Since ancient times, incense has been burned for spiritual and healing purposes. Created with herbs or fragrant wood, incense is traditionally burned during meditation, prayer, or to simply create a tranquil and sacred space. Being spiritually grounded during these times creates an important bridge between your spirit and the physical realm, and burning incense can be one way to help you stay grounded. However, not just any scent will help you stay grounded, as each scent has its own particular spiritual properties. For the most part, incense that assists with spiritual grounding tends to have a woodsy or earthy aroma.
Here are some of the more well-known incense aromas that help with spiritual grounding.
Cedar
Cedar is a fragrant wood with a woodsy, somewhat spicy scent. Traditionally cedar has been used for spiritual purification, but it's also a good scent to use for spiritual grounding. The scent of cedar is known to promote calm and peace, as well as help clear away negative energy.
Sandalwood
Like cedar, sandalwood is also known for helping to clear away negative energy and help promote feelings of peace. It can also help one to get in better touch with their Higher Self, and can bring better focus to the mind.
Patchouli
This herb comes from the mint family and has a heavy, woody and exotic scent. The scent of patchouli can be very calming, making it a good scent to use during meditation or any time you want to feel more grounded. Patchouli is also believed to be an aphrodisiac, as well as having the potential to attract luck and abundance.
White Sage
White sage is a desert plant that is considered sacred by many Native American tribes, and is often used in spiritual purification ceremonies known as smudging. As an incense, the light, clean scent of white sage can ground you to the energy of earth, yet it can also be very spiritually uplifting.
Nag Champa
This fragrance that comes from India is a combination of sandalwood, the champa flower (better known as plumeria) and a resin taken from the Ailanthus tree, which is a species of tree native to Asia. Nag Champa has a distinctively earthy, yet sweet scent that many people find helpful for meditation and prayer.
Juniper
Juniper is a coniferous plant with a lively and spicy scent. It is known to transform negative energy into positive energy, and can help keep a person spiritually grounded. Juniper is also known for heightening psychic awareness and strengthening the aura.
When purchasing incense it's best to choose a good, high quality product. A simple way to gauge whether it's high quality or not is price. If it's dirt cheap it will most likely be poor quality incense, which is basically a stick dipped in artificial fragrance. Look for incense made with natural aromatic ingredients, and stay away from the artificial fragrance. If you're not sure which scent you want to use for grounding purposes, you may want to try an incense sampler pack which are offered by many retailers.
