Working with Marchosias: incense that carries a working from start to finish

A working has a length, and incense marks it

Most workings are talked about as if they happen in a single moment: the petition, the flash, the result. In practice, a working has a length. It opens, it continues, it closes, and there is a stretch in the middle where nothing dramatic happens at all, and you are simply sitting, attending, and listening. Incense is the tool that marks that length, because it is present through all of it, not just at the moment you light it.

That is the angle this article takes on Marchosias incense. Marchosias work, as listed here, is spirit work and spellwork with Marchosias, in the Goetia system. The incense for that work is not a scent you add at the start and forget about. It is the thread that runs from the opening of the working to its closing, and it is worth learning to work with it in that way, rather than treating it as decoration for the first five minutes.

If you are working in the Goetia system, work from the instructions and teaching you already follow in that system. A general article like this one is not a substitute for proper teaching, and it should not be used to invent a purpose for a spirit you have not studied. Before you light anything, be clear about why you are doing this working, and state the matter in one clear sentence. If you cannot, write it down, leave it overnight, and come back to see if it still reads true.

What incense does that oil does not

Oil and incense are often used together, and they do different jobs. Oil marks and anoints: it stays on the skin, on a seal, or on a candle, at the point where it was applied. Incense fills the space itself, and it changes over time: it rises, it thickens, it thins, it fades. That change over time is useful, because a working also changes over time, and the incense gives you something outside yourself to track it by.

When the incense is first lit, the room is still ordinary. A few minutes in, the room has changed, and so have you, because you have been sitting in it, breathing it, and attending to it. Later, when the incense fades, that fading is itself a signal: the working is moving towards its close, and you should be moving towards it too, rather than letting the session drift on without an ending.

Learn to notice those stages in your own room, with your own burner, rather than reading about them in general terms. Every room behaves differently, and every burner behaves differently. The point of a first few sessions with a new incense is partly to learn the incense itself: how much to use, how quickly it fills your space, how long it lasts, and how it behaves with your ventilation.

Setting up so the working can run its course

Set out what you will need before you light anything, because once the incense is lit, the working has begun, and fumbling for a tool breaks the attention the incense is meant to hold. Set out the incense, a safe burner or charcoal arrangement you have used before, the oil if you are using oil as well, and any seal or tool your practice calls for. Marchosias has cast seal pendants, in 1 inch and 2 inches, and a cast seal ring, all for traditional Goetia work with Marchosias. If your working uses a seal, have it out and ready before you light, not still in its box when the smoke is already rising.

Clear the space physically, and set it aside for this purpose. Put away the things that pull your attention elsewhere. If you have a regular working space, use it. If you do not, choose one place and use it consistently for this working, so the place itself starts to carry the association.

Ventilation needs a decision made in advance, not in the middle of the working. A room that is completely sealed will fill with smoke quickly, and a room that is wide open will lose the scent before the working is done. Find a balance that works for your space: enough air to breathe comfortably, enough containment that the scent remains present through the working. Open a window a little, or leave a door ajar, and see how your room behaves before the night of the working, not during it.

Preparing yourself for a working that takes time

Then prepare yourself. Bathe, or at least wash your hands and face, and change into clothes you do not wear for ordinary errands. This is not about looking a certain way for anyone else. It is about marking, for yourself, that this time is set apart. Eat simply beforehand if you can, and avoid starting a working when you are exhausted, drunk, or already agitated. A clear head is a working tool, just as much as incense or oil is, and a working that runs its full course needs a practitioner who can sit through it without fidgeting for the door.

Know what you are going to say, in your own words, and know what you are not going to say. A petition that tries to cover every possible outcome usually covers none of them well. Keep it direct, keep it honest, and keep it to the matter at hand. If your practice calls for a formal form of address, use the form you have been taught. If it does not, plain, direct words said once, clearly, are better than a long improvisation that loses its shape halfway through.

Ask yourself, plainly, whether this is the right working at all, and whether there is ordinary-world work that should be done first, or at the same time. Ritual work is not a substitute for dealing with a legal matter, a safety matter, or a medical matter in the ordinary world. If any of those apply, deal with them first.

Why this incense, made in this way

The Marchosias incense offered here is hand made in the same way as the other incenses on this site. Each batch is hand made when you order it, unless a batch has just recently been made. The incenses made here are of a quality that Athena uses herself for magical work. They work well enough that she uses them successfully for spirit work, work for clients, as well as her own spellwork.

That made-to-order point matters here, too. It means the incense has not been sitting, opened and closed, through other people's orders. It is made for your order, and then blessed by Athena herself before it is sent out. No promise about what it will do for you is made here, only that it is made by hand, for this work, and not mass produced.

