Amy Blackthorn - Sacred Smoke : Clear Away Negative Energies and Purify Body, Mind, and Spirit.

This edition first published in 2019 by Weiser Books, an imprint of
Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
With offices at:
65 Parker Street, Suite 7
Newburyport, MA 01950

www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2019 by Amy Blackthorn

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red
Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages.

ISBN: 978-1-57863-680-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.

Cover and interior design by Kathryn Sky-Peck

Cover image using photo by Serena Williamson /Alamy Stock Photo

Typeset in Centaur

Printed in Canada

MAR

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

www.redwheelweiser.com/newsletter

To the Adventures of Friends,
the Friends I Have Adventures with,
and the Grand Adventure that Is Life.

This book contains advice and information relating to herbs and stones, and is not meant to diagnose, treat, or prescribe. It should be used to supplement, not replace, the advice of your physician or other trained healthcare practitioner. If you know or suspect you have a medical condition, are experiencing physical symptoms, or if you feel unwell, seek your physician's advice before embarking on any medical program or treatment. Some of the substances discussed in this book are toxic and can be lethal if mishandled or ingested in sufficient quantities. Extreme caution is advised in their handling and use. Readers using the information in this book do so entirely at their own risk, and the author and publisher accept no liability if adverse effects are caused.

I give my warmest thanks to the following:

To my team at Weiser, who take my harebrained schemes and help me develop them into fully formed works of art. To Judika, a dear friend and an incredible editor, who takes my calls at two in the morning. To Sam M, adventurer and friend, forever in pursuit of those book stands. To Josh and Kane, the best cheerleaders and friends anyone could ask for, I love you. To Kristin, thank you for being my 3 a.m. sounding board, my perfume coconspirator, and my dearest friend. To TAM and Whitemarsh Theod for being unwavering bastions of support and love for all these years. To Lori P and the MVers as well as Jesse B at Finding Avalon for embracing my teaching methods and heart. To my own little family, especially Leeloo keeping me company while I wrote this. To the readers who asked for this, thank you.

S o, why incense? Why bathe in the smoke of these fragrant plants, resins, and flowers? Sacred smoke is a tool of magic and of transformation.

Throughout time people have embraced their sense of smell in new and exciting ways, using delicate flowers, plants, and resins to uplift them and open their eyes to the world and the universe. The plants they grew were offered as a dedication, a sacrifice to the gods to have their prayers heard. The ancient Egyptians burned three different incenses morning, noon, and night: frankincense, myrrh, and kyphi. We can see this idea carrying over in more recent times in many indigenous cultures, the Catholic Church, Pagan religions, and New Age practices. And as we've learned more about plants, their practical benefits have also played a part. During World War II, nurses in makeshift hospitals burned bundles of lavender stems to get rid of bad air, as they knew lavender was antiseptic and hoped burning the dried plant would attain the same results. To some extent it did.

No matter your faith, practicing with sacred smoke is a powerful way to make your intentions known and support change in your life. Incense isn't just an alternative to air freshener. Sacred smoke is a shared journey between yourself, the plants around you, and, if you choose, your god or godsit creates an opportunity to experience and listen to the natural rhythm of the earth beneath our feet. This book seeks to connect you with these things.

An argument between friends can be hashed out over calming lavender smoke. A home can find prosperity in the embrace of burning clove powder. Space can be consecrated with the grace and devotional power of cedar. Every ritual or occasion can be tailored to the language of scent.

Sacred smoke isn't required for intention work, rituals, and spells, but it certainly does lend an air of the sacred to separate us from our day-to-day, doesn't it? We need the trappings of good ritual sometimes. It gives a flair for the dramatic in a way that turns off the laundry lists, the honey dos, and the running commentary. And it does all of this in a way that all the social media photo filters in the world couldn't accomplishby opening up the sense that draws most powerfully on our memory and associations. Remember, the magic is in us, not in the candles, cauldrons, wands, or incense.

Magic is a word you'll see a lot here. Magic is causing change in accordance with your will. Magic is the ability to take control of what is happening in your life, shuffle those cards, and deal again to ask for a new hand, from God, the Goddess, the universewhomever.

Burning incense can offer us a retreat-like atmosphere or it can tell us we are that extra in The Craft as we have always secretly imagined. It can distract the five-year-old that lives in the back of all of our brains, yelling for stickers, candy, a movie, or something to color while we do the Work. It gives us permission to let everything else take a back seat, even for a few moments. Most important, it can flip that switch in our brain that quiets the rest of the day and reminds us that now is our time.

What we're doing here isn't just burning plants. We are forming a connection to the earth under our feet. We are connecting to the people around us, in our homes, and in our lives. We are using these plants to remind us that we are alive and that we have agency. We can demand better in our lives, and we require better.

You just need time (not a lot, I promise), energy (just barely more than it takes to get off the couch from your latest streaming binge), and the materials. It's getting the information to know what to do that is the vital partand that's right here in what you're holding, so you're already halfway there.

When we start to delve into the herbal correspondences, the critical part is to not let it get overwhelming. Take it in small pieces. Remember, the goal is not to try to memorize everything. The goal is to work with the plant materials that you enjoy and get to know three or so elements inside and out before moving on to another three. That way you know those herbs or resins and can really start to put them together in new and exciting ways.

This simple way of approaching those plants that make you happy and make your heart sing is much more viable and nourishing than expecting anyone to memorize any books on incense or herbs. That's setting you up for failure, and I'll never do that. Cross my heart.