- Remove a tablet from the sealed roll and have a heat proof dish ready.
- Light the edge of the tablet until it begins to sparkle. The sparkling will continue across the charcoal, otherwise use additional matches till it does. The tablets light best if they are held in the air with tongs or tweezers and held over a flame for some time when lighting.
- Wait for the charcoal to ignite and warm up, you may fan the tablet a little to get it good and hot.
- Place the charcoal in the heatproof dish, it will start to turn white, and will remain hot consistently for about one hour.
- Sprinkle a small amount of ritual incense onto the charcoal at intervals, too much will either fill the room with smoke or swamp the charcoal. You can always add more if you need to.
- Enjoy your ritual incense.
- Ensure that the remaining ashes from the charcoal are completely extinguished and cold before discarding.
Note: Charcoal is susceptible to moisture. Once the package is opened, store tablets in a plastic bag, sealed container or tin foil to avoid moisture absorption.
SAFETY TIPS
Some basic tips to ensure your incense burning experiences are safe and pleasant.
- Lit charcoal can reach temperatures of over 800°C. Brushing against the glowing charcoal or burning incense can cause significant burns on the skin or burn your clothing.
- Place your burning incense in or on a stable, non-flammable, heatproof burner. Some incense burners get very hot, especially if they're not insulated.
- Your burner can be filled with sand (silica sand is ideal) and this will act as a good heat insulator when the hot charcoal is burning.
- Make sure your burner is properly insulated so that the surface you place it on is protected from the heat that it could generate. A very hot incense burner can damage or discolour wooden surfaces and even crack glass table tops.
- Ash falling outside your incense burner could discolour fabric or furniture upholstery. It can be hot enough to be a fire hazard. Make sure all charcoal and incense ash falls on a fireproof surface.
- Position your charcoal and incense away from drapes, lampshades, and other flammable objects that could ignite. Be aware that stray sparks can fly from the charcoal when it is being lit and when it is burning.
- Keep your incense burner away from open windows or other drafty areas and do not put your incense burner next to anything that could be blown or wafted around by a breeze or movement of air. In this regard remember air conditioners move air around in a room.
- Never leave burning charcoal or incense unattended. If you have to leave the room or you are going to sleep and your charcoal or incense is still burning, put it out!
- Make sure all your spent charcoal and incense materials are completely extinguished and cold to the touch, before discarding (i.e. incense, matches, ash, charcoal). Charcoal ash can remain hot for hours after your incense has burned out. Hot incense material put into a rubbish bin can ignite and start a fire in a rubbish bin.
