The Complete Book of Incense, Oils and Brews by Scott Cunningham - review by Sean Paradis

The Complete Book of Incense, Oils and Brews by Scott Cunningham
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sean_Paradis]Sean Paradis

The Complete Book of Incense, Oils and Brews by Scott Cunningham is a phenomenal book about the magical and physical properties of Incense, oils, and many other mixtures including tinctures and bath salts. The book is divided into three sections. The first on an introduction to the magical properties, proportions of ingredients, and creating your own recipes.

The first section is phenomenally put together. Cunningham discusses everything you will need to know about the ingredients used in the recipes, the basics of making incense, oils and other formulas, and the magical side of making your own incense to use in rituals, the home, and aromatherapy. One of the most beneficial sections of this part is the ingredients section. Cunningham talks about the types or plants, resins, and gums to use, the most common ingredients, and where to buy, grow, or find the ingredients. The second part contains the recipes.

The bulk of the recipes are of incense and oil concoctions. However, Cunningham also delves into the mixing of bath salts, brews and teas, herb baths, powders, tinctures, and a few other small items such as inks, and ritual soaps. The only thing I wish that Cunningham had written in more detail about, are the smaller recipes, such as the ritual soaps. However, the supplied recipes are richly developed, and have a broad array of products. With each section, a description of how to make the recipes is written, followed by the recipes.

The two most thorough and valuable sections are the incense and oil tutorials. Cunningham gives you all the information readers will need, but not too much to where readers feel overwhelmed and do not know where to start. The most valuable part in my opinion is the third section.

The third part makes this book not only valuable to those who are new to making incense, but also to experienced incense makers. Cunningham lists substitutions readers can use in the case they do not have an ingredient, are allergic to an ingredient, or any other reason readers can think of for needing to replace an item. This section also includes the scents to use in recipes for the four elements, planetary, magical, and astrological purposes.

All in all, this is a phenomenal book to add to any new age collection, or to give as a gift to anyone enthusiast about incense. I give this book 4.75 out of 5 stars and highly recommend this book to any reader interested in making candles, incense, or any other tool used in aromatherapy. http://seanparadis.com

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