Frankincense is one of the world's most famous resins, and yet many people are unaware of its spiritual power. Its fascinating history and mythical applications resonate with spiritual practices today – cleansing the aura, calming the mind, and enabling the deepest connections.
Let's consider the frankincense magical properties that set it apart from other resins and learn how everyone can benefit from understanding frankincense spiritual uses today.
History of Frankincense
Frankincense is the resin of theBoswelliagenus of trees. While several species produce the resin, perhaps the most famous and highly sought-after is the resin fromBoswellia sacra,a tree native to Yemen and Oman in the Middle East and also Somalia.
The resin has been used in spiritual applications for many thousands of years. One of its most famous appearances was when traces were discovered in Egyptian King Tutankhamun's tomb. It has also been found in other royal Egyptian burials, suggesting that it was considered part of the sacred burial rite.
Further frankincense spiritual uses are described below. Since ancient times, the cultivation ofBoswelliatrees has spread from the Middle East across parts of East Africa and further into East Asia. Today, it is produced commercially and can be purchased almost everywhere. This makes those frankincense magical properties accessible to anyone wishing to cleanse or build their aura or use it in personal spiritual activities.
Frankincense Spiritual Uses in Religion
The resin has a resonant history in the Abrahamic religions, as well as in other religions that flourished in North Africa and the Middle East. We discuss some of these below.
In the Bible
In the West, the most famous use of frankincense is as one of thegifts conferred on the baby Jesus in the Christian tradition. Along with gold and myrrh, it was seen as a gift fit for the Son of God, and its powerful spiritual connotations were only emphasized by this story.
In Religious Buildings & Ceremonies
Frankincense has been burned in holy buildings like mosques, synagogues, and Orthodox churches since ancient times. Its cleansing properties and fragrance were considered aids to concentration and prayer.
It was frequently used in ceremonies for similar reasons. Some early parts of the Christian church sought to ban "fragrant" offerings. However, religious leaders and scholars throughout the Middle East continued to utilize frankincense magical properties to help the devoted intensify their spiritual connections.
In Ancient Egypt
It's known that frankincense wasused in Ancient Egyptian burial rituals, although little is understood about how the Egyptians viewed it. High-quality resin from Yemen and Oman would have been accessible to the Egyptians through trade routes.
In Modern Paganism
Frankincense spiritual uses continue today. It's increasingly popular in modern pagan faiths – healing rituals are becoming better understood throughout the Western world. The potent properties of burning resin to enhance concentration and bring one closer to spiritual understanding are highly valued in modern pagan faiths.
Frankincense Magical Properties in Meditation
Among the most popular of all frankincense benefits and frankincense magical properties is that it helps facilitate meditative activity.
As we learn more about how meditation can improve our lives, people seek aids to deepen their meditative state and connect with unexplored parts of themselves and the spiritual realm. These include supplements thathelp induce a state of deep calm, as well as traditional resins like frankincense, which can be burned for their intense aroma or even ingested as essential oils.
Calming the Mind
The first thing we learn when we start meditating is that the mind must be calm. This is the most challenging step for many of us and, regrettably, is why some people give up before they've begun their journey.
The endless noises and anxieties of modern life make the calm state seem alien to us at first. Finding a place where these concerns don't interfere with our spiritual connection takes time and practice. An excellent way to help break through to the next layer and achieve total calm is to use meditative aids.
Frankincense is a spectacular choice for this. This aromatic resin smells unlike anything we encounter in our daily lives, and this transports us away from our grounded reality and helps introduce a new place. This place is filled with the intense, calming aroma of frankincense and offers an opportunity to think differently, ask questions differently, and, most importantly, understand a new way of receiving.
This property is why frankincense spiritual uses have been studied by religious and spiritual communities for millennia. If the first step of meditation is adjusting, this wondrous resin is the perfect place to start.
Cleansing Your Aura
The resin carries connotations of purity and dispels negative energy. This is one reason it was considered an appropriate gift to welcome baby Jesus into the world.
Understanding and reconnecting with your aura today is a loving task. Cleansing your aura of negativity and confusion is one of the tremendously beneficial outcomes of meditation. Frankincense helps people to sense and understand their aura and respond appropriately to negative energy.
Relieving Stress
Stress isconsidered one of the significant problems of our time. People today are taking matters into their own hands and learning how to relieve their minds and bodies of stress through meditation.
Meditative sessions can be enhanced by burning frankincense or simply ingesting a drop of its essential oil. This makes the perfect counterpart to other supplements we use tohelp relieve stress throughout the day. Maintaining minimal stress levels has proven health benefits and is a great reason to start practicing aided meditation today.
Building Your Connection
Each person has different goals and outcomes when meditating. For some, it's as simple as ordering their thoughts and finding a calm space. Many others seek a deeper form of connection with themselves and the surrounding universe; it's here that the history of frankincense uses comes into its own.
While the resin is not commonly described as an entheogen, it has a well-documented history of being used to increase individuals'energetic connections. This could be when praying, when seeking answers from deep inside yourself, or when manifesting or engaging in rituals that benefit from frankincense magical properties (learn more below).
Using frankincense in meditation has physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. From the mundane to the magical, its enduring popularity speaks for itself.
Magical & Healing Applications of Frankincense
"Ritual" is an extremely diverse word. A ritual can be anything from a morning routine to a ceremony to say goodbye to a loved one. It can have magical properties or simply be a process of introspection.
The most important feature of any ritual is that it provides answers. As mentioned above, one of the best frankincense magical properties is it helps remove us from our immediate environment and learn a new way to ask questions and receive answers. That's why it's such a popular choice for rituals of all sorts, both historically and today.
Healing Rituals
Many people use healing rituals to help them overcome past traumas or move past a difficult period in their lives. Simply improving our self-care and feeling of self-worth is a great example of this. Alternatively, you might carry out a specific healing ritual to draw a line under a negative period or heal a specific wound.
The aroma and aura of frankincense help build a sense of removal and renewal in these cases. It's long been associated with healing and dispelling negativity; it remains a popular choice for these magical activities.
Connective Rituals
Frankincense magical properties for building a sense of connection are legendary. Whether you're seeking to speak to your inner self or increase the positive energy you're offering the universe, achieving a transcendent state is often easier with aromatic resins and incenses.
Frankincense has been used in religious buildings and ceremonies for thousands of years for exactly this purpose. It was burned in mosques, synagogues, and churches to allow more intense, concentrated prayer – it still is today.
The connection doesn't have to have a specific outcome. Many people use connective rituals simply to ask questions that can't be answered any other way. The otherworldly aroma of frankincense helps people around the world achieve this.
Commemorative Rituals
Even people who might raise their eyebrows at the idea of a "ritual" actually undergo profoundly emotional rituals throughout their lives. Funerals, memorials, and other means of commemorating and letting go of loved ones are rituals everyone must go through.
We learn to grieve, celebrate, and commemorate those we've lost in deeply personal ways. Private rituals often involve a small offering, such as lighting a candle or burning resin, to create a sense of connection with those we've lost.
Enjoying Frankincense: Final Thoughts
Frankincense is often burned for its most intense and aromatic effects. However, today, it's available as an essential oil and is also used in many wellness products and health supplements.
This means that anyone can benefit from frankincense. Whichever way you choose to discover frankincense uses, ensure you enjoy it as part of a well-rounded approach to health, spirituality, and wellness. We get better with every small step – this amazing resin is just one of manybeneficial agents that help us along the way.
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