What Are The Magical Properties Of Frankincense?

In magical traditions, frankincense is one of the oldest documented magical resins.  For over 5000 years, frankincense has been used to purify and cleanse sacred places.  Frankincense has also been used in a variety of healing rituals. 

The best way to start in magick is to read, read, read.  

All matter contains and retains power.  This is why certain herbs and plants have what we perceive as magical powers.  

The approaches we offer are just suggestions of how to access the magical properties of frankincense.  But these approaches we suggest are ones that others have had success using. 

Magic rituals are the science of affecting change to occur per your will.  Frankincense acts on an emotional, physical, and spiritual level.  

Take these suggestions we give you as a base, and make them your own.  Magic comes from your head and your heart, not from artificial props.

As a general rule, frankincense has magical and spiritual powers that include 6 main properties:

If you are interested in learning more about how you can use herbs in your magickal rituals, check out the following book by Ally Sands “Plant Magic for the Beginner Witch: An Herbalist’s Guide to Heal, Protect and Manifest“.

DISCLAIMER:

The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only.  Occult properties of herbs and essential oils are provided for historical interest only.  For possible treatments of physical or mental diseases, please seek a trained and licensed health professional.  Enchanted Aromatics is not responsible for any adverse side effects resulting from the use of any suggestions, products, preparations, or procedures mentioned or from the following historical uses of herbs and essential oils.

What is Frankincense

Frankincense is one of the world’s most treasured commodities and at times, has been worth more than gold.

According to legend, frankincense resin is a special gift from the gods.

Frankincense is a hardened resin that comes from the trunk of the sacred Boswellia tree which grows in the dry, mountainous regions of India, Africa, and the Middle East.

To extract the resin, the trunk of the tree is notched with a hatchet which allows the resin to flow out.  Once the resin has hardened, it is gathered, sorted, and sold as incense that is typically burned.

Each year, thousands of tons of frankincense are extracted and exported all over the world to be used in religious ceremonies, magick rituals, essential oils, medicines, and perfumes.

Frankincense is available in several grades which depend on the time of harvesting and hand-sorting.  These different grades can have different aromas.

If you are going to purchase frankincense resin, I suggest you do not waste your money on some of the lower grades as they can have a turpentine or plastic-type smell.  I don’t know if this is their natural smell or if they are being adulterated, but I have experienced this.

If you would like to purchase a decent-smelling frankincense at a decent price, try this Royal Frankincense Certified Organic Black Hojari Frankincense Resin from Oman (Boswellia Sacra). It is a mixed grade but of high quality.  Being a mixed organic grade, you may even find small pieces of bark mixed in.

Frankincense Correspondence 

6 Magical Properties Of Frankincense

Can frankincense be used to cleanse a space?

Frankincense is so good at cleansing a space, that many people consider frankincense to be more potent than sage for clearing a sacred space.  This is the reason that frankincense is burned during many religious ceremonies or sacred places such as Christian churches.

Traditionally, to cleanse a space using frankincense, you will burn the resin over a charcoal disk that has been placed inside an incense burner, brazier, or thurible.  

These discs are made specifically for holding incense or resin.  This inexpensive 100 Pack of Charcoal Discs sold on Amazon would be a good choice.

Light the charcoal disc and place it on your burner.  Wait about 10 minutes or wait until the disc turns grey before placing your frankincense on the disc.

Here is a short video from Holisticshop.com.uk of how to burn frankincense using a charcoal disc.

 

You will typically burn your frankincense before starting your ceremony or magickal ritual.  The incense will burn away the negative energy and raise the positive energy of your space.

Once the frankincense is smoking nicely, use a fan or your hand to direct the smoke around the space, person, or object you wish to cleanse.

Frankincense is considered so powerful. that it is often combined with other herbs to enhance the magical properties of those herbs.

You can also use frankincense essential oil to anoint objects used in both religious and magickal rituals.  Frankincense is also used to anoint infants to cleanse them.

If you feel as though there is some negative energy in your home or workspace that is causing bad things to happen, try diffusing frankincense essential oil to help clear that space of negative energy.

A good mixture to cleanse and purify a space or to use as an alter incense would be a mix of the following over a charcoal disc:

Is frankincense good to use for protection?

Frankincense is considered so good at protection, that it is often used during exorcisms.  Burning frankincense releases powerful positive vibrations that drive away all negativity and evil intentions or entities.

During the time of the Black Plague, frankincense and pine were burned to keep the evil spirits away that were causing the disease.

Frankincense is excellent to use during an uncrossing ritual, which is a ritual for removing malevolent and negative energies.    

There is no one way to perform an uncrossing ritual.

If you do a quick search on crossing rituals using your favorite search engine, you will find a variety of uncrossing rituals that include frankincense.

