Magician Tarot - Learn to Read Your Future

The name for this resin possibly comes from "incense of Franks" since it was reintroduced to Europe by Frankish Crusaders. Although it is better known as "frankincense" to westerners, the resin is also known as olibanum, which is derived from the Arabic al-lubán (roughly translated: "that which results from milking"), a reference to the milky sap tapped from the Boswellia tree. Some have also postulated that the name comes from the Arabic term for "Oil of Lebanon" since Lebanon was the place where the resin was sold and traded with Europeans. Compare with Exodus 30:34, where it is clearly named levonah, meaning either "white" or "Lebanese" in Hebrew.

The lost city of Ubar, sometimes identified with Irem in what is now the town of Shisr in Oman, is believed to have been a centre of the frankincense trade along the recently rediscovered "Incense Road". Ubar was rediscovered in the early 1990s and is now under archaeological excavation.

The Greek historian Herodotus was familiar with Frankincense and knew it was harvested from trees in southern Arabia. He reports, however, that the gum was dangerous to harvest because of poisonous snakes that lived in the trees. He goes on to describe the method used by the Arabians to get around this problem, that being the burning of the gum of the styrax tree whose smoke would drive the snakes away.

Use

Frankincense is used in perfumery and aromatherapy.

Frankincense was lavishly used in religious rites. In the Bible's old Testament, it was part of the temple rites; according to the Gospel of Matthew 2:11, gold, frankincense and myrrh were among the gifts to Jesus by the Biblical Magi "from out of the east". The Egyptians ground the charred resin into a powder called kohl. Kohl was used to make the distinctive black eyeliner seen on so many figures in Egyptian art. The aroma of frankincense is said to represent life and the Judaic, Christian and Islamic faiths have often used frankincense mixed with oils to anoint newborn infants and individuals considered to be moving into a new phase in their spiritual lives.

Frankincense in Wicca

Frankincense is used for spiritual development, for centreing the body in preparation for meditation or other spiritual work, neutralising negativity, and for finding the spiritual side of what appears to be a material matter. Some use it to clean chakras, especially the Third Eye. It is fabulous for smudging yourself, your animals, and your home when you are the target of negative magick. The fragrance is very relaxing and gives one a feeling of wholeness and wellness.

It is used in many spells including love, protection, healing, consecration, blessing, spirituality, energy, strength, cleansing, luck, power and courage.

We currently stock frankincense for your spell work or for use with a charcoal burner. Order yours here at the Witches Store Cupboard.