Rating: 
Summary: Very interesting and informative
Review: Carl makes it easy for anyone to make good, clean-burning incense.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on incense I've seen...Highly Recommended
Review: Contrary to some of the previous reviews I've read...there are no evil spirits or intentions in the making of incense and every single one of these 'recipes' has been used repeatedly for quite a long time before this book ever was put together. I doubt very seriously if any of the people who have given this book a negative review know anything about making incense, have probably never made any in their life, and are completely clueless about the uses for it. (refer to the 'evil spirit' review for complete cluelessness) Comparing this book to Morita's is less than intelligent and only done so for subversive reasons which won't matter in the end because the book will sell itself. Mr. Neal's book is well put together, very informative and creative and so easy to follow that a chimp could make incense after reading it. It's worth the trouble, worth the money, and worth the wait!
Rating:
Summary: Incense: Crafting and Use of Magickal Scents
Review: Finally someone wrote a book on how to make stick, cones, and other incense naturally. Carl shows us step by step, how to make incense without using unnatural products. Not only is this wonderful for those who follow the Pagan path, but for people who have terrible allergies. This burns cleaner and you can smell the REAL scent of the herbs and resins used. Cunningham is great for loose incense and for magical correspondenses, but Carl expands and shows us how to make the solid sticks, cones, etc. These are much handier when traveling or don't wish to bother with charcoal(especially the kind with saltpeter). Kudos also for showing some Japanese methods. This book is intended to show different kinds of methods and doesn't focus on just one idea. Just like there are all sorts of people in this world, there are all sorts of ideas coming from this book. So I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who wants to make NATURAL incense for whatever their reasons. I've used several of his recipes and haven't failed yet. They smell so WONDERFUL and NO saltpeter! Congratulations Carl Neal on a job well done.
Rating: 
Summary: Can't Judge a Book by the Cover
Review: I love good books on incense and even some bad ones. The cover is beautiful but the quality of publication is poor. I expect to see illustrations in this kind of book. I felt this was a major failing. It indicated costs were being minimized and that makes the value less in my way of thinking. The book is priced just as high as other books, better books in my opinion, and many of them have full color photographs and professional illustrations. Almost everything the author presented about making incense I had already learned on several incense lists, which is where I know the author collected much of his information, and I resented him selling what others were giving away for free. Several sections are virtually summaries of work already published by Kiyoko Morita, David Pybus, and Suzanne Fischer-Rizzi, among others. There is some information I think is unique to the author, but not nearly enough. It would have been better if the author had expanded greatly on the work of others, but instead it appears he chose to condense. What is the value in that? Perhaps the author will put more effort in future works.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent start for beginners
Review: In the introduction Neal lets the reader know that this will be a different sort of book, noting that it is not intended to make large quantities of incense, or incense for commercial purposes, as these often use synthetic materials. Neal prefers a more personal and natural approach to incense making. 'Incense' covers a variety of techniques including stick, joss, cone and loose incense making, completely naturally. You won't find any synthetic or dipped incense recipes in this book, and, if you'll forgive the pun, it's a breath of fresh air. Brief histories of incense making around the world are given, acknowledging different philosophies and traditions. Also noting that many so-called 'traditional' recipes may only go back 10-20 years, and while still useful, may not really be historically accurate, but reminds the reader that this doesn't diminish their wonderful scent. He also gets into various incense philosophies, the ethics of incense making, for example whether or not to use animal material (he advises not), rare poached plants, possible attempts at fraud by merchants of incense materials, etc. Neal discusses the possible dangers of synthetic based dipped incenses, the possible toxins and harmful effects, as well as the dangers of saltpetre found in most commercial charcoals, and why he prefers to use more natural materials. He seems to have a special reverence for Japanese incense making techniques, philosophies and practices, and several are detailed within. A variety of recipes are offered, including numerous 'traditional' scents, and ritual-specific recipes such as 'Sanctification', 'Handfasting' and even 'Happy Cats', followed by a chapter on experimentation, which he encourages, whereas some other books don't mention or avoid for fear of making something 'dangerous', but without the use of saltpetre, as Neal advises, this is unlikely to be a problem. Advises making nice smelling incense, but also notes that one might want to 'make incense that does not create a pleasing scent, strictly because of the magickal alignment of the materials' (pg 40-41), or perhaps 'if you're a prankster, you'll even find that your incense making skills can be used to create some pretty terrible smells' (pg 41) ' though he does note that no recipes of this type can be found in this book. Wonderful as it is, I do have a few criticisms. There are a few typos, and it often gets repetitive in parts; indeed, there is even a small section that is repeated in its entirety (pg 45). While there are a few pictures, step-by-step illustrations to go along with the text, though detailed, would have been appreciated, as not everyone will be able to visualize the steps clearly, especially those who have never made incense before. Appendix B lists numerous suppliers in the United States, with a handful in the UK, but none in Canada. It would be nice if, in future editions, the appendix branched out a bit to include more locales. Very easy to use, 'Incense' offers step-by-step instructions on how to acquire tools, materials and various incense burners. This is an excellent book for those with an interesting in incense making or who are just starting out, and as Neal notes, even if you don't end up making your own incense, you'll have a much better idea of what goes into the process and which things to consider when purchasing off the shelf at your local shop.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful surprise!
