Substitutions for magickal work and incense

Here are four of the most commonly used substitutions

Rosemary can be used in place of any other herb
Rose can be used in place of any flower and may be found at any quality florist or nursery.
Frankincense or Copal can be used in place of any Gum Resin
Sage can substitute for any mint
Tobacco can be used in place of any poisonous herb
ACACIA - Gum Arabic
ACACIA GUM - Gum Arabic
ACONITE - Tobacco
ARABIC, GUM - Frankincense; Gum Mastic; Gum Tragacanth (for binding wet ingredients, not
for incense use)
AMBERGRIS - Artificial Ambergris, Cypress Oil with a few drops of Pachouli Oil
AMMONIAC, GUM - Asafoetida
ASAFOETIDA -Tobacco; Valerian
BALM OF GILEAD - rose buds; Gum Mastic
BDELLIUM GUM - Copal, Pine Resin, Dragon's Blood
BELLADONNA - Tobacco
BENZOIN - Gum Arabic; Gum Mastic
CACHANA - Angelica root
CAMPHOR OIL - Eucalyptus oil; Lavender oil
CARNATION - Rose petals anointed with a few drops Clove oil
CASSIA - Cinnamon (Cinnamon sold in the U.S. is actually less expensive cassua)
CASTOR BEAN - A few drops Castor oil
CEDAR - Sandalwood
CINQUEFOIL - Clover; Trefoil
CINTRON - Equal parts Orange peel and Lemon peel
CLOVE - Mace; Nutmeg
CLOVER - Cinquefoil
COPAL - Frankincense; Cedar
COWBANE - Tobacco
CYPRESS - Juniper; Pine needles
DITTANY OF CRETE - Gum Mastic
DRAGON'S BLOOD - Equal parts Frankincense and Red Sandalwood
EUCALYPTUS OIL - Camphor oil; Lavender oil
EUPHORBIUM - Tobacco
FRANKINCENSE - Copal, Pine Resin
GALANGAL - Ginger Root
GRAINS OF PARADISE - Black Pepper
GUM ACACIA - Gum Arabic
GUM AMMONIAC - Asafoetida
GUM ARABIC - Frankincense, Gum Mastic
GUM BDELLUM - Copal, Pine Resin, Dragon's Blood
HELLBORE - Tobacco, Nettle
HEMLOCK - Tobacco
HEMP - Nutmeg, Damiana, Star Anise, Bay
HENBANE - Tobacco
HYSSOP - Lavender
IVY - Cinquefoil
JASMINE - Rose
JUNIPER - Pine
LAVENDER - Rose
LEMONGRASS - Lemon Peel
LEMON PEEL - Lemongrass
LEMON VERBENA - Lemongrass, Lemon Peel
LODESTONE - A magnet or hematite
MACE - Nutmeg
MANDRAKE - Tobacco
MASTIC GUM - Gum Arabic, Frankincense
MISTLETOE - Mint, Sage
MUGWORT - Wormwood
NEROLI OIL - Orange Oil
NIGHTSHADE - Tobacco
NUTMEG - Mace, Cinnamon
OAKMOSS - Patchouli
ORANGE - Tangerine Peel
ORANGE FLOWERS - Orange Peel
PATCHOULI - Oakmoss
PEPPERWORT - Rue, Grains Of Paradise, Black Pepper
PINE - Juniper
PINE RESIN - Frankincense, Copal
RED SANDALWOOD - Sandalwood with a pinch of Dragon's Blood
ROSE - Yarrow
ROSE GERANIUM - Rose
RUE - Rosemary with a pinch of Black Pepper
SAFFRON - Orange Peel
SANDALWOOD - Cedar
SARSAPARILLA - Sassafras
SASSAFRASS - Sarsaparilla
SPEARMINT - Peppermint
SULFUR - Tobacco, Club Moss, Asafoetida
THYME - Rosemary
TOBACCO - Bay
TONKA BEAN - Deerstongue, Woodruff, Vanila Bean
VALERIAN - Asafoetida
VANILLA - Woodruff, Deerstongue, Tonka Bean
VETIVERT - Calamus
WOLFSBANE - Tobacco
WOOD ALOE - Sandalwood sprinkled with Ambergris Oil
WOODRUFF - Deerstongue, Vanilla
WORMWOOD - Mugwort
YARROW - Rose
YEW - Tobacco
Many people have asked me about Herbs that are dangerous when used in combination with
each other. Most of them had been watching too much Charmed. Herbs won't "explode" or
cause you physical harm as shown on that series. The only harm you can really do is using
Herbs that contradict each other. For example, Wolfsbane and Chamomile would not make a
good combination. They cancel each other out. Using them together could cause two things to
happen. The first being that it would most likely just not work and nothing would happen.
The second possibility is that it could create negative energies and reverse the spell the you
are doing.
A few words on Spell Books:
The Wiccan section at Barnes and Nobles has tons of Spell and Ritual books. I bought one that
had over 5000 spells in it. I got it for reference because I know that these spells will probably
not work. The Spells in all of those books were written by someone else and therefore will
never be as effective as it was for that one person. There is only a tiny chance that copying a
spell will work for the intention you're aiming for. I encourage everyone to write there own
chants, prayers and spells. The amount of emotion and intent you put into the words will
make your spell more effective. There is nothing wrong with getting ideas and altering spells
to fit your needs.