In an earlier post (“breathing essential oils – diffusing”) I listed incense as one of the ways to benefit from essential oils.
Here are some more interesting things from my notes that I’ve read on natural incense…
In Bible times incense was required to burn 24 hours a day in the temples and tabernacles. The holy incense in Exodus 30:34-36 was one of the recipes used by the Hebrews of that time. Other types of incense were burned in their homes and work places. The holy incense was also very good at preventing disease.
Exodus 30:34-36: “Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense; of each shall there be a like weight. And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy.” (Stacte is another word for myrrh.)
Numbers 16:46-50: “Moses said to Aaron, ‘Take your censer, put fire on it from the altar, and lay incense on it, and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them. For wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.’ So Aaron took it as Moses had ordered, and ran into the middle of the assembly, where the plague had already begun among the people. He put on the incense, and made atonement for the people. He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stopped. Those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. When the plague was stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting.”
The holy incense contained frankincense, galbanum, onycha and myrrh. Censers (also called thuribles) are the receptacles that the incense was burned in, swung from a chain. Aromatic oils, spices or incense were placed over the hot coals to create a fragrant smoke. Censers are mentioned 20 times in the Bible.
Today science has discovered how fumigating with essential oils like the ones in the holy incense could kill virus and bacteria in their tracks.
“Smudging” is another technique used to absorb essential oils through fumigation. Native Americans still use this method today. The aromatic oil, gum or dried herb is burned and the smoke or fumes are blown and aimed at specific places on the body, such as the face, head, feet, along the spine or the diseased area. Vapors of essential oils can be directly absorbed through the skin. When blowing near the face you are supposed to breathe deeply as much as possible.
In Biblical times the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians smudged with oils of cedarwood, juniper, myrrh, etc. for different needs. It is possible that the Hebrew physicians used smudging, although this technique is not mentioned in the Bible.
