Copal Incense Benefits and Uses for Healing and Spiritual Growth in 2023

Incense has been widely used across many religious practices for centuries, with the oldest recorded use dating back to 2000 BC in China. The significance of incense lies in its ability to uplift our senses and intensify spiritual connections. 

Today, we continue to use incense in religious gatherings and privately in meditation. As well, more practical uses such as aromatics for our homes and to create relaxing spaces such as in spas and yoga studios.

There are various ingredients of plants and resins that can be used for making incense. Each holds its own spiritual significance, making them useful for different scenarios and to reap specific benefits.

For a universally beneficial incense, we like to keep Copal incense sticks on hand - an incense predominantly recognized thanks to ancient Mayans and Aztecs of Central and South America. Copal is a gentle smelling incense that delivers uplifting and inspiring energy.

Before choosing to work with copal incense in your practices, it is important to know the history of copal and the process it takes to become the burnable incense we seek to use in our homes and practices. 

In this post, discover the uses of copal incense sticks, and copal incense benefits for both the spiritually attuned and those looking to create a relaxing space.

What is Copal Incense?

Copal is a resin collected from the trees of the Burseraceae family in warm climate regions. Including Central and South America, parts of Africa, and Southeast Asian countries. 

Nicknamed “the Incense Trees”, it is the same family of trees that give us Frankincense, Myrrh, and Palo Santo. 

Copal

Palo Santo

Frankincense and myrrh

What sets copal resin apart is its particular physical make-up. It is denser than a smooth sap but has not aged to a fossilized state such as solid amber. Landing only at 2 on the Mohs scale for mineral hardness, the texture and appearance of copal would be comparable to frankincense resin. 

When copal is turned into copal incense sticks, it serves many spiritual purposes. Traditionally, it is known for its use in Mayan and Aztec ceremonies as an offering and energy cleanser. 

Now, we can also embrace its spiritual and health benefits through enhancing meditation and cleansing our own energies. 

What Does Copal Smell Like?

Copal incense is known for smelling lightly aromatic. Giving off a gentle smoke, this incense will be easy to incorporate regularly. Especially for those who are sensitive to strong scents.

Sourced from the Burseraceae tree family, copal incense carries a similar scent of wood and can be compared to frankincense. However, copal carries an essence that is a bit muskier.

When burning copal incense you can expect:

• A mellow aroma
• Hints of earthy pine
• Gently sweet and warm notes

What Does Copal Incense Look Like?

There are three main colors of copal resin that can be collected. Ranging from black to gold, and white.

However, the mixture of resin and other natural plant ingredients that is used for the incense will create a grey color. You can expect this for both copal incense sticks and cones.

Copal Incense Meaning and History 

Named by the ancient Aztecs as “Blood of the Trees”, copal incense has become known as a spiritually connected tool for use in sweat lodges and other ceremonies. 

The Aztecs and Mayans had many uses for copal as it is a fairly malleable resin. It has been recorded that copal resin was not only burned as incense but also used as glue for creating masks and even adorning their teeth with gemstones.

In other parts of the world, copal resin was used as glue and varnish in furniture making.

The name copal is derived from the word Copalli from the Nahuatl language. This was the language spoken by the Aztecs for centuries prior to Spanish arrival in what is now Mexico. 

Translating to "incense", or more specifically "scented smoke", copal is a generic term that ended up sticking to describe this particular material used by the Mayans, Aztecs people, and other groups around the world. When it comes to copal incense meaning, today we use the word copal to describe the particular resin used to make copal incense.

The Mayan story of creation, found in the Popol Vuh, references copal and its arrival on this Earth. It describes how the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars brought copal down to Earth, signifying the spiritual importance in this culture’s practices.

How Copal Resin Incense is Made

Typically, incense is made of dried organic materials that are dampened to roll onto a stick or into a cone. 

But how do we make incense out of resin?

Since it is sticky like a sap when it is harvested, copal resin requires a few more steps to become an incense stick that will smoothly and evenly burn when rolled into an incense stick.

Copal resin must first be boiled to refine it to its purest state. This will rise to the top and then be moved to cold water to harden it slightly into a malleable form.

From here it can be shaped into cylinders around a stick, with one more consideration…

LotsofZen's Copal Resin Incense Sticks are combined with dried natural plant ingredients that are relevant to the resin source to maintain the purest and most accurate scent. You can consider it as a binding to hold the incense together.

Copal Incense Benefits

Copal incense can serve us in a variety of spiritual settings. We can tap into its benefits during ceremonial gatherings or in meditation to align with our chakra system and cleanse our aura energy. Even casual use can bring us to a calming state.

Here we’ll review some of the top benefits of burning copal incense:

Clear Energy Blocks

One of the most popular benefits of copal incense is its ability to clear our auras of energy blocks. 

Energy blocks hold us back in multiple ways throughout our aura bodies. They can present as physical and cognition problems, or in our lives preventing us from achieving goals and opening up to abundance.

Burn copal incense with the intention of removing any blockages. You may say an affirmation or smudging prayer out loud to create focus on any blocks in your body.

Create Balance

Copal incense pushes for balance in energies. 

Believed to have come to earth from the Sun, Moon, and the Stars, copal incense holds a connection to the universe that we can’t see. At the same time, being composed of plant materials, copal is rooted in grounded energy through its direct connection to the Earth.

Burn copal incense to find your center between spiritual connection and reliable grounding.

Promote Intuition

A strong intuition is our key to making decisions with our best interests in mind. When used in our meditation practices, copal incense pushes us to recognize our intuition.  

The benefits of a strong intuition include knowing when someone or something isn’t meant for us, having accurate predictions to outcomes, as well as fueling our creativity. 

Using copal incense to strengthen intuition will help you navigate any task, project, or problem at hand.

Calm The Nervous System

Spiritually speaking, copal incense carries uplifting and positive energy. We can also account for the wooded scent copal brings as a reminder to our senses of the relaxing essence of nature. 

Through the olfactory system, we can experience the full-body relaxation that copal incense brings about through calming of the nervous system. When the aroma reaches our brains, it triggers a reduction of processes that will alleviate stress and anxiety.

Use copal incense in the morning to prepare for your tasks ahead, or at the end of your day for a seamless transition into sleep.

Strengthen the Mind

Already acting as an aid in relieving anxiety, copal incense works even further to fortify the mind, therefore strengthening our thought processes and emotions.

Producing the opportunity for deep states of meditation, burning copal incense helps us reach within ourselves to find the courage and strength we need to see the world differently. 

Don’t let inconveniences and troubles get in your way. Handle daily and abrupt stressors as they arrive with a secure mindset by burning copal incense. 

What is Copal Incense Used For?

Apart from the traditional use as an offering in ancient Mayan and Aztec culture, copal incense continues to be seen in Mexican traditions and ceremonies and has been adopted into use for personal spiritual practices. Copal incense is most commonly used in the form of incense sticks. You can also find cones or pellets that are burned on top of a charcoal disc.

Offerings

Copal incense’s appearance at Mayan and Aztec ruins of ceremonial and burial grounds solidifies its spiritual relevance. Although the truth behind their use of the copal resin can only be assumed by records passed down through time and uncovered artifacts, there is a confident belief in its role as an offering.