For a typical 200 ml diffuser, use the following:

If you have a different size diffuser, adjust the amounts.  For example, if you have a small 100 ml diffuser, use around half.  If you have a 400 ml diffuser, double the amount.

You can also add frankincense to your protection satchel that you carry with you at all times to help protect you.

Just keep in mind, these rituals will not work just on their own.  They require intent on your part.

To learn more about what essential oils can be used for magical protection, check out my article “16 Essential Oils For Protection“.

Is frankincense good to use during meditation?

Using frankincense during meditation is an excellent way to stimulate your awareness and attract peace.  Directly applying frankincense essential oil to your temples and your third eye will help quiet the mind and help promote a more powerful meditative state.  

Frankincense can slow and deepen your breathing which will assist you in your meditation.

Burn frankincense or use it in a diffuser to help center your mind, body, and spirit.

For some people, burning frankincense can help induce visions while meditating.  

Some people will burn frankincense to allow them to reach an altered state of consciousness to open spiritual doors that allows them to hedge ride or astral travel.  

If you are just getting interested in burning frankincense, this Starter Kit Bundle has everything you need.  It includes a burner, charcoal, and a small amount of frankincense.

you can apply frankincense essential oil to your temples and your third eye to help assist with your meditation.

Is frankincense good for healing?

Use frankincense to call upon the divine orders to assist you in physical, psychological, and spiritual healing.  Frankincense can eliminate germs by either burning the resin or applying the essential oil topically.

Ayurvedic practitioners and Chinese practitioners have long used frankincense in their general healing practices and purification ceremonies.

When applied to cuts and scraps, frankincense promotes faster healing because of its astringent and cytophylactic qualities.

Traditionally, frankincense has been used on wounds, scars, and bruising.  It can also remove dark spots, stretch marks, and general wear and tear to the skin.

Frankincense can also be used to reduce pain in the feet caused by diabetes, neuropathy, chemotherapy, and other conditions.

Frankincense can also reduce signs of aging by smoothing the look of wrinkles and it can also increase your skin’s elasticity.

The aroma from frankincense can enhance your mood by diminishing feelings of stress, anger, and anxiety.

Frankincense essential oil is one of the most adulterated essential oils.  If you find a frankincense essential oil that is inexpensive, I can guarantee that despite what the package states, it has more than likely been adulterated in some way.

For a high-quality frankincense essential oil, check out this Frankincense Essential Oil by doTERRA.  Although expensive, this brand is well known for having some of the highest-quality essential oils.  

Can frankincense be used as an offering?

Since frankincense is associated with the sun, it is a suitable offering to any Sun God such as Ra and Bel.  In ancient Egypt, frankincense was burned as an offering to the sun god Ra daily at sunrise.

As an offering, you can use frankincense to call upon the divine and send love and prayers.

Frankincense is considered the supreme fragrance.  As an offering to Gods, it is mentioned more than any other incense.

as one quick example:

In the writings of Herodotus (330 BC), the great traveler known as the “father of history,” the Chaldæans of Babylon offered a thousand talents of frankincense to (Zeus)-Bel at his yearly festival. A thousand talents are equivalent to 98,422 pounds.

Yule is the time of year when the sun reaches its lowest point in the sky and is known as the winter solstice.  It is one of the oldest pagan holidays.

Frankincense is often burned as an offering to the Sun at Yule, as he is reborn at the Winter Solstice and will continue to grow in strength as the year progresses.

To use frankincense as an offering, after it has been blessed and dedicated, it can be burned in a brazier over charcoals or placed directly into the ritual fire.

Can frankincense be used in love spells?

Frankincense can be used in a variety of spells including love spells.

Here is a quick love spell you can easily create that includes frankincense.

Keep in mind that just creating a love spell is not enough.  Your spell requires the power of intention so your spell can manifest into what you have imagined.

A love spell can be used for various reasons including.

Other Magical Properties Of Frankincense

Other magical properties of Frankincense include using it for anointing, consecrations, propitiations, various spells, increasing psychic awareness, religious rituals, divination, aura cleaning, attracting luck, summoning spirits, and removing spirits.

These are the more popular magical uses of frankincense, but they are not the only ones.

There are many magical properties that essential oils (including frankincense essential oil) have.  If you are interested in learning about some of these magical properties, check out our article

"15 Magical Properties Of Essential Oils".

What Does Frankincense Smell Like?

The aroma of frankincense is instantly recognizable.  It has a spicy aroma that has strong earthy and woody undertones that is fresh and a little fruity.  

Conclusion

The way you use frankincense in your magical and spiritual practices is only limited by your imagination.  

If you know of other magical properties of frankincense or different ways in which you use frankincense on your spiritual journey, we would love to hear from you so we may incorporate what you share in this article.