This Witch's Way - Incense on a Budget 

For someone just learning I think Scott Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs is great!

Boy that takes me back. I used to cover pine cones in wax and different herbs and light them a fire. Couldn't burn them inside but it worked for me for a long time. Thanks for the post

Thank you so much! i'm a student in college and my budget is pretty much non-existent lol, so this is just wonderful, many bright blessings back to you for sharing this! Blessed be )O(

I have also done the cig roll technique but with rolling paper... burns cleaner

I used a natural, bleach free coffee filter. It worked great! I just cut a small rectangle, put my incense in and rolled it up :-)

I learned some of my most powerful incense recipes from Christian friends :) We can all relate to the power of scent and fire and air.

ohhhh what a nifty idea you have there. You could even add glyph and runes to the paper, drop oils on it to add scent and intention, and use different material to set the paper tube in, such as dirt or sand from a sacred spot. i think I'd prefer sand, myself. Love the video

Hands-down this is the best video on making incense I have ever seen! Everyone always uses really expensive things or something you have to buy online, and that’s not always possible from where I am. Thank you thank you thank you so much!!!

this method of burning the incense is soooo much cheaper that using charcoal tabs!! i'm glad i found this video!! THANK YOU!

Green cardamom, whole cloves and sichuan peppercorns set alight and dropped over coarse sea salt in a demiliqueur glass is the elegant way to go.

I'm big on using the resources we have at hand! Correpondence lists can be seen as just the experiences of others regarding magical properties. But there is value to how something is traditionally seen and connecting to that. As long as we permit ourselves an experience of "that isn't what it is for me." Seeing what the general consensus is and experiencing if it resonates the same for us is part of getting to know the botanicals we use. I still seek out new correspondences to try them.

Thanks for this-- Very nice, thoughtful demonstration! I've had mortar and pestle in the past, and now always use a round stone and a wooden bowl; one thing I like on many foods is black peppercorns and cumin together, and I'm quite sure the mix is improved by the stone, which feels like a family member more than an object. I would only add, if you lack a tiny funnel, use some more paper and make a paper funnel, (just another form of your paper tube; tube upon tube seems quite elegant. The funnel can be unrolled again, and kept 2-D t in a drawer for the next time you need it.

I, too, loved your practical teachings and style. If you are a published author, I would love to purchase your works. Lovely ideas, simple yet powerful.

I most definately will give this a go, I love the naturalness of it. Thank you for posting this.

I am working on my first book :) When I publish it I'll be shouting it out on YT so everyone can share in my excitement.

you can use a sheet of paper to make a make shift funnel as long as it is a dry powder.

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I've been practicing for about a year now and i absolutely love incense but of course have a limited budget and availability living in a rural area, I've searched for methods of making my own incense but this by far IS THE BEST AND EASIEST. thank you again! this is literally life changing for me

The lighter paper you use, the less likely to smell it burning. Cigarette papers work great.

Hi Annie, I've seen all of these videos but I came across this one again and had to tell you that this is the very first video I watched on RU-vid to learn to make an easy incense! Thank you again for being you! BB!

I am loving this, I have briquettes of charcoal but I find that I don't burn outdoors much, and indoors, charcoal can get intense very fast, even with ventilation. I've been practicing for YEARS and I'm just now finding this and will definitely try it. Thank you so much!

Fabulous video! Thank you so much for taking the time to pass on these awesome tips . . .

When resins are mixed in with the mixture they tend to have a scent which overcomes any paper smell. Since the paper isn't burning terribly quickly that also keeps down the smell of the burning paper.

Bay leaves sound like the crackling of a fire so relaxing. :)

Absolutely brilliant and so much better than charcoal. Thank you for this!

