I'm not sure about anyone else, but when the time "springs ahead", I always miss that precious extra hour of sleep that gets lost somewhere in translation. It's kind of nice to get up for work when it's actually light outside, but I think I'd like that extra hour back a bit more.
Anyway...
I'm don't know about anyone else, but I absolutely love burning incense. (maybe I'm also a bit of a pyro, but that's beside the point) I'm not exactly sure what draws me to it, but aside from the wonderful scents, I essentially get transfixed watching the smoke from the incense swirl up around me in neat shapes or patterns, or sometimes, no shapes at all. I also think it's really neat that you can sort of "see" the smell of the incense.
I've recently come to think of burning incense as a type of offering. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think that in some Eastern traditions, doing just that is actually a type of offering. I look at it like this: You can do candle spells and imbue the candle with your intentions, so why can't you do the same thing with a stick of incense? The biggest difference between the two for me, is that incense seems somehow a more pure form than a candle, so that when I burn incense I may not actually use it the same way I would in an everyday spell. I feel like the smoke sends a more direct message deity, and so I tend to burn incense with the intent of it being an offering (of thanks) rather than asking for something when I burn it. I feel like the smoke can reach the heavens (so to speak) a bit faster than a candle, and so in that way it's more direct. I haven't used incense as a type of spell yet, but I think that in future I might if the circumstances warrant it - like, if I'm really in need of something, I'd burn a stick of incense and "pray" over it (spells are a form of prayer, in my mind at least). I also can't see why you couldn't combine candles and incense to create a more powerful message.
I'm not sure what makes me feel like incense is more "pure" than a candle, but I do. I guess it could be that candles can get really messy when you burn them, and that sometimes the flame doesn't burn clean (if you know what I mean), but at the same time you're left with a pile of ash when you're done burning a stick of incense, so in that way it's not exactly clean either. I'm also an air sign, so it could just be that I'm connecting more with that element when I burn incense, and so that why I feel this way, I'm not sure.
I also tend to use a lot of sage and smudge in my practice, but I think it's for different reasons than incense. I look at sage as being more sacred and cleansing, and so I only use sage to clear a space that feels gummed up energetically, or before rituals, or even just to freshen up a space's energy if the place feels stagnant.
So yeah, burning incense...it's kinda my thing.
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