It also matters for learning the incense itself. Because each batch is made fresh, you are learning a living recipe, not a warehouse stock that never changes. Note in your record how each batch behaves in your room, so that over time you know the incense, not just the idea of it.

Oil, fumigation, and the seal alongside the incense

If you are doing a full working, rather than simply burning incense on its own, use oil as well. Anoint first, with a clear purpose in mind, then light the incense and let the room settle before you speak your petition. Do not rush from lighting to speaking. Give the room a moment to change, and give yourself a moment to notice that change.

The Marchosias oil offered here is made in the same way as the other oils on this site: from only pure essential oils, roots and herbs, with no synthetics and no fillers, sometimes with the odd gemstone thrown in, in a 1/2 oz bottle, about twice as large as those little health food store essential oil bottles, unless otherwise stated. Each batch is hand made when you order. If you are anointing a seal, a candle, or your own hands for the working, that oil is the matching companion to this incense, for the same work with Marchosias.

Fumigation is the other companion use, and it fits naturally into a working that runs its course. Passing a seal or a tool through the incense smoke, deliberately, with the purpose in mind, is a recognised way to start a working, and to prepare the tools and talismans that will be used in it. Do it slowly, rather than waving the item through quickly and putting it away. The slowness is part of the preparation, and it sets the pace for the rest of the working.

A simple working order, to adapt to your own practice

The following is a general order, not a fixed script. Adapt it to the system you already work in, and to the instructions you already follow for Goetia work. First, prepare the room and yourself, as above. Second, set out the incense, the burner, and the oil and any seal or tool you will use. Third, anoint, if you are using oil, deliberately, naming the purpose in your own words, and fumigate the seal or tool if your practice calls for it. Fourth, light the incense and let the space settle. Fifth, speak your petition, clearly and once, rather than repeating it until it loses its shape. Sixth, sit quietly for a time and listen, letting the incense carry the middle of the working, rather than filling every moment with more words. Seventh, close the working properly, in whatever way your practice requires, as the incense fades, and put the tools away in their proper place.

Afterwards, write down what you did, when you did it, and what you noticed. Not what you hoped would happen, but what actually happened, in plain language. That record is what lets you tell, weeks later, whether anything changed, and whether that change had anything to do with the work. Note the incense itself in that record: how much you used, how the room behaved, how long the scent remained, and how the stages of the working lined up with the stages of the smoke. Those practical details are part of learning how to work with incense well, not a distraction from it.

What not to do

Do not burn incense in a room where it is unsafe to do so, and do not leave a burner unattended. Use a safe burner, on a heat-proof surface, away from curtains, papers, and anything that could catch, and stay with it for the whole working. A working that ends in a fire risk, or in a room full of smoke you cannot breathe in, has not been prepared properly.

Do not use incense as a substitute for the rest of the working. Lighting incense and then doing nothing else, with no petition, no attention, and no closing, is not spirit work. It is just a room that smells different. The incense supports the work, it does not replace it, and it certainly does not carry a working you have not actually opened.

If you have sensitivities to smoke or to particular incense ingredients, test carefully, ventilate well, or choose a different form of working. If the incense makes you cough, or gives you a headache, that is information, not a test of dedication. Stop, ventilate, and reconsider how, and how much, you use.

Keeping a record, and knowing when to stop

Keep a short record for each working: date, purpose in one sentence, incense and oil used, what you did, and what you noticed afterwards, over days and weeks, not just on the night itself. If nothing changes, that is also information. It may mean the petition was unclear, the timing was wrong, the work was not appropriate, or simply that the situation needs a different approach.

Do not repeat the same working endlessly in the hope that repetition alone will force a result. Do the work properly, once, observe, and then decide, calmly, whether a second working, a different approach, or no further working is the right next step. Repetition without reflection is not persistence. It is noise.

Marchosias incense, and Marchosias oil to go with it

Incense is not background scent for this work. It is what carries the working from its opening to its close.

I hand make Marchosias incense myself, in small batches, when you order, and I bless it myself before it is sent out. It is incense I use myself for spirit work and spellwork with Marchosias, not a bulk incense relabelled for the purpose. I make no promise about what it will do for you, only that it is made by hand, for this work.

If you want the incense for that work, this is the one I offer: Marchosias Goetia incense, $44 CAD. View the product

I also make the oil to go with it, for the same work: Marchosias Goetia grimoire demon evocation oil, $44 CAD, 1/2 oz bottle. View the product

#IncenseCarriesFinish #DemonEvocation #2OzBottle #12Oz #MarchosiasIncense #Incense #Goetia #Spirit #Seal