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A BRIEF HISTORY OF INCENSE AND SPIRITUALITY
By Jason Damisch
Incense has of course been with us from ancient times. We have all heard of the spice trade of antiquity. What is less well known is that
what we think of as incense, has in the past had a myriad of other uses. We today think of incense
as something to bring an agreeable fragrance to our surroundings. Yet, the ancients used these substances for such things as
seasoning, food preservatives, cosmetics, and perfumes. Above all, however, the substances carried in the
spice trade have in antiquity been used for medicinal and religious purposes. Indeed, even today incense imported from Tibet is
considered primarily to be of use for medicinal purposes. Closely related to this use of incense for
medicinal purposes, is its use in a religious context as such incenses are often still prepared by monks using centuries old ancient
formulas in ritualistic manners.
Our word, Incense, comes from the Latin incensum which literally means "something burnt". This should not be a surprise as the first
and primary means of using incense was through burning. While today incense can be dispersed through
the air by a variety of means including, wands, sticks, cones, charcoal burners, oil burners, even electric strips our forefathers were
more apt to simply allow something to smolder.
Several ideas have been put forth as to why the burning of incense has become synonymous with worship. One is that because God or the
gods are insubstantial, that they may be approached through something which is of little or no substance,
such as incense smoke. Another idea is that prayers can be carried upward by means of incense smoke because incense smoke rises.
Perhaps when animal sacrifice was used, the meat should be prepared in a fashion which would please
a king, as God or the gods were strongly associated with the king, and as such deserved a plethora of well scented and spiced meat as
would befit a king. Some incense ingredients are also spices. Yet another idea is that at the very
beginning of history during the transition between tribal and civil society, a form of shamanism may have still been practiced which may
have involved altered states of consciousness. Some of these states can be produced through mind-altering
substances which can find their way into the bloodstream of the shaman through inhalation. Some substances which have been considered
incense may fall within this category. Of course anything which sets a certain place and time apart
can be used for meditative and contemplative purposes. Incense can delegate a certain space and time apart from the rest of our lives,
to create a mood of relaxation and an atmosphere of repose.
The connection between incense and spirituality can be found in Western society through the story of Jesus of Nazareth as the Three Wise
Men or Magi presented the Baby Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Even further
back reference to incense can be found in the Old Testament.
Exodus 30:34-37
And the Lord said to Moses: Take unto thee spices, stacte, and onycha, galbanum of sweet savour, and the clearest frankincense, all shall
be of equal weight. And thou shalt make incense compounded by the work of the perfumer, well tempered
together, and pure, and most worthy of sanctification. And when thou hast beaten all into very small powder, thou shalt set of it before
the tabernacle of the testimony, in the place where I will appear to thee. Most holy shall this
incense be unto you. You shall not make such a composition for your own uses, because it is holy to the Lord.
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