Reminder: you don't need to burn incense for everything you do. It's more than just something we use to set the mood. Waste not, want not, especially in an age where some plants and materials get harder and harder, rarer and rarer to cultivate, propagate, or harvest from.

Something that I realized only when looking through the PGM regarding incense is that incense isn't just burned willy-nilly, and there's no general prayers for incense. Incense (when and where it appears, which was not often at all) was almost always an offering—a sacrifice.

We're so spoiled nowadays by having so many resins, plants, and the like so cheaply and freely available to us when they were gifts for kings and magnates, tribute given to rulers, and sacrifices for the gods that most people would never just have lying around in their homes.

And, the way the planet is going and how conspicuous consumption is going to be the death of us all, we're putting ourselves in jeopardy of literally running out of these because the supply can't keep up with the demand. Frankincense may well go extinct in the coming century.

Not saying you shouldn't use incense at all, nor that you we can't do so ethically or respectfully. We should, and we can, but we need to remember the purposes, sacredness, power, and inherent wealth of this stuff, and not squander it just for the sake of good vibes in general.

Many rituals do call explicitly for the use of incense, and usually specific kinds or blends of the stuff. Learn and consider *why* that might be the case, and why one might *not* use that incense in other circumstances more than just for its scent or composition.

Not everyone can or needs to be a software engineer to use a computer; not everyone needs to be a ritual specialist to use or participate in a ritual. But everyone should give some thought about why we do/use the things we do/use, when it's called for, and when it's not.

There are lots of ways to increase good vibes in a place beyond just burning incense, diffusing/anointing oils, or burning anointed/scented candles. Fresh flowers or plants often do a great job on their own for that alone, and bring other spiritual benefits aside. Cooking, too!

I wouldn't be surprised if people burn incense the same way they use Febreeze: to mask spiritual smells for the sake of avoiding having to clean things properly. So much spiritual gunk is rooted in physical gunk; don't waste incense when what you need is to sweep, mop, and dust.

Sure, incense can and does have banishing, cleansing, and purifying properties which can and should be relied on at times, but after a certain point, some people just treat the symptom instead of the underlying cause, whether due to ignorance or laziness. Don't be like that!

Also, if you have to burn incense with any frequency or regularity, unless you're independently wealthy or you have an institution backing you, don't burn high-end stuff all the time. Don't be afraid of the cheap shit, so long as you can trust it and it's not outright offensive.

It's not like the ancients didn't use fillers in their incenses, too, like raisins, dates, wine, honey, sugar, or the like, sometimes to stretch the stuff out or to make the incense more smoke-proliferous. It's not cutting corners if it serves a good purpose, after all.

Consider the laconic reply King Agis gave to Lycourgos the Lawgiver when Lycourgos asked why the offerings of the Spartans were so "mean and trivial" compared to the extravagant offerings of other city-states in ancient Greece:

"So that we may always have something to offer."