Copal Resin Incense - Blanco White

The aroma of burnt copal is said to not only fortify and invigorate the body, but also soothe the mind and relieve symptoms of anxiety, stress, and even depression. There is however no essential oil derived from the distillation of copal, and the practice of distilling its essence is not commonplace, so all aroma-therapeutic applications for it subside in its being employed as an incense.

Metaphysical Properties & Uses Both true and false copal's greatest and perhaps most prolific employment remains in the field of the esoteric, where it has been employed since time immemorial as an offertory incense and deistic tribute. The Mayas, Aztecs, and other neighboring First Peoples Nations have long-employed copal as incense for their deities, even so far as shaping the easily-carved substance into ears of maize and other shapes considered sacred by their society and religion. The Plains Native Americans such as the Sioux and the Apache used to trade other goods such as spear points for copal, which was used extensively and exclusively in sweat lodge rituals. Both true and false copal (tribal societies of the time placed no true distinction or importance in the distinction of either) was believed to be the 'food of the gods' just as maize was considered the food of humans. With the later influx of Christian-oriented belief systems, the practice of using copal for rituals remained, albeit it was integrated into Church services, where it played the role of frankincense, then a highly expensive and almost impossible-to-procure commodity for the growing Churches in the New World. Because Christian-oriented belief systems employ incense not only as an offertory item for their god, but also believe it to be placating substance for the spirits of the deceased, its purpose then hybridized with the remnants of animalistic culture and, to this day, both true and false copal are strongly employed in the Dia de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead, particularly in Mexico and its neighboring areas as a means to 'ferry the dead and direct them to the afterlife as well as to placate the troubled and restless dead. This may suggest that copal can be employed for exorcism rites and rituals, although, the Catholic Rite, being exacting, always calls for frankincense for such rituals. This does not preclude the possibility that the hybridized tribal-Christian religion that arose after the Spanish Conquest would not prescribe its use for just such purposes, as remnants of tribal societies that exist to this day employ copal for banishing, smudging, cleansing, and exorcism.