Over time, we build up a lot of correspondences in our head – color, elemental, planetary, Qabalistic, you name it. Making our own incense by hand lets us intuitively access all those lovely links. The experience itself can be extremely meditative. Every twist of the pestle over the ingredients in the mortar is a chance to reaffirm an intention. Like many things, the difference between the process being magickal or mundane is really determined by perspective… and you’ll get out of it what you put in.
Now that we’ve got all that flowery stuff out of the way, what exactly is “pill incense”? I haven’t seen it mentioned frequently in occult literature, but Agrippa does use the term in his Three Books of Occult Philosophy (albeit, once), by stating,
We make a suffumigation for the Sun in this manner, viz., of saffron, ambergris, musk, lignum aloes, lignum balsam, the fruit of the laurel, cloves, myrrh, and frankincense; all which being bruised and mixt in such a proportion as may make a sweet odor, must be incorporated with the brain of an eagle, or the blood of a white cock, after the manner of pills or troches.
Three Books of Occult Philosophy, page 132
A pill is easy enough to picture. A troche (or “pastille”), much like a lozenge, is a hard tablet that slowly dissolves under the tongue. Just imagine something about the size and shape of a cough drop that is made out of herbs, resin, and oil – but don’t eat it.
Simply put, pill incense (or “after the manner of pills”) is a technique where your dry ingredients are combined with a liquid binder, then the mix is shaped and allowed to dry. Many cultures from places all around the world, including Japan and Egypt, have a method that is very similar to this. For fun and further information, check out Bakhoor, Kyphi, and Japanese Kneaded Incense.
Before we begin, let’s go over a few guidelines. First, the ingredients are measured in parts by volume, not weight, before pulverization. Herbs, plant parts, or other ingredients can be ground into a fine powder, but resins should only be ground until they start to resemble coarse sea salt. One issue that occurs with loose, very finely ground incense, is that it will immediately smoke and burn all at once when it hits the charcoal. If instead you leave small chunks of resin, they will have a chance to melt before they burn, which will make your incense last longer. If you’re having difficulty grinding up harder plant parts like bark, you can try a nutmeg grinder, but it’s okay if not all of your plant material is completely pulverized.
Generally speaking, a more resinous incense will be more fragrant and produce less smoke, so try to make sure that the “resin to other ingredients” ratio in your recipe weighs a little heavier on the resin side. A ratio of 2:1 produces a very nice end result, but uses lots of resin. A ratio of 3:2 is a good minimum. Anything less and there is a high chance the mix will be too smoky.
Finally, remember that everything I’ve said is just a guideline. There’s really no right or wrong way to make incense.
Let’s get started! Here’s my circle incense blend. We’ll be following this recipe step-by-step.
- 3 Parts Frankincense
- 3 Parts Myrrh
- 3 Parts Benzoin
- 1 Part Dragon’s Blood
- 2 Parts Lavender Flower
- 1 Part Rose Petal
- 1 Part White Willow Bark
- 1 Small Pinch Powdered Cinnamon
- 1 Part Sandalwood Oil
For my parts measurement, I’m using a “heaping” scoop with a tiny espresso spoon. It amounts to approximately 1 tsp per part, but you can increase or decrease as desired.
Step 1:
Pulverize the dry plant ingredients, then set them aside. You can do this all at once or individually. I prefer to start with the bark because it’s the most difficult, and I save the pinch of cinnamon for the end. If you have an intention or specific purpose in mind, now is the time to focus on it clearly. Chanting also works.
Personal Note: Through trial and error, I have discovered that significantly increasing the amount of cinnamon makes for an excellent exorcism incense. It will banish spirits from the room… and people too. I say “one pinch” here to denote a quantity that almost just conveys the idea of cinnamon being in the mix.
Step 2:
Grind the resin to the consistency of coarse sea salt.
Tip: Smashing the resin is sometimes better than twisting and grinding. I usually cover the opening of the mortar with my left hand and tap the pestle with my right – this catches most of the fragments that would otherwise fly all over the room.
You can see my two separate piles of ingredients here, with the crushed resin on the left and the pulverized plant material on the right. My resin pile is still somewhat chunky and there is a bit more of it than plant material. I would estimate we’re around the 2:1 ratio here with our pulverized piles.
Step 3:
Recombine all ingredients, mixing together with a spoon, but do not grind any further.
This is also a great time to cup your hands over your ingredients and firmly visualize your intention impregnating the mix.
Step 4:
Slowly begin adding drops of oil, one drop at a time, and swirl or squish the mixture around with a spoon. The mixture should just start to look wet where the oil hits.
In this picture you can see a few drops of oil that have hit the mix. They tend to ball up immediately, which is why it’s a good idea to spread them around with the spoon and see how the process is going.
Each oil will react differently – some are more viscous and sticky than others. For this mix, I used about 25-30 drops of Australian Sandalwood.
Step 5:
Give a few final passes with the pestle. This is not to grind your ingredients further, but to squish the oil around. The oil tends to ball up when it hits the powdered mix and the pestle will help evenly distribute it throughout the entire mixture. Notice how the color has changed between this picture and the previous step. It’s almost like spotting the difference between dry dirt and freshly watered soil.
Step 6:
Compress into pills. Take a scoop of the mixture and press it firmly together. I use a rosin pre-press for this, but I have also used measuring spoons. My press makes discs that are 7/8″ (22mm) in diameter. They’re slightly smaller than a quarter in diameter. I aim for a height ballpark of 1/4’’
Dulytek Cylinder Pre-Press
Huzzah!
Step 7:
Allow each pill to dry. While you wait, contemplate the nature of the universe. Perhaps order a pizza. Incense-making always builds up an appetite.
The pills may be fragile while still wet. They should start to firm up after a day.
These should each burn for 20-30 minutes when placed on charcoal. I actually timed it just so I could give you a number. Obviously any small changes (like shape, size, ingredients, etc) will alter the burn time.
Be sure to make this particular recipe in the hour of Venus, on the Day of Mars, and when the moon is waxing in Leo. Just kidding. Make it whenever you want and have fun!
Works Cited:
Agrippa, Henry Cornelius. “Three Books of Occult Philosophy.” Chapter XLIV – The Composition of Some Fumes Appropriated to the Planets. Ed. Donald Tyson. St Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2004.
Aerik Arkadian 
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