Making your own incense cones requires a little more time and effort than making loose incense but taking the extra time to do so is very rewarding. It’s a little more convenient than having to worry about loose incense when traveling or having a ritual outside away from your indoors altar.

Charcoal tends to be messy when one is grinding it up. A much neater way to break up the briquettes is to put them between several layers of old newspaper or cloth and giving it some really hefty bangs with a hammer, breaking it up into very small lumps. (You can even save the newspaper or cloth and reuse it again for that very purpose).

You will need:

6 parts ground charcoal

1 part ground Benzoin

2 parts ground Sandalwood

1 part Orris root (fixes the scent into the incense cones)

Pestle and Mortar

Bowl for mixing

6 drops essential oil… Use the oil form of one of the ingredients of your chosen incense

2-4 parts loose incense of your choice 10 percent by weight of Potassium Nitrate (Saltpeter) (Do not use more than 10 percent by weight because the cones may explode)

Gum Tragacanth or Gum Arabic

Method: Mix the first four ingredients in the pestle until well blended. Add the essential oil and mix again until it becomes a very fine powder. Add the 2-4 parts of your chosen incense mixture, grinding and empowering it thoroughly.

Place the mix into the bowl and combine them with your hands while thinking of your intended purpose.

Weigh and add in the 10 percent by weight of Potassium Nitrate (a white powder). Mix until thoroughly blended.

Add the tragacanth glue or gum Arabic, a teaspoon at a time, mixing with your hands until all the ingredients are dampened and the mixture forms a stiff dough-like texture.

Shape the mixture into small cones. Let them dry slowly for 2-7 days in the sun, a slow oven or a drying cupboard. When the cones are completely dry, store in a small plastic bag or airtight container for future use.

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