Love homemade incens and watching how other witches make theirs - maybe you would consider making a new blend and video on this. I enjoyed this very much

Merry Meet!!! You Are Just Such An Awesome Lady & Such A Magickal Person!!! I Absolutely LOVE Watching Your Channel! I Still Consider Myself A "Baby-Witch" & I've Learned SOO Much From Watching Your Channel. I Find Myself Mesmerized While I Watch Your Videos & While I Listen To You Speak. I'm Almost Positive That You've Heard This Before, But You Would Make An AMAZING Teacher! If You Taught Spiritual Classes, I'd Most Definitely Sign Up!!! You Could Write Books!!! I'd Definitely Buy Them! There's Just Something About Your Channel/Video's That's So Peaceful & Easy To Understand! Thank You For Taking The Time To Make Such Wonderful Videos!!! I Know That I Appreciate Them!!! Sending Light, Love, Positivity & Hugs Your Way!!! 😉😘 XOXO Blessed Be ~Opal Raine ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you so much! I did not think of buying spice jars very cheaply like them before. I have added quite a few on my shopping list now, thank you again! Blessed be,

This is fantastic! As I do not have access to the coal bricks, or disks, or the other traditional methods of burning homemade incense, this method is by far the best alternative! Thank you so much!

This is a brilliant method. So simple, elegant, and so very very useful

I wish you would write a book one day, you have so much great practical knowledge on how to DO everything which sometimes feels neglected from many writers out there. This is such a great little trick I am going to have to try it.

I finally got around to testing this. I made it with cigarette rolling papper. I think I will test some more to see if I need two layers of papper or not. But it's really nice and I really like how easy it is and that I can make more blends to my wishes. Thank you a lot for this tip :)

Beginner witch here! This video really helped :) Thank you!

Thanks for sharing! I actually started making incense myself last year. I sold a lot of them at flea markets last year. I'm getting ready to sell them online; also working on original packaging. The only advice I would give to folks is to "soak" (for a couple of days), not "dip" your fragrances and package them in less volume (ie. 20 in a pack). All the while you're marketing how strong the essence/smell is; therefore making a case to sell them at a higher price.

Thank you for this video! Can't wait to dig into my spice cabinet ! Plus your voice was very soothing ! Cheers!

If you don't have a small funnel you can make one out of paper. Use tape or binder clips to keep it together.

I just starting lighting incense, and it truly is an amazing product, and way to make your home smell amazing. Its cheap, way more effective than sprays/candles, totally relaxing, and it looks really awesome. Great, interesting video.

finally, a good incense making vid. this and one other one helped ne sooooo much.thank you for the video,and what happened to the cloves was really really cool!

Awesome! I just tried it...The mixture that I made smells just like Pot LOL...I love the smell of Pot! I think the tarragon was the spice that resulted in that fragrance. I can't wait to try different spices and herbs, Thanks

There are a couple of things you can try. Less paper (just enough to hold it together). Be sure you have enough tinder ... something which easily burns like a wood based ingredient. Too many damp or resinous ingredients will smother it out. Keep it loosely packed, as if packed too tightly not enough air space causes it to go out. Some mixes might need some fanning to keep them going, or for you to blow on them every now and then.

Thank you so much! I've long needed to find a reliable source since I moved away from my mentor but I honestly never thought to look online. I ran across a few sites that I didn't agree with and decided that I should learn everything from books, but I certainly never occurred to me to cross-reference multiple sites to pull together my own list of properties.

I use the funnel because I have arthritis in my hands, so can't do fine work without making a mess :) To burn incense on its own you do have to have a lot of dry, woody ingredients. And you usually need to keep fiddling with it to keep it going. I burn loose herbs in a shell with good luck. Loose herbs don't too all that well on salt. But if you make pellets out of them, that usuall burns nicely on sand or salt.

I have not watched your video's long, but for the time being that I have the way I feel when listening to you is very enjoyable & relaxing. The way you create and do things personally from within and how you feel towards each item it really brings magick out into the air around you and it is lingering through the screen to me because I can smell those herbs & spices as tho I am sitting right next to you. :) Especially the Cinnamon & Basil.

