Frankincense and myrrh: a short history of ritual resin
Every guided meditation I lead begins the same way. Before anyone closes their eyes, I roll a little frankincense and myrrh onto my wrists, warm it between my palms and breathe in. Within a few seconds, the room feels different. Slower. Older, somehow.
People often ask me why I use these two resins in particular. The short answer is that they've been marking the threshold between ordinary time and sacred time for thousands of years. Here's a little of that history, and why I keep it alive in my own practice.
What are frankincense and myrrh?
Both are resins: the fragrant sap of trees that grow in some of the driest places on earth.
Frankincense comes from Boswellia trees. Boswellia sacra grows in Oman, Yemen and Somalia, and Boswellia papyrifera, now the main commercial source, grows in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan.
Myrrh comes from Commiphora trees, mainly Commiphora myrrha, which grows across the Horn of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula, including Somalia, Yemen and Oman.
Both are harvested in a similar way. Harvesters make small cuts in the bark, and the sap seeps out and slowly hardens into drops called tears. Frankincense tears are pale and golden, almost translucent. Myrrh is darker: deep amber to reddish brown, with a more bitter, earthy scent.
A short history of ritual resin
For most of human history, these resins were worth more than their weight suggests. They were burned in temples, used in burial rites and carried across deserts by camel caravans.
In ancient Egypt, both resins were used in mummification. Around 1470 BCE, the female pharaoh Hatshepsut sent an expedition to the Land of Punt, on the Red Sea coast of Africa, which brought back living incense trees. The journey is carved into the walls of her temple at Deir el-Bahri.
The overland trade routes that carried frankincense north from southern Arabia shaped whole kingdoms. In Oman, the remains of that trade, including the frankincense trees of Wadi Dawkah and the ancient ports of Khor Rori and al-Baleed, are now protected as the Land of Frankincense UNESCO World Heritage Site, first listed in 2000.
And many of us first met these words as children, in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew, where the wise men bring gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Across all of these, the resins appear in the same place: at a threshold. Between life and death, the everyday and the sacred, the outer world and the inner one.
Why I open every meditation with them
I use frankincense and myrrh as a threshold too.
Scent reaches us quickly, before we've had time to think about it. When the same scent opens every session, it becomes a signal: this time is different, and it's yours. Over weeks, the act of warming the oil between my palms has become a small ritual of arriving.
There's also something about the age of it. When I breathe in these resins, I'm doing something people have done for thousands of years. It reminds me that I'm part of a much longer story, matter in relationship with other matter: tree, sap, skin, breath.
I'm not claiming the oils do anything to the body. For me, their power is in ritual and attention, in marking a moment as one worth noticing.
Sourcing with care
This history comes with a responsibility. In 2019, a study in the journal Nature Sustainability found that most populations of Boswellia papyrifera have very few young trees, because of grazing, fire and over-tapping. The researchers projected that frankincense production from these trees could halve within about 20 years.
So it matters where our resin comes from. [Add how you choose your suppliers, for example certified sustainable or traceable sources.] If you're buying frankincense yourself, it's worth asking: which species is it, where was it harvested, and how are the trees and harvesters looked after?
A 3-minute resin ritual
You can try this before work, before bed, or any time you want to mark a pause.
Roll. Apply a little frankincense and myrrh to the inside of each wrist.
Warm. Rub your palms together slowly and cup them near your face, without touching.
Breathe. Take three slow breaths. Notice the scent change as it warms.
Notice a colour. What colour comes to mind? Don't choose it. Just let it arrive, and carry it with you into whatever comes next.
This is the blend I use in my sessions: the Frankincense & Myrrh Scent Roller from Ode To Elder, handmade in London.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between frankincense and myrrh? Both are tree resins. Frankincense comes from Boswellia trees and has a bright, resinous, slightly citrus scent. Myrrh comes from Commiphora trees and is darker, warmer and more bitter.
Where does frankincense come from? Frankincense comes from Boswellia trees in Oman, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan. The resin is harvested by cutting the bark and collecting the hardened sap.
How do you use a scent roller? Roll a small amount onto pulse points such as the inside of your wrists, then warm it between your hands and breathe in. Patch-test first, and follow the guidance on the label.
If you'd like to pair this ritual with colour, try my free 10-Minute Colour Check-In.
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