I must have lived a very strange life compared to some as I have never really consciously associated memory with smell, whilst using smell in my life all the time. There is the odd instance when I will associate a smell with a time or place i.e. when it has been hot for several days and then rains, the acrid smell that follows reminds me of the time I spent in Egypt around the time I first got into tarot reading, meditation and astrology.
When merged with memories, smell is incredibly powerful, for instance, when you are selling your house you could brew a cup of coffee, bake pies or bread to create the feeling of home and entice the smell sense of a potential buyer, regardless of whether or not that buyer’s home life actually involved home made pies or not. This is just one way smell can be used in everyday life to gain the intention you want to happen.
Another way you can use smell to enhance your surroundings and the energy around you, is when your house is feeling stagnant or there is discord at home. You should burn some sage incense making sure it passes into every corner of the house, this will encourage positive energies and banish negative feelings and emotions making the home more harmonious again. Sage is used in its herb form as both a healer and cleanser and has been used in ceremony for many centuries, often used in ancient ceremonies to cleanse the temple before the rituals began or burnt to inspire good health in the place it is used.
Incense and therefore smell can unlock old memories and to create new ones through meditation whilst the oils or incense is burning. We also use smell to enhance visualisation and creativity, thus this has been used in many magical circles to enhance your ability to hold a visualisation, making the end creation even more powerful. With any sort of spell or magic there is a warning attached “Be careful what you wish for” as the exact visualisation might be what comes true and it takes practise to get this technique right.
However there are other reasons for the use of smell in ceremony and ritual . It is believed by some practitioners of magic that incense separates the sacred and the profane. I do not believe this and would say that everything is sacred and that it is our perception that changes. The smell of the incense burned during ritual helps us to change this perception. This is especially true of frankincense, myrrh and sandalwood, all of which are commonly used for ritual and meditation purposes, this is due to the deeply spiritual nature of these incenses and woods.
Above the lower plants it towers,
The Fennel with its yellow flowers;
And in an earlier age than ours
Was gifted with the wondrous powers
Lost vision to restore.
Here are some of the more traditional incense combinations that are used to attract the desired circumstances, to you:
• Myrrh and peace
• Sage and health
• Cedar and cleansing
• Bay and increased spell power
• Rose and love
• lemon and cleansing
• Shaman and healing
• Ocean and peace
• Dragon’s Blood and love/sexuality
When I burn incense, oils or even light herbs, I am allowing my subconscious memories of the God/Goddess to come forth, connecting to a place inside me where both my dark and light aspects dwell. Burning the right incense can put you in the right frame of mind and spirit to welcome the change in energy. If you burnt an incense that didn’t connect with you then the result may not be what you expect.
Incense (the burning smoke) is also recognised as a symbol of the element of air. Of all the elements, air is perhaps the most elusive, it can be the most difficult to describe and visualise, but can also be one of the most vibrant. Air brings us the light sensation of a cool breeze, the sudden rage of a storm, and the sweet smell of every scent we experience.
Thou pretty herb of Venus’ tree,
Thy true name it is Yarrow;
Now who my bosom friend must be,
Pray tell thou me tomorrow.
Other ways to use smell and aromatherapy are…
- Anointing the four posts of your bed with sandalwood oil for protection and a good nights sleep
- Burning lemon oil in the house for protection against bacteria
- Using salt in all your cooking as a protection against poisons in the food
- Burning sage and myrrh to cleanse and bring peace to your home
- Using eucalyptus oil in the bath when I have allergies or a cold to stimulate the sinuses
- Sprinkling lavender flowers on the carpet to cleanse and refresh it
When I harvest home grown herbs I make sure that they are picked on a full moon to make sure they have kept the powerful energies of the moons rays (this is also known as ‘Moon Gardening’). It is not wise to pick herbs on a waning moon as this means they will be losing their power.
In aromatherapy there are so many ways to use oils, incense and herbs, woods and flowers that make it such a fascinating subject to look at, and also to experience. Not only are essential oils used to stimulate healing for many different conditions but also used in incenses and resins to create different states of mind and thus change our lives for the better, if we so desire.
As for rosemary,
I let it run all over my garden walls,
Not only because my bees love it,
Because it is the herb sacred to remembrance,
And, therefore, to friendship.
N.B. Please remember when using essential oils, that less is more and it is better to ask advice from a trained professional, like myself, if you are unsure about quantities and qualities 
