Yule Incense and oils

Yule Incense

3 parts frankincense
2 parts myrrh
1 part cassia
1 part mace
1/2 part clove buds

Directions:Thoroughly grind all the ingredients together in a mortar into very small parts. Place by teaspoonfuls on the smoking coals. A Christmas scent will follow very quickly!


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Winter Solstice Oil

Need a special oil for your Yuletide rituals? Blend together this seasonal oil, which will carry the scents of Yule into your ceremonies!
Blend some Winter Solstice oil before beginning your Yule rituals.

1/8 Cup grapeseed oil or other base oil of your choice. Add the following:
4 drops pine oil
2 drops orange oil
2 drops cedar oil
2 drops juniper oil
2 - 3 small lumps of frankincense, finely ground

As you blend the oils, visualize your intent, and take in the aroma. Know that this oil is sacred and magical. Label, date, and store in a cool, dark place. Use during your Yule celebrations to anoint participants or tools.

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Winter Solstice  Citris Incense

For all your solstice needs

1 tablespoon dry orange peel
1 tablespoon dry grapefruit peel
1 tablespoon dry lemon peel
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 tablespoon dry tangerine peel
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Burn in charcoal.

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Winter Nights Yule Incense

Scents have a way of making time stand still for us sometimes, and the aromas of the winter holidays are no exception. For many people, re-creating the smells and emotions of our childhood, or even of some distant ancestral memory, is part of the magic of the Yule season.

To make your own magical winter night's incense, first determine what form you’d like to make. You can make incense with sticks and in cones, but the easiest kind uses loose ingredients, which are then burned on top of a charcoal disc or tossed into a fire. This recipe is for loose incense, but you can always adapt it for stick or cone recipes.

As you mix and blend your incense, focus on the intent of your work. This particular recipe is one which evokes the spices and magic of a cold December night. Use it during a ritual, if you like, or as a smudging incense to purify a sacred space. You can also toss some into your fire just to make the house smell like winter.

2 parts Juniper berries
2 parts mugwort
1 part cedar
1 part pine resin
1 part laurel leaves
1 part chopped sweetgrass
½ part rosemary

Add your ingredients to your mixing bowl one at a time. Measure carefully, and if the leaves or blossoms need to be crushed, use your mortar and pestle to do so. As you blend the herbs together, state your intent. You may find it helpful to charge your incense with an incantation, such as:

As the sun returns, back to the earth,
we celebrate life and death and rebirth.
Cold winter nights and chilly days,
smoke in the sky, carry ills away.
A time of magic, at the longest night,
for without the dark, there cannot be light.
Herbs of power, blended by me,
As I will, so it shall be.

Store your incense in a tightly sealed jar. Make sure you label it with its name and date. Use within three months, so that it remains charged and fresh.

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Elf Fire Incense

3 parts musk crystal
4 parts dittany of crete
6 parts cinnamon
3 parts dragon’s blood
4 parts frankincense
1 part cardamom 

use in rituals

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Yule Spice Potpourri

The smells of Christmas all rolled up in this potpourri

2 cups dried pink rose petals and buds
1/2 cup dried bay leaves, crumbled
1/2 cup dried orange peel
1/2 cup dried pomegranate slices, chopped
1 Tablespoon grated nutmeg
1/2 cup small pine cones
1/2 Tablespoon orris root power
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon mixed spices, lightly crushed:
mustard seed, black, green and white peppercorns, red spindle
berries, juniper berries
10 drops frankincense essential oil
5 drops clove essential oil
20 drops orange essential oil
5 drops myrrh essential oil


Directions:
Mix together.

Source: Heaven Scent by Julia Lawless