Review: This author did a fantastic job! I just got this book for Christmas and love it. It is very thorough. A real education here on incense and making it the right way. This is truly a labor of love with much thought and expertise. Thank You Mr. Neal!
Rating:
Summary: This Is A Wonderfully Informative Book!
Review: This book gives a very nice insight into incense making and background information. I met Mr. Neal at United Earth Assembly this past year, & he really knows his stuff about incense. Our coven attended his seminar & found all his information very helpful. I highly recommend this book to all who are interested in the magick & creation of incense.
Cian http://www.silverserpentcoven.net
Rating:
Summary: Wow!! A LOT of information!!
Review: Tons of information and an easy read! Written as if he's speaking directly to you, the facts and instructions are easy to follow. Not only an excellent instruction manual, this book contains lots of information about incense in general--from ancient times to modern commerically made. Very excellent book! BUY IT! BUY IT NOW!! Better still, go make some incense!
Rating:
Summary: Wow!! A LOT of information!!
Review: Tons of information and an easy read! Written as if he's speaking directly to you, the facts and instructions are easy to follow. Not only an excellent instruction manual, this book contains lots of information about incense in general--from ancient times to modern commerically made. Very excellent book! BUY IT! BUY IT NOW!! Better still, go make some incense!
Rating:
Summary: Very good book on the subject
Review: We use it every day and we probably take it for granted. Incense is part of our everyday lives. We use it to make our house smell nice, we use it for meditations and we use it for rituals.
But what most of us don't know is how it is made, how to make it ourselves, what is involved in making it and do we want to get into making our own.
Carl F. Neal has put together a book on the basics of making incense and mixing together the scents that make it attractive to our every use.
The book is very well laid out, with an exact Table of Contents, a good index, a very light bibliography and a good glossary of terms. While I would have liked to see more of a bibliography, I believe Mr. Neal's personal experiences make up the bulk of the book, so I can live with the few references he has provided.
The introduction is interesting. His How To Use This Book even tells you where to concentrate your reading in order to produce your first batch of incense... read this chapter, skim over this chapter and so on. He is eager to have you get into the actual making of your own incense.
Mr. Neal has a good overview of the final products, what they are, what their differences are and what you can use them for. I like his easy to read and clarity of writing. He works a simple basic introduction for the reader, assuming that we do not have a good working idea of the product. And for the most part, those picking up this book probably will not.
I like his treatment of the topics. The Importance of Form is a good overview of the different types of incense and I found his advices to be good. Incense Composition gives us the basics of building our incense; what makes them smell, and what science is involved in our being able to make them smell as good as we choose. Even the How To Use Incense part, which seemed silly at first (we all know how to use incense, or do we?) explained how to achieve the best results when we use incense. Pay special attention to the Hazards part of this... some people do not realize that while we are considering incense to be a representation of air, we are actually dealing with fire. Mr. Neal makes this point very clear.
Mr. Neal gives the same kind of careful considerations to the chapters on Selecting Materials, Tools and Workspaces and Making Incense, walking you through step by step to help you select the best materials for your special purposes, the best tools to achieve your final product and the procedures for actually making the incense. Clear instructions, easy to understand and no mysterious terms makes this easy to follow. In the Recipes section he provides simple recipes and complex recipes for those who want to advance to the next round, and the recipes are broken down in to mixes named for specific magical workings you may have in mind. The recipes contain a base, binder, liquid and aromatic so you understand the composition process. He also provides various styles of incense so you can work with them all and decide which ones you prefer to make.
There are also Experimentation and Troubleshooting sections and then Appendices which give you ingredients chart, help with locating materials and Mr. Neal's philosophies on incense and suggested ritual uses. A very interesting section on Listening to Incense: The Japanese Approach to Incense is an insight into how the Masters of incense production, the Japanese, look at the creation, burning and treatment of incense. A brief overview, but it is meant to allow for the individual to explore the topic further if they feel they want to.
I like the idea of the book. While I personally would not go through all the work and expense of making my own incense, I liked the idea of being able to understand the incense process. For those who feel that they would like to explore the topic "hands on", it provides two things. If you are curious, this book can help you make a decision about this being the kind of craft you would like to get into. Do you feel this is something that you can devote the time, effort and interest to? Do you feel this work is worth it for your use of incense? Secondly, if you are a person who has decided on making your own incense, this is a great beginners handbook and will allow you to follow, step by step, the process of making basic incense to creating your own special blends.
On the down side, there are no pictures, so those who need images will be left out.
Mr. Neal's magical associations are general, non-path specific and a good basic starting place for those who are not familiar with using incense in magic. His associations of types of incense with magic (like a combination of pine, clove, benzoin, oak moss and sage for an incense for Air) are from the basics with a touch of inspiration in blending. Nice combinations for the most part.
My opinion of this book being well written, easy to understand and nicely put together makes this a good recommendation for anyone interested in the topic. boudica
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