Day 2 of Kpt Sandalwood

Oh what a night... 0.0 my goodness. I was not prepared. I had taken about 45 minutes of meditation before I realized I needed help. My hand was cramping and it was getting more difficult for me to meditate. Out came the coffee grinder... I spent about 10-20 seconds grinding it that way. I then put it back in my mortar and took another, I would say, 20 minutes meditating yet again.

This herb is very cleansing and purifying and the beginning of my meditation felt very calm. I have always sensed a sensualness from sandalwood but its in a calm place not an overwhelming or extreme emotion type of sensualness. To me I have found it to be an anchor to your physical body.

After I was done grinding I sifted to give me only the finest powder for my kpt dry ingredients.

Day 1 of Kpt Frankincense

My first night with Kpt was a fairly easy night. Frankincense is a resin that breaks up and powders quite easily. The youtuber Mirth and Reverence suggests a wonderful idea for flying resin chips that looks a bit like a out of control firework display, of putting a towel over the resin and break the resin up that way so it doesn't leave your mortar. I spent time after it had powdered just to spend more time meditating.

Such an old and traditional ingredient. 

For me this made me think of history and ancestors and the ones who would have used these incense since its been used so much over such a long period of time. All of the ones that we are connected to throughout time. The smell that came from the frankincense seemed to be giving me energy and strength. 

I felt this to be a very spiritually connected and purifying, I am glad that I started with this resin I originally chose it to be my first ingredient because the Ancient Egyptians burned Frankincense in the morning and Myrrh in the noon day sun and Kpt at night after the sun had set. I wanted Frankincense first and Myrrh as the middle ingredient. After however it just felt right to have the first night be started with acknowledgement of the past and cleansing.

Another thing I did for this take out my oracle cards that had my ancient Egyptian gods and goddess to be on my altar and part of my meditation.
Some may repeat depending on the night but I did find it a wonderful artistic addition to my meditation.

I realized as well before I burned it. I took time running my hands through the powder, feeling the texture. Smelling my hands.

Kpt checklist and overview

I am going to give you what you do and when and then give you my recipe (mind you I have put some non-traditional ingredients) but that's just me I will make note of non-traditional ingredients though I do think most are obvious.

First thing I did was I cleansed out my mortar and pestle with just grinding rice... didn't powder it or anything came out with some great smelling rice and a friend of mine said she was going to use hers in sachets I might do that my self...

So here it goes the process....

Day zero (Wet ingredients)... pretty simple. (You can scale up or down but I used a small recipe to test the waters... or wines... lol you'll get it in a minute)

take a container with a good air lock seal... (not clear something dark)

this is mine...

put in... in this order...

50 raisins 

1 c. dates (chopped)

Honey is normally added later but MIRTH AND REVERENCE  who I mentioned in my last blog but some in on while making the initial wet mixture I liked it so I did... I eye balled it really but maybe like a tbsp or 2.

(original recipe is lotus oil) I used Jasmine and sweet orange...we shall see how it turns out... just a few drops

and then fill the jar with wine until the other ingredients are covered... just covered not swimming. Also this doesn't need to be expensive wine... I spent I believe 6$ my friends bought anywhere between 4$ to maybe 9$. Dark red wine is what you want.

I added a bit of Dragon's Blood to the mix...

so... don't worry if its not gorgeous doesn't look that great at this point but it really doesn't have to "look" great.

This mixture you stir once to twice a day and refill the wine as the contents become exposed. What is happening is the dates and raisins are absorbing the wine.

You will also want a container to hold your dry ingredients. Each day you only compound one ingredient making it as fine as a powder as you can... I'll admit since I have a slight disability I used my grinder on some ingredients so far (I'm on day 7) for a few seconds to break up fibers of the tougher woods... but than again if you try this recipe you will see why.

My recipe

Day 1 Frankincense 3 Tbsp. or 3 parts

Day 2 Sandalwood 1 Tbsp. or 1 part

Day 3 Benzoin 1 Tbsp. or 1 part

Day 4 Angelica Root (Personal addition) 1 1/2 tsp. or 1/2 part

Day 5 Cedar (Exotic element for Egyptians) 1 1/2 tsp. or 1/2 part

Day 6 Dogwood (Personal addition) 1 1/2 tsp. or 1/2 part

Day 7 Orris Root 1 1/2 tsp. or 1/2 part

Day 8 Juniper Berries 1 Tbsp. or 1 part

Day 9 Myrrh 2 Tbsp. or 2 part

Day 10 Bee Pollen (Personal addition) 1/2 tsp.

Day 11 Cinnamon 1 1/2 tsp. or 1/2 part

Day 12 Mint (Original herb but changed amount) 1 1/2 tsp. or 1/2 part

Day 13 Galangal Root 1 1/2 tsp. or 1/2 part

Day 14 Copal 1 1/2 tsp. or 1/2 part

Day 15 Dragon's Blood 1 Tbsp. or 1 part

Day 16 Gum Arabic 2 Tbsp. or 2 parts

Day 17 Rose 1 1/2 tsp. or 1/2 part

After reducing the herb or resin to powder, or as close as possible, during meditation we take that ingredient burn a small portion on its own I personally burn it as acknowledgment of the ingredient itself and work and effort I put in. 

Kyphi (Kpt) Incense

Kyphi was an incense made in Ancient Egypt that was documented by the Greeks. We actually don't know the name they really used for the incense the Greeks wrote down since Kyphi or Kpt is actually a general term for incense itself. This recipe was used in the Temples and could very from temple to temple, from my opinion, based upon which God or Gods that were worshipped or based upon what ingredient would be able to be obtained or even what each temple could afford. This recipe is fairly expensive for today's standards for a individual recipe, let alone in Ancient Egypt at the time it was made. Premade Kyphi sells for about $26 an oz. The Greeks version of this recipe was written based upon the incense in the Temple of Ra, but even so there are a few versions out there. These recipes and more history on Kyphi or Kpt can be found by google search, therefore I am not going to list all of them here.

When I first heard of this incense it was introduced to me by a friend as project, and indeed it is a project, that she wanted to try. She found the recipe on youtube from a youtuber named  MIRTHandREVERENCE who I fell in love with. Not because we have similar styles in practicing our spiritual paths, what drew me to her was something far greater than finding someone that practices the same way you do, it was her positive energy, thoughtfulness and her outlook on life and situations. She made a series of what she does to make Kpt. Walking you through what her process is in making the wet and dry ingredients. Kpt is much more than throwing herbs in a mortar and pestle and having it smell good or even what the ingredients bring. The process is a meditation. Taking your time with each ingredient working with the texture the smell the energy on a individual level and building a bond with what you are making. Now, there are traditional recipes who knows if when compiling the recipe the Greeks missed one or two. Or the Egyptian priest did not give them certain ingredients.

Most ingredients I find in recipes I have my own opinions on. Mostly the commonly used herbs. Since I have a bad reaction to both lavender and sage especially I have had to find substitutes and in doing that I have taken to going by feel of herbs instead of always referring to encyclopedias or guides (for correspondences and meanings). If its a herb or flower etc. that I don't use often of course I check for poison factors, parts used etc. So this was an opportunity for me. I had not worked with many of these herbs before but also I don't know why but I had never really sat down and meditated while using my mortar and pestle to grind up 1 herb at a time. WHY? Not a clue. What a wonderful idea. To interact and to see the true nature of that 1 herb and just see what happens.

This incense takes weeks, warning, it is a TIME project but it is so worth the time if it is something you want to do. It smells wonderful and is a beautiful process. I am currently on day 7 but I will right I will catch you up and I have got pictures!