while I was growing up. After he passed, I started burning it as a way to feel close to him again and remember him.

to cover up weed smell from the weed smoking I do 🤤so that ppl don't get a refund.

Because I like the smell

For prayer.

Good smell make brain happy.

But jokes aside, incense smells better than candles, wax melts, air freshener sprays, or other heavily-artificial smelling aromatics.