Odin's mugwort-based devotional incense.
Oct 9, 2013 16:09:02 GMT -8
marybeth and basicmanfitz like this
Post by fearlesslyonwards on Oct 9, 2013 16:09:02 GMT -8
Quite some time ago I was prompted by Odin to buy some mugwort seedlings. After they'd got themselves established (thanks in no small part to Gerda's help), I was then told to harvest some of the leaves for incense. So I picked a bunch of leaves and dried them out carefully so they didn't mould. After I had the rest of the instructions for making the incense downloaded wholesale into my head (not as much fun as it sounds), I bought the rest of the ingredients and waited impatiently for them to arrive in the post. I apologise in advance for the vagueness of the recipe, I don't measure much as I work by feel.
For this recipe you will need:
2 heaped tablespoons of dried and ground mugwort leaves
1 red apple
1 good slosh of mead
1 level tablespoon of honey
1 cup or there abouts of finely ground pine resin
Grate the apple, squeeze out the juice and dehydrate it in a low oven for a while, making sure you don't burn it. Re-hydrate the apple with mead until it is just moist, but not wet. Pat it with paper towel until most of the moisture is gone. Add a tablespoon of the apple mix to a mortar and pestle. Add the ground mugwort and pound the mixture until combined. Add the pine resin a little at a time, and stop when it turns into a crumbly mass that won't stick together. Add the honey and knead it very well. Wait for half an hour or so, and knead it again. Roll it into little pellets and then pinch the pellets between your thumbs and forefingers into a triangular shape, then use the remaining pine resin to powder the outsides of the pellets so they don't stick together. I store mine in a ziplock bag with a tablespoon of the powdered pine resin in there too, to absorb any excess moisture. After leaving to settle for a week, burn on a charcoal disc.
This recipe doesn't smell as delicious as some of my other concoctions, but it really isn't about smelling nice for me, it's about what He wants. The mugwort on its own is a great alternative to white sage, if you're Norse-inclined. To be honest, white sage has never felt 'right' to me. Whereas the mugwort does. I'm biased, I admit that freely - I adore my little mugwort plant
Feel free to modify quantities or add other ingredients as you feel would be appropriate. Credit would be nice if you re-post the recipe anywhere, and if you have any questions, my inbox is over that-a-way, and always open.
Thanks for reading!
For this recipe you will need:
2 heaped tablespoons of dried and ground mugwort leaves
1 red apple
1 good slosh of mead
1 level tablespoon of honey
1 cup or there abouts of finely ground pine resin
Grate the apple, squeeze out the juice and dehydrate it in a low oven for a while, making sure you don't burn it. Re-hydrate the apple with mead until it is just moist, but not wet. Pat it with paper towel until most of the moisture is gone. Add a tablespoon of the apple mix to a mortar and pestle. Add the ground mugwort and pound the mixture until combined. Add the pine resin a little at a time, and stop when it turns into a crumbly mass that won't stick together. Add the honey and knead it very well. Wait for half an hour or so, and knead it again. Roll it into little pellets and then pinch the pellets between your thumbs and forefingers into a triangular shape, then use the remaining pine resin to powder the outsides of the pellets so they don't stick together. I store mine in a ziplock bag with a tablespoon of the powdered pine resin in there too, to absorb any excess moisture. After leaving to settle for a week, burn on a charcoal disc.
This recipe doesn't smell as delicious as some of my other concoctions, but it really isn't about smelling nice for me, it's about what He wants. The mugwort on its own is a great alternative to white sage, if you're Norse-inclined. To be honest, white sage has never felt 'right' to me. Whereas the mugwort does. I'm biased, I admit that freely - I adore my little mugwort plant
Feel free to modify quantities or add other ingredients as you feel would be appropriate. Credit would be nice if you re-post the recipe anywhere, and if you have any questions, my inbox is over that-a-way, and always open.
Thanks for reading!