Incense Blending for Magic & Sacred Cleansing

The Zen Shop is hosting an incense blending workshop on Thursday 22 October, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. The whole point is to move past the ready-made sticks you buy off a shelf and blend your own from scratch for ritual, protection, cleansing and magical work.

Over the two hours, you'll get a proper look at the different building blocks: resins, herbs, woods and spices, and how they differ from one another. There's a focus on the traditional ingredients used for cleansing, protection, grounding and blessing, and how to choose components that actually work together rather than just clashing. Scent, symbolism and intention sit at the heart of it, with planetary, elemental and traditional correspondences guiding the combinations you put together. You'll spend the session exploring the ingredients and then take home your own blend to use.

It's aimed at anyone with an interest in witchcraft, folk magic, ritual, herbalism or natural incense making, whether you're completely new to it or already use incense in your practice. The workshop runs in a room downstairs from the shop, which has no windows and isn't well ventilated, so keep that in mind if you're sensitive to strong scents. Tickets are £22.38, and the session runs from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at The Zen Shop, 162 High Street, Deritend, Bordesley, B12 0LD, Birmingham.