[Help] I can't light incense

[lumineth Realm Lord]

This has been an ongoing issue since I began doing this. Incense just will not light for me. I put it in an incense burner, light it with a lighter, and nothing. I put it on a piece of coal, and light the coal, and there's nothing. I get incense sticks, and they light up when I give an excess of fire. But the ashes dirty the altar mat. I use a bundle of sage, and it lights, but the more it blackens, the harder it is to light again.

I ordered some miniature pieces of wood online. They came today, but were too long. Basically, they were twice the height of my burner. I break a piece in half and lit them. They work, but the fire was too strong, and was really making smoke. So, I had to put it out with a mini extinguisher I keep in my room. My room is airing out right now.

This is very disheartening.

 

[FraterFraxinus]

You must be very unlucky with the stuff you try to ignite i guess. Never had any issues with anything other than bad selfigniting coal.

I also use ~20cm sticks of Palo Santo and i just light them, let them burn for a short time and then let them smoke for a short time. I either hold them in my hand for cleansing me/room or lay them on a piece of castiron deco leaf as incense, they smoke for a maximum of 5 minutes that way. probably waaay shorter, never measured it. You control the amount of smoke produced by the time you let them burn beforehand and how much you light up. i usually just do the top for about .5cm

 

[Rlb2525]

There’s more than one way to imbue the air. Have you tried burning resins over your coals? You could boil a pot of water with whatever inc and let the steam act as your fumigation, you could use an oil lamp, or lamp berger which burns isopropyl with alcohol and then you could infuse that corresponding herbs/essences/essential oils.

When I use coal for incense I light the coal first, then add my incense once the coal is heated throughly. If I use stick incense? I typically use the bottle method, light it, and then hanging the stick upside down inside a glass bottle so all the ash falls inside.

 

[Nagaram]

An Essential Oil diffuser is essentially what @Rlb2525 is talking about with boiling incense. That's really all incense is, a stick of scented oil.

Arguable a scented candle is a two for one depending on your goals. I use that in my portable altar I take with me when I travel.

 

[ashlesha]

I use Japanese stick incense placed in a bowl of salt, which catches all the ashes and just needs a change every 4-6 months. The japanese incense burns lighter, doesn't have the thick smoke, and is usually a little shorter, so maybe that would work better?

My favorite brands are Shoyeido and Morning Star!

 

[borbponderer]

I wonder if ambient humidity is getting into it? I always found those little charcoal disks to be a nightmare to light once the packet had been open for a while.

Perhaps you could dry it out in the oven beforehand, or store it with some kind of desiccant?

 

[Firetree]

This has been an ongoing issue since I began doing this. Incense just will not light for me. I put it in an incense burner, light it with a lighter, and nothing. I put it on a piece of coal, and light the coal, and there's nothing. I get incense sticks, and they light up when I give an excess of fire. But the ashes dirty the altar mat. I use a bundle of sage, and it lights, but the more it blackens, the harder it is to light again.

I ordered some miniature pieces of wood online. They came today, but were too long. Basically, they were twice the height of my burner. I break a piece in half and lit them. They work, but the fire was too strong, and was really making smoke. So, I had to put it out with a mini extinguisher I keep in my room. My room is airing out right now.

This is very disheartening.

Dont play with fire if you dont understand it . You are lighting wood pieces to make a fire inside your room ? I hope that is in a fireplace .

here is the thing I have discovered about fire . Many people I know cant even light a fire and keep it going properly enough to cook their food . And this is in Australia - supposedly the great outdoors and home of the BBQ . being able to cook food on a fire was a VERY basic human skill ... we are doomed !


Here is a hint for you . If you dont want incense ash to fall on things , put your incense in an incense holder that catches the ash .

( My God ! ... and these people 'practice magic' )

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 11:04 PM

There’s more than one way to imbue the air. Have you tried burning resins over your coals? You could boil a pot of water with whatever inc and let the steam act as your fumigation, you could use an oil lamp, or lamp berger which burns isopropyl with alcohol and then you could infuse that corresponding herbs/essences/essential oils.

NOOOooooooo ... dont introduce this person to flammable liquids as well !

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 11:05 PM

I wonder if ambient humidity is getting into it? I always found those little charcoal disks to be a nightmare to light once the packet had been open for a while.

Perhaps you could dry it out in the oven beforehand, or store it with some kind of desiccant?

I used to keep them in an air tight jar with some rice in the bottom .

 

[borbponderer]

Dont play with fire if you dont understand it .

That's pretty much how I developed my understanding of fire, by playing with it at an early age.

 

[Firetree]

But I was not talking to you, was I ? Did you try to do magick and not be able to light the incense , use wood, have the fire get bigger ... while inside in your room and then need a fire extinguisher .

 

[borbponderer]

But I was not talking to you, was I ? Did you try to do magick and not be able to light the incense , use wood, have the fire get bigger ... while inside in your room and then need a fire extinguisher .

No, but I remember one time how my friend let a candle burn down and set fire to the cardboard box it was stood on(!) We were all sat about smoking so it took a while for us to notice all the extra smoke.

I'm actually pretty nervous about candles these days, especially in the hands of people who don't really understand what they are doing. Same with incense. So many people don't understand basic things.

 

[Firetree]

I live rural , in a cabin .... candles are notorious trouble . They can seem firm in the holder, light them, watch ... fine , walk away ... clunk ! fall over .

Once I was drawing at desk by candle light . I was about to go outside for a piss , stood up from table , a moth flew into the candle, bumped it, spilled some of the pooled wax out of the top on to the paper , some melted wax got on the moth as it flew into the flame , it ignited , crashed onto the paper where the wax was and in less than 2 seconds the paper work was flaming , I tried to beat it it out but that just fanned it so I just threw a nearby towel over it and smothered it .

Now if that had happened 30 seconds later while I was outside .....

 

[borbponderer]

I live rural , in a cabin .... candles are notorious trouble . They can seem firm in the holder, light them, watch ... fine , walk away ... clunk ! fall over .

Once I was drawing at desk by candle light . I was about to go outside for a piss , stood up from table , a moth flew into the candle, bumped it, spilled some of the pooled wax out of the top on to the paper , some melted wax got on the moth as it flew into the flame , it ignited , crashed onto the paper where the wax was and in less than 2 seconds the paper work was flaming , I tried to beat it it out but that just fanned it so I just threw a nearby towel over it and smothered it .

Now if that had happened 30 seconds later while I was outside .....

Pretty sure there is a moth meme for that somewhere. Or maybe mothman or something? Think it's something the tumblr kids are into.

Wild story. Fairly big moth I'm guessing? My general guideline for candle is have it set up on a metal tray. Place the tray on a surface that won't melt, crack or burn if the metal tray gets really hot. Keep your eye on it at all times. Obviously nothing hanging nearby like curtains or shrunken heads or anything like that.

No accounting for other humans and their clumsiness though(or moths). I have a free range pigeon as well and he sometimes reminds me of an enormous moth.

I don't really do incense or candles these days. I'm a stickler for fresh air. If I want incense there is a high church anglo-catholic church down the road, and they are more catholic than the pope.

 

[JehovahsLitness]

I can’t light it either I ran out