Muse Incense

Laugh, go ahead. I warned you my process might be erratic. I'm still writing. Just jumping back to an earlier topic. Back at the beginning of this Blog I said that I would be building an altar to my Creative Muse (It has a yellow candle burning on it as we speak) but I said that I would post more as it came to me. Today I'm thinking about my incense. It's my own recipe and I thought its so nice I should share it!

Aren't I generous? I know, I thought so too.

First a Mythology Lesson: The Muse are traditionally the daughters of Zeus (King of Olympus) and Mnemosyne (Titan/Goddess of Memory) there were nine of them (according to myth) and they became the sources of inspiration for humanity. Their temples are the museums, libraries and other centers of learning.

So in writing my recipe I wanted to capture that combined influence that went into the birth of the Muse.

Zeus was easy, being the King of Olympus he has hundreds of things documenting his scared existence. So I checked out my herbs and resins and grabbed an old favorite:

White/Manilla Copal - Ruled by the Planet Jupiter (Zeus). Like many Jupiter scents, this resin is frequently used in ritual purification of both objects and people. Perfect for an Altar.

Mnemosyne being lesser known, or at least lesser documented gave me a hard time, I scoured for hours. No exaggeration, and came back with nothing. So I searched for herbs and resins connected mystically and medicinally to Memory. Cardamom, Gingko Biloba, Nutmeg and Rosemary were what I came back with. I like Chai tea but have never added Cardamom to incense so that got put on the back burner to try later, Gingko smells like a grass fire so that is a no. I use Rosemary and Copal in my study incense and didn't want an exact repeat. So I opted for smaller measurements of both Nutmeg and Rosemary.

Nutmeg - Ruled again by Jupiter, added for luck in the sense of memory the oils are used to anoint the your temples.

Rosemary - Ruled by the Sun, the fragrance of Rosemary is said to be of benefit as far as emotional spirit, youthful outlook, and pleasant memories.

Creativity and Inspiration is something hard to pin down its been so highly sought after for centuries.So I found a half dozen that were connected to Inspiration that I didn't like the smell of and few more aromatics, what I chose was Ginger, its another old favorite of mine that I don't get to use often.

Ginger - Ruled by Mars, When you need to add a little heat (Inspiration) add Ginger.

Muse Incense Recipe

• 1 ounce Copal (Powdered)
• 1/2 whole Nutmeg (1/4 tsp Ground)
• 1 tsp Dried Rosemary (Finely Ground)
• 1/2 ounce Ginger (Finely Ground)

Note to Self: Try adding Candied Violets (Crushed) - The scent of violets is known to soothe, clear the mind and relax. OR Substitute Ginger with Candied Ginger... Candying process is supposed to make it burn more like resin and less like a plant. (small scale sample batch).