Daily Cultivation with Sandalwood Incense

Incense makes the sweetest fragrant smoke when burnt, often used for aesthetic reasons, religious and cultural practices, such as mindful meditations and other traditional ceremonies. Made from plant material or aromatic ‘biotic material’, a term used to describe the biological nature of source material that once was living.

Types of Incense

Incense can be categorised into two main types: ‘direct-burning’ or ‘indirect-burning’. Direct-burning incense, otherwise known as ‘combustible incense’, is lit initially by a flame, and typically fanned or blown out, leaving a glowing ember that smolders and releases a smoky fragrance. Cored sticks, which are incense sticks that consist of a bamboo or even sandalwood core coated with incense material are the most used form of incense worldwide. Other types of combustible incense include coils, cones, or incense ropes, which are generally made by rolling incense powder in paper sheets which are then twisted tightly and made into ropes. On the other hand, ‘non-combustible’ incense refers to more powders, paste or a granular mixture of aromatic plant material in their raw form, such as resin. Indirect-burning incense do not contain combustible material, so they are not capable of burning on its own, therefore a separate heat source is required for its use.

Mt Romance Incense and Coils

Incense stick burning is indeed an everyday practice throughout countries such as China, India, and Tibet. In fact, once oil is extracted from our West Australian sandalwood timber, the leftover woodchip material known as ‘spent charge’- which still contains a small amount of oil, gets turned into aromatic incense. At The Sandalwood Shop, we offer two types of direct-burning incense sticks. One made from naturally fallen deadwood, while the other is made from the still supple greenwood that’s purposefully harvested from the standing trees. Not only do the incense create an inviting and relaxing atmosphere, they’re also useful for reducing anxiety and to maintain a balanced state of mindfulness.

Additionally, our Mt Romance Natural Mosquito Sticks made from sandalwood spent charge and eucalyptus citrodora oil is excellent for keeping the mozzies at bay. These mosquito sticks should be matched with our Tall Mosquito Diffuser for optimal performance and mess free use. A box of 20 sticks will provide approximately 60 hours of burn time. If you prefer burning coils, our Natural Mosquito Coils are a good option as well. Be sure to team our Natural Mosquito Coils with our bespoke Mt Romance coil diffuser, a functional unit featuring metal drawers that doubles as storage for extra coils and an ash collector for no fuss cleaning.

Incense can be used as a basic smudging tool- for cleansing the space of accumulated energy within its morphogenic field.  As an extension from this, another lesser-known use of incense includes its application as a ‘smoke cleanser’ for crystals or semi-precious healing stones.

For sure, incense can be burnt simply to appreciate its smell without assigning any specific significance or benefits. However, whether you are using incense simply for creating a pleasantly fragranced environment, to create more mindfulness in your yoga practice or to keep the insects away, burning incense will surely add to your daily life experience in more ways than one.