Oh! Wow! I use nearly the same things, just change basil to juniper berries, and I use it for weather control, to give me four days of sunshine. And I only use this blend a day before an event that I don't want to be ruined by rain. I'm not cruel enough to bring a drought. Which could happen as the incense suppress rain. On a side note all the rain that would have fallen during this time, will condense till the effects of the incense run it's course then fall all at once. And have caused flash floods in my area.

You'll see a lot of those mystery moves in my videos :) It is a given that any time I turn on the camera, someone knocks on the door or something happens. Thank Goddess for editing software!! The funniest ones are when Ernie (the French Bulldog) teleports from place to place around my videos. He's there, he's not there. He gets beamed up a lot.

I tried this tonight and YES my first thought was "this smells like pot" !! LOL It worked and burned great, looking forward to trying other herbal blends, Thanks Annie!

I have great luck using rolling papers for this. It works fantastic using a cigarette roller and putting the incense is as you would the tobacco.

Tyvm :) I just picked what smelled right and "felt right". But really I owe my inspiration to your vid. You have some very informative videos and I appreciate you taking the time to upload them. Have a good day! BB

This is really awesome, thank you for sharing your wisdom and experience! This makes creating our own incense look so easy!

It works okay with resins as long as it isn't just resins and there are other dry ingredients (even makko is enough) and if the resins are just about powdered. Otherwise it can burn too slow and snuff out before you want it to.

And don't forget the dramatic waving of the hands! Seriously, I appreciate your comment, and am personally inspired the most by those who stay away from "much ado."

Thank you for this. A friend and I have recently formed a pagan study group. We've been having a few issues with budgeting since we're both in full-time education at the moment. This video came to us at the perfect time, so thank you for making it.

Another suggestion for using online correspondence checks ... the best sites are not necessarily pagan/Wiccan. So be sure to check out all kinds of incense-making sites. For instance, sites that focus on the Western tradition and incense-burning can be very helpful. Oh! And a great web site ... incensemaking ... good info on each ingredient, whether it is a base, low or high note ... history ...whether it is an endangered species. That's probably my favorite online site.

Yes, it is that simple :) Somewhere in the comments to this video a kind viewer let us know that using coffee filters worked very well for the wrapping paper.

I love this method its helpful because i really don't want to spend money on charcoal and I am boycotting most store bought incense because they have toxic indigents that you shouldn't be breathing in on a regular basis well not all!

Kosher salt is a great alternative to sea salt, and you can buy it at the grocery store. Table salt isn't "grainy" enough for me. But I know others (especially young pagans with little resources) who use it.

@forkfullofpie I've tried different things over the years, Tricky, though. Too damp of a leaf won't keep the fire going. Too dry won't hold the shape. Leaves taken from trees make an excellent rolling packaged to put herbs in to place on bonfires. We've often made our packets as part of circle, tied them in string and made individual offerings of them. Dried leaves, such as bay, can be crinkled up and used as a fire base, adding herbs on the top. I lack the patience to keep them going.

cheap or free is the way to go,LOVE your video, you are so very sensible ,thanks dear

Oh, gosh ... I would love to have seen your smoke bomb LOL Try packing the incense loosely. And be sure you have a mixture of slow burn and easy burn botanicals. Different paper does differently, too. And if it is damp it is usually a fail. Mixing in dry saw dust is very helpful.

Incense has been used here and there to disguise the smell of pot, so it seems fair play that one blend actually smells like it :) I am glad that the technique worked for you. Enjoy trying different things!

Very cool, I just tried it for myself and I love the variety of scents I can play with.

Did anyone notice when she was first discussing the cloves the cloves bottle moves without being touched. I can't tell if it's an edit or not

Oh my. That's a great way to burn loose incense if you don't have charcoal. I'm gonna have to try that,.

this is great!!! thank you so much, i wish there where more videos out there like this for magical items or ideas on a budget as a mother of 5 it is hard to go out and buy everything i wish i could...also i feel that i connect better when i take the time out to do these things from scratch....again thank you sooo much..love and light !!!:)

Just made my first budget incense today, thanks to this! It's also really easy and safe to do, and it burns for a long time. :)

This is everything I needed! Thank you so much. Much love

I had no idea about this! I can't wait to try it. Brilliant!

