Magic and Spiritualism
Incenses have been an important part of spiritualism and religion since very ancient times and continue to play an important role in most religions today. They involve the burning of aromatic plant materials (usually gums, resins, woods and oils), which then give off a fragrant odour.
The oldest incense burners are those of the Indus civilisation (3300–1300 BCE).14 Ancient Egyptians also burned incense for mystical/funerary purposes, with evidence dating from the fourth millennium BCE. The main incense sources were frankincense from southern Arabia, aloes wood or agar wood from southern Asia, bdellium (a resin from the tree genus Commiphora of India and Africa), sweet flag, cinnamon and cassia, labdanum (a resin from the Mediterranean shrubs Cistus ladanifer and Cistus criticus), myrrh, storax (resin from the tree genus Liquidambar), benzoin (resin from the tree genus Styrax), spikenard root and sandalwood.E. G. Cuthbert F. Atchley noted a description of ceremonies at the Temple of Ra Heliopolis around 730 BCE: ‘He made great sacrifice on the sandhill there, before the face of Ra at his rising milch-cows, milk, odorous gums, frankincense, and all precious woods delightful for scent.’15
Herodotus described an animal sacrifice in contemporary Egypt, wherein the body was filled with bread, honey, raisins, figs, frankincense, myrrh and other aromatics, before burning.16 Plutarch stated that Egyptians burnt incense at sunrise, noon and sunset, the latter comprising sixteen ingredients, including odoriferous reeds, bitumen and other scented substances.
Incense was also used in elaborate funeral rites as well as embalming, both for preserving and for the more practical issue of countering smells of decay.
The ancient Babylonians used cedar wood, calamus, rig-gir (possibly storax) and other substances.
They burned incense for sacrifices, purification rites and magic, e.g. to drive away disease-demons. In the story of Prince Saif el Maluk in the Thousand and One Nights, aloes wood and ambergris were burned for three days when the prince fell sick. Another story from the same book relates to the Christian priest Afridun, who referred to a holy incense comprised of the dung of the Chief Patriarch mixed with musk and ambergris, supposedly highly valued by the kings of other Christian countries.Atchley noted that Hindu incense comprises frankincense, two kinds of rosin (solid substance produced by heating resin), sarsaparilla, zedoary, Cyperus textilis, and lime tree root.17 Benzoin and bdellium resins were also used as traditional Indian incense.
The Jewish ‘ketoret’ incense is believed to have comprised mastic resin, galbanum, frankincense, myrrh, saffron, agarwood, cassia, cinnamon, costus, spikenard, the gasteropod Operculum, plus ambergris and an unknown herb. Widespread usage dates from the second century BCE, though Jewish incense burning started much earlier than this. Ancient Jewish funerary traditions for nobles involved covering the body with aromatics and diverse spices.
Eroticism was also one of the many uses of incense and fragrant aromatics: in Proverbs 7:17 (written in the mid-first millennium BCE) the wanton woman declares that ‘I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon’. Frequent use at banquets and celebrations emphasises the appreciation of fragrant smells and association with pleasure in very early times. In the Thousand and One Nights there are many references to women using exquisite combinations of perfumes of sandal, musk, ambergris, aloes wood and myrrh, among others.
In Greek history there is reference to use of perfumed oils in the later books of the eighth-century BCE Iliad.18 Pythagoras (c. 570–495 BCE) is said to have promoted worship of the gods with incense. Sophocles (c. 497–405 BCE) pointed to the wide use of frankincense in Aedipus Tyrranus.
The Orphic Hymns (second or third century BCE, or possibly early Roman Imperial era) employed different incenses to accompany hymns to specific gods. In 243 BCE, Seleucus II sent 10 talents of frankincense, 1 of myrrh, and 2 minae each of cassia, cinnamon and costum to the Anatolian city of Miletus, presumably for use as incense.19 Incense was used extensively in the Roman Republic and even more frequently in Imperial times, when there was increased access to exotic aromatics. It was used for spiritual offerings as well as showing respect to people of high status.Spells and magic were all part of the curative prowess of ancient societies. The Papyri Graecae Magicae (PGM) are magical texts written between the second century BCE and the fifth century CE in Graeco-Roman Egypt.20 A spell to acquire a ‘supernatural assistant’ required the burning of frankincense and rose oil while incanting the spell. Other plants and plant products used in spells were myrrh, myrtle, storax gum, frankincense, sesame seeds, olive oil, figs, dates, pinecones, barley, wheat, dill, purslane, white hellebore, wormwood, bugloss, etc.
An erotic spell employed manna, storax, opium, myrrh, frankincense, saffron and fig, all mixed together and blended with wine. A restraining rite, that would also induce enmity and sickness in the object, used the bitter aromatics myrrh, bdellium, styrax, aloes and thyme (and river mud!) as a consecration of the written spell, which was then to be thrown into the river. A curious contraceptive involved steeping bitter vetch seeds (the number based on the years of protection required) inside the menses of a woman then giving them to a frog to swallow and the frog was then to be released. A seed of henbane steeped in mare’s milk and the nasal mucus of a cow mixed with barley was wrapped up in a fawn leather skin and attached as an amulet on an auspicious day – and ear wax from a mule should also be mixed with the barley. On the other hand, for greater sexual prowess and ability to copulate frequently, a drink of ground-up pine cones mixed with sweet wine and two pepper grains should be taken.
Or for an erection – coating the penis with ground pepper and honey was recommended.One of the most famous texts of the PGM is the Mithras Liturgy, which may have been compiled in the fourth century CE. The first part shows the ascent of the soul through seven stages and the second part comprises instructions to enact the liturgy, including use of herbs, plants and spices. Plants and products mentioned include lotometra (related to the lotus), myrrh, kentritis, persea tree, rose oil and verbena.
In medieval Europe, numerous herbs were long associated with magic and mysticism: mandrake roots – which often have human-like shapes and are hallucinogenic; sea holly (Eryngium) – an aphrodisiac; absinth (Artemisia absinthium) – another hallucinogen; henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) – a narcotic and anaesthetic; rosemary; common peony – to protect against evil spirits; and catnip.21
Sorcery and medicinal magic were severely impacted after the publication of Malleus Maleficarum in 1487, which tended to drive the practice underground.