We mainly use incense sticks for religious purposes. We use incense sticks with different kinds of smells to worship. Apart from religious purposes, we use this to relax too. The smell emitted from these sticks will bring a sense of calmness to our mind and ultimately relax you. Today there are thousands of different incense stick brands with various fragrances. Today we have thought of bringing you the process of lighting an incense stick from the beginning to the end. You need to know how to use them properly to avoid any injuries or wastage. So, now we will go through the process of how to light incense sticks in detail.
Table of Contents
How to light incense sticks
01. Finding a proper place
This is the most crucial thing which you need to do initially. Incense sticks emit a lot of smoke. So, you need a place with more space and adequate ventilation for this. There are few things which you need to keep in mind when selecting a place. The place you choose should not be very close to doors or windows. The curtains there can easily catch fire. On the other hand, the place should not be with lots of wind too. The strong wind will blow the incense away quickly and will not allow it to burn it either for a considerable period.
02. Lighting the stick
Often people use a match or a lighter to light incense sticks. You need to hold the flame on the end of the stick until it catches fire.
03. Allow the flame to burn
In most instances, the flame on incense sticks extinguishes on its own. You need to keep the flame for about 10-15 seconds to burn it properly. Then you need to examine the edge of the incense stick closely. Just check and see whether it is burning correctly with a glow. If not, you need to light the stick again. Most of the time, if the stick is not burnt correctly, the tip of the stick gets ashy.
04. Blowing out the flame
Now you will be able to see a glowing ember on one end of the incense stick. After about 40 seconds, the smell starts to come out. This indicates that your stick is burning correctly. If the smell does not come out and your stick tip looks ashy, you need to light it again. This time you need to keep your hand behind the flame and when you blow.
05. Placing the incense stick in the holder
You can place the wooden end onto the holder if you are using cored incense sticks. You can place any end of your stick on the holder if it is a solid incense stick. Most of the time, the incense stick will get a slightly angled nature when you place it on a holder. Here you need to make sure that the tip of your stick is always kept above the censer. On the other hand, if you choose to place your incense sticks in a container with rice or sand, push the stick’s bottom firmly into sand or rice. If it gets an angled shape, make sure to keep the tip of the stick within the range of the container so that the ash will fall directly into it.
06. Let the incense stick burn
Most of the incense sticks will last for about 30 minutes. You can keep it burning until it gets extinguished. The burning time will depend on the quality and size of the incense stick.
07. Following fire safety measures
You need to examine the flame closely here as you do for others. You need to extinguish the stick by watering the stick’s tip or pressing it against the floor. Above all, you need to make sure that the incense sticks are placed away from children and pets and on a heat-resistant surface too.
Just remember these steps when you go to light incense sticks. This step by step how to light incense sticks process will surely come in handy for you.
How to burn incense sticks without a holder
Now we will provide you some of the ways you can use to burn incense sticks without a holder.
By holding – This is the easiest and the most straightforward method, you can use for burning sticks without a holder. This is perfect for meditation too. Remember to handle it with care to avoid any burning injuries.
Drink cans – You can use these empty soda and other cans as incense burners. You can stick these sticks into it and place it in a fireproof place.
Kitchen sink – Have you ever thought about this? Yes, your kitchen sink is the right place for you to burn incense sticks. But keep this in min too. Do not let the burning tip gets on your sink. This will leave a mark that is hard to remove after that.
Best time to burn incense sticks
Do you think about the best time to burn incense sticks? We are here to provide you some of them.
Prayer time – You can use an incense stick at your prayer time for worshiping. The fragrance from these sticks adds more value to your prayers and will eventually become more meaningful. It further adds more meaning to all the rituals you perform.
At the time of meditation – Meditation means establishing a connection between our physical body and soul. This needs advanced concentration. The smell emitted from incense sticks will make it easy for us to calm ourselves and be more focused. This will allow us to meditate better.
Spa therapy – Many traditional spas use incense sticks for their therapy routines. The fragrance that comes from these sticks will make our body and mind calmer. Aromatic incense sticks are used for this.
How many incense sticks to burn for good luck?
In Fen Shui, number 03 is considered holy due to three realms. Heaven, earth, and humans are three of them. So, people often burn 03 incense sticks when worshiping. They believe number 03 as a sign of good luck and do the same when burning incense sticks too. Apart from that, most people burn incense sticks in odd numbers. Odd numbers are believed to be positive numbers. So, they burn incense sticks in odd numbers for good luck. Have you known this before? It’s amazing how the numbers can change fortunes. Isn’t it?
Last Line
I hope that you have obtained much vital information about the process of how to light incense sticks from this. We have provided you a step-by-step approach to follow. We recommend you to follow this process for better results. Even though burning an incense stick is not a biog deal, this process will help you to do it properly. Apart from that, we have provided you some of the ways which you can use to burn incense sticks without a holder and the best times to burn these sticks.
Above all, we have also we have provided you with some of the vital information which many of you might do not know. We have given you details about the number of incense sticks you need to burn for good luck. We have provided all this information to make your lives much better and for your benefit. Therefore try to make use of these to make lives happier.
