Ask A Witch: What’s The Purple Stuff In Your Handmade Incense?

As part of our new video series, we’re answering your questions directly from social media. Add your witchcraft questions under one of Enchantments’ videos/reels and we’ll respond here on the blog. 

​A few people have asked under our new Incense video: “What’s that bright purple stuff?” in our handmade incense. And it’s a great question!

One thing you should know is that we handcraft all of our loose incense in-house in small batches. And when it comes to some lesser-purchased recipes, which you can find on the shop website, we will actually make the incense blend on-the-spot for individual orders (with a minimum of two ounces).

For our incense blends, we start with a powdered woodbase that’s self-lighting, meaning you don’t have to use charcoal. You simply touch fire (match or a lighter) to it in a small cauldron or fire-safe container. And that’s the purple stuff! It’s the powdered woodbase. But it’s not always purple…

And here’s why:

We work with color magic here at the shop too, so each color has a corresponding element, feeling, deity, magickal association, etc. Purple is traditionally used in witchcraft for spells involving prophecy, divine guidance, opening your Third Eye or Crown Chakra, intellectual endeavors, Jupiter, and wisdom, among other things. Any incense blends with intentions that are related to the above might have a purple woodbase. 

Other incense blends might have a red, blue, brown, black, or green woodbase, for instance. ​

Witch Tip: Want to learn more? Check out our “Ways to Enhance Your Spellwork with Incense” story for free here. If you want to create your own blend at home, check out this story (also free!). 

Next, we add in herbs and essential oils to the woodbase and mix it up by hand. Yes, we use gloves during the whole process. It might look easy, but it’s all about finding the right balance of moisture (it can’t be too wet or dry) between the oils, herb, and woodbase, as well as following the magickal formula/recipe. Most of the recipes come from Herman Slater’s Magickal Formulary, which we still use in the shop today. 
​

Witch Tip: If you wanted to purchase the unscented woodbase in a variety of colors and make your own blend according to your magickal practice, you can do that, too.

​After we set the incense to dry a bit, we package it up and sell it in either ½, one, or two ounces, although individual orders (depending on the recipe), sometimes require a minimum of two ounces. 

When you go to burn your incense, you only need a little bit — about half a teaspoon — for a good amount of smoke. The more you work with the incense, the better you’ll get at knowing how much to add to your cauldron for any individual spell, but a little goes a long way. 

We ship all around the world, so even if you’re not located in NYC and can’t come visit us in-person, you can still place an order online here under our “Formulary” section.