Incense in the context of Frankincense

Impiety is a perceived lack of proper respect for something considered sacred. Impiety is often closely associated with sacrilege, though it is not necessarily a physical action. Impiety cannot be associated with a cult, as it implies a larger belief system was disrespected. One of the Pagan objections to Christianity was that, unlike other mystery religions, early Christians refused to cast a pinch of incense before the images of the gods, an impious act in their eyes. Impiety in ancient civilizations was a civic concern, rather than solely religious (as religions were tied into the state). It was believed that impious actions such as disrespect towards sacred objects or priests could bring down the wrath of the gods.

A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds insoluble in water, predominantly terpenes. Technically, resins should not be confused with gums, which consist predominantly of water-soluble polysaccharides, although these two terms are often interchangeable in the less formal context. Common resins include pine oleoresins, amber, hashish, frankincense, myrrh and the animal-derived resin, shellac. Resins are used in varnishes, adhesives, food additives, incenses and perfumes.

Resins protect plants from insects and pathogens, and are secreted in response to injury. Resins repel herbivores, insects, and pathogens, while the volatile phenolic compounds may attract benefactors such as predators of insects that attack the plant.

Myrrh (/mɜːr/; from an unidentified ancient Semitic language, מוֹר /mor/; from Hebrew, see § Etymology) is a gum-resin extracted from a few small, thorny tree species of the Commiphora genus, belonging to the Burseraceae family. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history in medicine, perfumery, and incenses. Myrrh mixed with posca or wine was widely used in many ancient cultures to produce pleasurable feelings and as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic.

The incense clock (simplified Chinese: 香钟; traditional Chinese: 香鐘; pinyin: xiāngzhōng; Wade–Giles: hsiang-chung; lit. 'fragrance clock') is a timekeeping device that originated from China during the Song dynasty (960–1279) and spread to neighboring East Asian countries such as Japan and Korea. The clocks' bodies are effectively specialized censers that hold incense sticks or powdered incense that have been manufactured and calibrated to a known rate of combustion, used to measure minutes, hours, or days. The clock may also contain bells and gongs which act as strikers. Although the water clock and astronomical clock were known in China (example: Su Song), incense clocks were commonly used at homes and temples in dynastic times.

The incense trade route was an ancient network of major land and sea trading routes linking the Mediterranean world with eastern and southern sources of incense, spices and other luxury goods, stretching from Mediterranean ports across the Levant and Egypt through Northeast Africa and Arabia —through both the sea and the land along the Red Sea— to India and beyond. These routes collectively served as channels for the trading of goods such as Arabian frankincense and myrrh; Indian spices, precious stones, pearls, ebony, silk and fine textiles; and from the Horn of Africa, rare woods, feathers, animal skins, Somali frankincense, gold, and slaves. The incense land trade from South Arabia to the Mediterranean flourished between roughly the 3rd century BC and the 2nd century AD.

Solemn Mass (Latin: missa solemnis) is the full ceremonial form of a Mass, predominantly associated with the Tridentine Mass where it is celebrated by a priest with a deacon and a subdeacon, requiring most of the parts of the Mass to be sung, and the use of incense. It is also called High Mass or Solemn High Mass.

These terms distinguish it from a Low Mass and Missa cantata. The parts assigned to the deacon and subdeacon are often performed by priests in vestments proper to those roles. A Solemn Mass celebrated by a bishop has its own particular ceremonies and is referred to as a Solemn Pontifical Mass. Within the Roman Rite, the history of the Solemn Mass has been traced to the 7th century in the Gregorian Sacramentary and Ordo Romanus Primus, followed by several centuries of adapting these pontifical liturgies. Eventually, the proliferation of multiple parish churches within the same cities saw these liturgies further adapted so that the average priest could celebrate them. By the 13th century, those Masses with ceremonial more closely following that of the pontifical liturgies were identified as "Solemn" or "High Masses" in contrast with simpler "Low Masses". In the Catholic Church, since the promulgation of the 1969 Roman Missal, much of the Solemn Mass's ceremonial has fallen into obsolescence and disuse.

Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires (including stoves, candles, internal combustion engines, oil lamps, and fireplaces), but may also be used for pest control (fumigation), communication (smoke signals), defensive and offensive capabilities in the military (smoke screen), cooking, or smoking (tobacco, cannabis, etc.). It is used in rituals where incense, sage, or resin is burned to produce a smell for spiritual or magical purposes. It can also be a flavoring agent and preservative.

Smoke inhalation is the primary cause of death in victims of indoor fires. The smoke kills by a combination of thermal damage, poisoning and pulmonary irritation caused by carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and other combustion products.

A botánica (often written botanica and less commonly known as a hierbería or botica) is a religious goods store. The name botánica is Spanish and translates as "botany" or "plant store," referring to these establishments' function as dispensaries of medicinal herbs. Botánicas are common in many Hispanic American countries and Latino communities around the world. Such establishments sell folk medicine, herbs, candles, and statues for Saints and popular gods. They also carry oils, incense, perfumes, and books. Such stores have become increasingly popular in the United States as the Latino communities they serve have grown in that country. A botánica is a site of healing and support, such that one owner says they are a "place of mysteries" due to the metaphysical appreciation of mystery as a synonym for spirit and divinity.

Most botánicas sell products and services associated with spiritual practices such as Candomblé, Curanderismo, Espiritismo, Macumba, Palo Monte, Santa Muerte, María Lionza and Santería. Whether these items are viewed as cultural imports or adaptive responses on the part of immigrants to a new social environment, the majority of these products and services are used by those who seek guidance in their spiritual and social lives. Botánicas provide their patrons with access to power: power from the natural world, the social world, and the world of the spirits. Devotees, in turn, use this power to meet the challenges of ordinary life: problems of health, wealth, and love. People come to the botánica with a host of struggles and problems, and the botánica offers hope from these troubles.

In Buddhism, a Pūjā (offering or worship) is a ritual devotional action made to a Buddha, deity or to the Triple Gem. Within the traditional Buddhist framework of karma and rebirth, Pūjās lead to the accumulation of merit (Sanskrit: puṇya; Pali: puñña), which leads to: a better rebirth as well as progress towards nirvana. The practice is also held to generate other positive qualities in a Buddhist practitioner, like respect, gratitude, and inspiration. It is also seen as being able to stimulate the blessings (adhiṣṭhāna) and power (bala) of the Buddhas. A pūjā can also act as preparation for meditation.

Common elements of a Buddhist Pūjā include the recitation of certain formulas, prayers, and texts (such as parittas, sutras or dharanis) which are often accompanied by different physical acts like bowing, prostration and the hand gesture of the añjali mudrā. It often includes material offerings such as a lit candle or oil lamp, incense, flowers, food, fruit, water or drinks. These offerings are commonly placed in front of a Buddhist altar.

Inksticks (Chinese: 墨; pinyin: mò) or ink cakes are a type of solid Chinese ink used traditionally in several Chinese and East Asian art forms such as calligraphy and brush painting. Inksticks are made mainly of soot and animal glue, sometimes with incense or medicinal scents added. To make ink, the inkstick is ground against an inkstone with a small quantity of water to produce a dark liquid which is then applied with an ink brush. By adjusting the strength and duration of the ink grinding process, artists and calligraphers may adjust the concentration of the produced ink to suit their tastes.

Along with the inkstone, ink brush, and paper, the inkstick is considered one of the Four Treasures of the Study of classical Chinese literary culture.