You can search in my videos for "incense on a budget" and it should come up (that's how I found it). If you can't find it, drop me a YT e-mail. I can't put the link to it in this comment as YT doesn't allow links in comments.

omgosh i love this idea thank you so much for posting..def on a tight budget. with just me and my two little ones and house flooding..this is amazing idea :)

Merry Meet! This has been incredibly helpful. I appreciate you!

Thank you so much for all you do. You're an amazing teacher. I can't wait for news on your book. Blessed be!

That trick with the paper is wonderful! I'm for sure going to keep that in mind! Also, why don't you want to heat the herbs?

I laughed when you brought out the coffee grinder, only because I was thinking about using the same thing.

I'm a witch on a budget too. I used different spices but it worked out very well. Thank you for uploading this! :D

thank you so much! i didn´t know it was that easy to make incense.

Omigosh! I have tiny chime candle holders ... following on your experience I am going to try placing the roll in one of them. What a fantastic idea! So glad you shared it :)

I'm sorry but did you put cloves in twice instead of cinnamon? Sounds fantastic I'm going to try this. Thank you.

Oh my goodness! This is simply fantastic! Thank you SOOO much for the help! And I agree I wish you would write a book! Def is helping me out for how tight my budget is! Thank you again! ^_^

Thank you so much for sharing! I am going to start using this method.

Thanks for this! I used your method to burn my incense and made a video about it. This is great idea when you don't have a charcoal disc.

What a great idea! Thank you for this teaching.

Great tutorial! It's nice to have a way of doing incense cheap.

Thank you for this great video! I learned a lot from it and I can't wait to make my own incense now.

this is genius! Basically just making an herb cigarette! As someone who is broke to the point of SNAP assistance, this is magical in it's own right! THANK YOU!

I'm gonna spend so much less money on charcoal blocks now thank you so much!

Just about every book on incense and mostly all the web sites on them will list what we might consider "kitchen" herbs along with all other botanicals in their correspondences. Because there is no distinction between cooking and other uses for magical ingredients. You can go to web sites, if you aren't buying books, and go through them, putting together your own correspondences for just kitchen herbs you find here. That is what I did ... that way I'd know each of those simple herbs well.

This is a great video. Very inspiring as most have these items at hand. Love it! Hugs and Love

Thank you for sharing! I finally can make my own :) I am still a teen and don't got no job! But I grow a ton of herbs so it works! Thank you very much and blessed be :)

Love this. I have so much trouble with the charcoal, once I open the pack they don't seem to light afterwards no matter how I store them. Could also write your intention on the paper for some added oomph.

This is totally briliant and SO useful! Thank you for sharing! :)

this is lovely! i have tons of spices in my kitchen! this is so helpfull!!

I had a lot of interruptions while I was filming this particular video, so it was edited a lot. What you saw was the result of that :) Thank goodness for editing software!

Thank you for your kind words.

Love your videos! I am a Witch on a budget and this is a great idea!

Is it ok that the cloves aren’t 100% ground up? I only had whole cloves in the pantry, and I’m grinding them up now the best I can. They’re hard to grind, but I’ve gotten progress!

Hi Anni, I can't wait to try this at home, thank you for the brilliant idea. Do you have any written publications published? If so, I'd love to buy a copy. Blessings to you, thanks again.

@SeleneRhiannon I will enjoy hearing what you put together and how it worked out ! :)

Hello! Love this video but very curious... could you add a little water to mold it into cones? Or is this recipe better just as dry powder?

best diy! keep it up! love the idea of being on a budget!

Hey, this is a really big help! I had two thoughts though, one was regards to the small funnel, couldn't you make one of those out of a cone of paper as well? And two was, could you make a 'well' of sorts in the salt and put the incense in that instead of rapping it in the paper or would the salt react badly to the heat? (I don't really like burning paper I could use for other things, although it might be a decent way to reuse scraps or something...)

thanks so much, i did not know you could make incense like this, i am gonna try this