by Glenore Weal

Created on: July 29, 2009

Did you ever walk into one of those new age-y shops that sells candles and peace sign jewelry and notice the pleasant, calming scent in the air? Chances are the lovely aroma surrounding you was coming from incense. The most common form of incense is a long stick with fragrance material on one end that you can burn. Shops that sell incense often sell incense burners as well in various shapes and sizes. The simplest and least expensive is a long piece of wood or small jar that holds the stick and collects the ashes as the incense burns.

Safety first: Make sure you set up your incense burners in the middle of a table far away from billowing curtains, curious cats, toddlers with chubby, grasping hands, or flammable materials. Light the business end of the incense stick and let it burn for a few seconds. Then blow out the flame and you will be left with a glowing stick of incense sending its lovely scent wafting through the air.

The best way to enjoy incense is to burn it often so that the scent lingers in your home. Just as your carpets and furniture absorb unwanted odors from pets or cigarette smoke, the gentle, relaxing scent of incense can remain in the air long after the incense has burned away. You might want to choose a room or rooms that are already relaxing and calming in nature. The incense stick will release a thin stream of scented smoke in the air but for the most part, it will not be so overwhelming as to concern yourself with setting off the smoke alarm. In a room with good air circulation, you can usually light two or three without the room becoming uncomfortably smoky.

Once you've found some aromas that you like, you might want to ask the shop owner for more information about what the various scents represent or go online and do a little research of your own. In no time, you'll begin to develop preferences regarding the aromas that you'd like to be surrounded with and what the different types of incense represent. In addition to the stick form, incense can also be purchased in a cone form or you can buy incense oil that can be placed in a diffuser or used to scent potpourri. Before you know it, you'll become an incense expert and will find yourself searching out attractive and interesting incense burners that will do double duty: decorate your home as well as help delight your senses with a lovely, lingering aroma.

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