Aldarnay - Fumigations for the Seven Planets

Incense has a long history of use in religious andmagical practices, whether burnt as offerings to deities orspirits, used to enhance workings or to add a required atmosphereto a ritual. Incense comes in various differing types depending onwhere it comes from; some of the most commonly accessible forms arethe ever popular incense/joss stick, cones, self-lighting andfinally loose grain incense, which will be the focus of thisessay.

When workingwith planetary spirits, I have found that incense works well asboth an offertory substance, and as a vehicle through which thespirit can manifest lengthy or troubled manifestations can bequickly resolved by the combustion of appropriately blended incenseoffered up before the spirit on which you are calling.

The recipes in this essay have beencomplied using the writing of Cornelius Agrippa, the author of thefamous Three Books of Occult Philosophy . Inthese books, Agrippa outlines the history of and working behindmuch western magic including lengthy chapters dedicated to theinfluences of the 7 classical planets (the Sun, the Moon, Mars,Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn) on the world, and theirapplications in magical working. This shows the importance of the 7classical planets in magic, a theme which is found in texts datingas far back as the Picatrix , books on whichAgrippa drew heavily when creating his own writings.

He breaks downthe animal, mineral and vegetable worlds by their planetary rulers,and in many instances gives reasons why said thing is ruled by itsgiven planet. This is invaluable to modern occultists who need tofill in gaps or backwards engineer/ formulate their own recipesfor various purposes. Whilst many of objects he gives are ruled bymultiple planets, there is often a reason for this given, and thisenables the modern practitioner to pick specific ingredients thatbetter suit their purpose. It also assists with the creation ofincenses, oils, etc. that are of a mixed nature, for workings whichrequire more than one planetary influence.

Agrippaactually gives the recipes for several incenses in the Books of Occult Philosophy (Book I, Chapter XLIV),which will be listed later in this pamphlet; however, owing to theinclusion of many animal parts or poisonous ingredients, manypractitioners may feel perturbed at creating these recipes in theiroriginal form which is why I have suggested alternatives based onthe principles laid down by Agrippa himself.

Before you start to blend your ownincense, make sure you have some of, if not all of, the followingpieces of kit:

A selection ofbowls or plates for storing ingredients during the process, andmixing ingredients

A pestle andmortar very important, used for the grinding of ingredients its worth having a selection of these; I would recommend one forregular ingredients, one for baneful ingredients and one formineral ingredients this way you avoid damaging any of them andavoiding cross contamination.

A nutmeg grater a slightly more unusual thing to be included here, howeverinvaluable for getting dust from roots, tubers and variouswoods.

A mixer (woodenstirrer, small spatula, etc.) for blending ingredients together;try not to use metal if possible as it reacts with variousessential oils, etc.

Sealable bagsor jars for storing the finished product.

One place wherepeople often fall down with incense making is the inclusion of toomuch herbal matter in their blends. The best incenses I have comeacross have been mostly retinoid, i.e. comprised mostly from plantresins such as frankincense or copal. These burn steadily and giveoff their scent as they do so, whereas herbs tend to end upsmelling like burning leaves, and do not retain their natural scentduring combustion to this end adding essential oils for scent ishighly recommended (but more on this later).

In myexperience, incense should be comprised of no less than 60% resin the higher the percentage of resin, the better the incense willsmell and the longer it will burn for. The more herbs you include,the more likely the incense is to smell of wood smoke or burningleaves than it will give off a pleasant scent. Whilst this is notthe end of the world if you are using ingredients for a purelysymbolic reason, it is a largely recognised fact that spirits areattracted to good smelling incense, so bear this in mind whenmaking your own blends. Similarly, if you are using a certain plantor herb in your incense, think about which parts of the plant willburn best, rather than heaping your charcoal with leaves; perhapsthe plant produces a resin of its own, or it has a particularlyfragrant root or bark. Rather than just going with the more easilyavailable leaf or flower, think about what will work best for yourchosen blend.

Anotherfrequent mistake people make when blending their own incenses isthat they grind the ingredients too finely. Incense that has theconsistency of table salt will not burn properly; in fact it willmost likely just burn completely if placed directly onto charcoal.In my experience, make sure the resin components of your incenseare no finer than coarse sea salt, this way they will melt and letoff their scent steadily.

We have now reached the practical sideof this booklet, the actual recipes. Below you will find severalrecipes for incenses relating to each of the 7 classical planets inturn. I have presented my own recipes alongside the original onesgiven by Agrippa, and have also included additional notes from the Books of Occult Philosophy , so you canbegin to formulate your own recipes or tweak or modify those given.Also in this section is a little background on each of the planetsand their magical roles to help you decide which incense will bestserve your needs.

It is worthpointing out that Agrippa does not include measurements for theingredients in his recipes, I would advise people recreating hisrecipes to use some common sense here, and try to include moreresins, and less of the herbal or organic substances he gives.

The Sun is the emperor of the planets he is thegrand high power of the 7 planets and his areas of influence arevaried and exalted. The Sun and its associated entities are calledon for all manner of things including, but not limited to: dignity,promotion, self-betterment, prophecy, visibility and invisibility,and the suppression of pride and arrogance. Call on the powers ofthe Sun to be well received and looked upon kindly by others,especially those in a better position than yourself. The sun canhelp you gain respect from others as well as respect for yourself,and it can help you achieve authority over those around you. It canalso inspire ambition and forward momentum towards your goals.

Agrippasrecipe:

We make asuffumigation for the Sun in this manner, viz. of saffron,ambergris, musk, lignum-aloes, lignum-balsam, the fruit of thelaurel, cloves, myrrh, and frankincense, all of them being bruised,and mixed in such a proportion as may make a sweet odor, must beincorporated with the brain of an eagle, or the blood of a whitecock, after the manner of pills or trochists