The universe spent the latter part of 2021 bombarding me with information about black mirror scrying from any number of directions but particularly in the form of a course from Jason Augustus Newcomb. Historically I’ve not got on well with the practice and have largely passed over it for other practices and a focus on dream interpretation because of the insistence that burnt incense is a must have requirement to aid the practice.
I like incense as much as the next witch, and if I am part of a group ritual I generally don’t have an issue beyond eye watering, but if I am in close quarters with it, or burn in a space I spent a lot of time in (i.e. my living room or bedroom), I find that it eventually affects my breathing. The joys of allergies and asthma.
I’ve experimented over the years. One off offering as part of deity devotion is okay, so long as ventilate the space as burning the offering and keep it ventilated for the following day, but when trying to undertake a daily process ventilation doesn’t help much, and I usually manage three days before I have to stop and allow the atmosphere to clear.
When Jason’s course presented itself, I decided to so some thinking rather than rush straight into practice.
Why incense?
The main purpose of incense in scrying is usually to aid the process of seeing in the mirror. The mind space created by the olfactory effect of incense coupled with the slight “veil like” movement produced by the smoke (if it is placed before the mirror) all aid the process of seeing in the mirror. On top of this, the burning of incense is an offering to deity for aid in the operation being undertaken with the rising smoke becoming the vehicle of communication between the earthly and heavenly realms.
This second purpose may not be relevant to all, thus meaning that the incense can be excluded without much consideration but in the context of Jason’s course and practice, which is rooted in the PGM, it is critical.
Is there an alternative?
So, the question is; is there an alternative to incense available?
The obvious answer that occurred to me was aromatherapy. The olfactory benefits of aromatherapy for the mind, body and soul are legion and I am not going to cover them in any depth here. Needless to say, the same benefits to mind space imparted by incense are also being created by the burning of oils.
The other effects of incense are also clearly present when using modern electric diffusers, so long as you are open to having electronics directly involved in your ritual and you are able to balance the placement of the diffuser with the placement of the mirror, which is in of itself sometimes very difficult.
Whilst I am personally not averse to the electronics being present but I don’t already own a diffuser and I am not inspired to the expense. I do have a number of incense burners around the house however, so it made sense to me to use a traditional candle-based burner. With a bit of mental gymnastics around the rising of heat I am able to consider both the olfactory and rising communication purposes of incense covered, leaving my ability to enter deep meditation and maintain soft focus to carry the day.
Based on this I’ve had an oil bend infusing for the last moon – a combination of oils and herbs using virgin olive oil as a carrier. It combines frankincense and myrrh as two scents traditionally used in ancient religion for scent and oil-based offerings, serving as catch-all scents regardless of the godly context, with herbs and oils which aid in mental focus, divination and connection with the spirit world such as Mugwort, lemongrass and rose. It isn’t what you would call a recognised recipe but a combination of what was in the cupboard and listening to when the ancestors said stop. I do have a note of what was used and roughly to quantities/proportions, but I wouldn’t like to swear to be ever able to replicate it perfectly again in the future.
Whatever Works…
I am results driven, and will now undertake the praxis outlined by Jason’s course and develop my scrying skills as part of that. I am fairly certain that something will come of it as in my initial foray I found that things were starting to move energetically, but whether it will be as effective using an oil burner and this blend remains to be seen. My aim is to start building my scrying muscles using a small black mirror before expanding to using other crystals and objects that I have at my disposal.
My other aim in undertaken this practice is part of my New Year’s resolution to try and get out of bed earlier in the morning. I am still working from home (thanks COVID) and I have fallen into bad habits. I’m going to make this a morning ritual which fits in around the morning routine of the rest of the household – though it will mean the other half will not be able to come back to bed like he has been doing. The sacrifices we have to make…
Knot Magick 