Copal Resin Incense spiritual and religious needs, smoking mirror ritual

Teas, tonics, and therapeutic remedies for your health and healing

~ Copal Resin Incense ~
Traditional and Sacred Use of Resins

COPAL RESIN INCENSE
Latin Name: Bursera microphylla
Origin: South and Central America
Planet: Sun Element: Fire

Copal incense is as golden, black, or white resin whose sacred
smoke carries messages to the spirit world. The spirit of this plant
and it's medicine allows us to see life more clearly and inspires divine
insights...

"I create a smoking mirror that reveals
all things."

Copal resin incense comes from the sturdy Bursera tree in the regions of southern Mexico. The resin is
formed when the tree is cut and a thick milky liquid seeps out. It is dark in colour, very black, but changes
colour as it dries. The Mayan Indians hold copal as very sacred and have used it in ceremonies since
before the invasion of the Spanish conquests to the Americas. The name for copal is pom in Mayan
tongue. Especially sacred is the resin that comes from a tree that has been struck by lighting or
"Thunderbeings.", which holds the most beautiful spirit.
The Mayan creation story, Popul Vah, it is described as a "seeing instrument." The copal of the
Guatemalan Chorti Mayans that is used for censing is called uhtz'ubte' in Chorti and copal, copal de santo,
or palo de santo in Spanish. The gum [resin] is boiled, shaped into hard pellets, burned with live coals in
incense burners, and the fumes allowed to pass over the body to cure various illnesses, to protect oneself
against sorcery, sickness, and misfortune, and to cleanse the body after contact with the ritually unclean,
especially sick persons and corpses.

Copal resin is said to revel invisible energies that appear like rays of sunlight filtering through an early
morning mist. Healers may use it as a diagnostic tool to help them see the deeper dimensions of a client's
energy field.
Gazing through the smoke to detect illness and energy blocks. It may be used for clearing and clarifying
the mind since it holds the influence of purification and protection. The dried natural resin, when burned,
emits an odor akin to frankincense but with a lighter, citrusy tone.
"Pom, the Mayan word for copal, a resinous tree gum...The darkest kind, wrapped in two pieces of pumpkin
shell...is now used only in Momostenango for the most sacred rites. The second variety, wrapped in corn
husks, serves for other ceremonies. The kind sold currently in small gray pebbles in all the markets is
used extensively in Indian huts as a disinfectant or insecticide and as an incense before the household
altars. Poor people burn it in church" (de Jongh Osborne 1975:114n)

Copal's clean, crisp fragrance is ideal for use in self-purification rituals, clearing a space, or purifying ritual objects.

Copal nodules from the sacred
cenote at Chichén Itzá (from
Lounsbury 1971, Fig. 10

"In the southern Huasteca region, among Nahuatl speakers copal incense smoke is used in two ways for divination.
In some areas patterns in the smoke of burning incense are interpreted by the shaman, constituting one of the many
forms of divination found in Mesoamerica (Sandstrom 1991:235).
In other areas "the shaman picks up fourteen grains of corn and holds them in incense smoke. He then chants,
asking the sacred hill spirits to guide him. Next, he casts the grains [of censed maize] onto the cloth and interprets
where they fall" (Sandstrom 1991:236). In Mitla, Oaxaca, the Zapotecs burn copal in water so as to diagnose the
cause of a fright. The copal's underside is supposed to provide a picture of the fright's cause." (Parsons 1936:120)

Use copal resin incense to enhance your spiritual and religious ceremonies and rituals. Aiding in healing and health. The plant spirits of natural resins add protection, purification, and sacredness to all that you do.

Resins have been used for over 4,00 years in spiritual and religious rituals dating back to the time of Babylon when 57,320 lbs/26,00 kg of frankincense was burned on the golden altars as an offering
to Bael, one of their solar deities. The most commonly known resins are myrrh, frankincense, and copal, however, many others exist. Less commonly known in the western world are dragon's blood,
which comes from China, and Peru balsam from South and Central America.
Traditional and spiritual use of dried natural plant resins for incense are recorded in the early history of man in Egypt, Babylon, Israel, and the ancient Mayas. The plant spirit of each resin holds
different properties and are used for different purposes, such as frankincense, which is used for enhancing meditation and deepening any religious experience.

When used in ceremony the natural resin, being less processed than essential oils, hold more essence of the plant and more spirit energy. This concentration of the "blood" of the plant is what make
them powerful reservoirs of natural energies. They are different than essential oils and are meant to be used in different ways. The most common way to use resins is to place them on a burning
piece of charcoal tablet allowing the aroma of the smoke to fill the space, releasing its energy and essence. They are also a key ingredient in making true and real incense being combined with
essential oils and finely ground woods, such as sandalwood. Resins can be used for their aromatic qualities alone, as an aid to holistic healing, and of course in spiritual and religious rituals. Adding
resins to your own rituals and ceremonies will not only add new dimensions and enhance the effects of the ritual, but bring the higher qualities and vibrations to the event.

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