A head shop is a store that sells drug-related paraphernalia. They emerged from the hippie counterculture in the late 1960s, and at that time, many of them had close ties to the anti-Vietnam War movement as well as groups in the marijuana legalization movement like LeMar, Amorphia, and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Products sold may include magazines (e.g., about cannabis culture, cannabis cultivation, tattooing, and music), clothing, and home décor (e.g., posters and wall hangings illustrating drug culture themes such as cannabis, jam bands like The Grateful Dead, Phish, psychedelic art, etc.). Some head shops also sell oddities, such as antique walking sticks and sex toys. Since the 1980s, some head shops have sold clothing related to the heavy metal or punk subculture, such as band T-shirts and cloth patches with band logos, studded wristbands, bullet belts, and leather boots. Other items offered typically include hashish pipes, "one hitter" pipes; pipe screens; bongs (also referred to as water pipes); roach clips (used for smoking the end of a marijuana "joint"); vaporizers used for inhaling THC vapor from cannabis; rolling papers; rolling machines; small weighing scales; small ziplock baggies; cannabis grinders (i.e. herb grinders); blacklight-responsive posters and blacklights; incense; cigarette lighters; "stashes", which include a range of standard consumer products such as clocks, books, tins of cleaning powder, and toilet brushes which have hidden compartments for cannabis and non-camouflaged "stash boxes" which are tins or wooden containers for storing marijuana; and legal highs such as whipped-cream chargers (which contain nitrous oxide) and Salvia divinorum (both of which are illegal in some countries and some US states for recreational purposes). Some head shops also sell items used for home cultivation of marijuana plants, such as hydroponic equipment and lights and guidebooks on cultivation. Since the 2000s, some head shops also sell e-cigarettes and the flavoured liquids used with these devices.

A censer, incense burner, perfume burner or pastille burner is a vessel made for burning incense or perfume in some solid form. They vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction, and have been in use since ancient times throughout the world. They may consist of simple earthenware bowls or fire pots to intricately carved silver or gold vessels, small table top objects a few centimetres tall to as many as several metres high. Many designs use openwork to allow a flow of air. In many cultures, burning incense has spiritual and religious connotations, and this influences the design and decoration of the censer.

Often, especially in Western contexts, the term "censer" is used for pieces made for religious use, especially those on chains that are swung through the air to spread the incense smoke widely, while the term "perfume burner" is used for objects made for secular use. The original meaning of pastille was a small compressed mixture of aromatic plant material and charcoal that was lit to release the odour, and pastille-burners were designed for this, for use in the home. Pastilles were made at home until their heyday in the early 19th century, and the burners are often made in ceramic.

Agarwood, aloeswood, eaglewood, gharuwood, commonly referred to as oud or oudh (from Arabic: عود, romanized: ʿūd, pronounced [ʕuːd]), is a fragrant, dark and resinous wood used in incense, perfume, and small hand carvings.

It forms in the heartwood of Aquilaria trees after they become infected with a type of Phaeoacremonium mold, P. parasitica. The tree defensively secretes a resin to combat the fungal infestation. Prior to becoming infected, the heartwood mostly lacks scent, and is relatively light and pale in colouration. However, as the infection advances and the tree produces its fragrant resin as a final option of defense, the heartwood becomes very dense, dark, and saturated with resin. This product is harvested, and most famously referred to in cosmetics under the scent names of oud, oodh or aguru; however, it is also called aloes (not to be confused with the succulent plant genus Aloe), agar (this name, as well, is not to be confused with the edible, algae-derived thickening agent agar agar), as well as gaharu or jinko. With thousands of years of known use, and valued across Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and Chinese cultures, oud is prized in Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures for its distinctive fragrance, utilized in colognes, incense and perfumes.

In Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine-rite Catholic churches, an entrance is a procession during which the clergy enter into the sanctuary through the Holy Doors. The origin of these entrances goes back to the early church, when the liturgical books and sacred vessels were kept in special storage rooms for safe keeping and the procession was necessary to bring these objects into the church when needed. Over the centuries, these processions have grown more elaborate, and nowadays are accompanied by incense, candles and liturgical fans. In the liturgical theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the angels are believed to enter with the clergy into the sanctuary, as evidenced by the prayers which accompany the various entrances.

JWH-018 (1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole, NA-PIMO or AM-678) is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family that acts as a full agonist at both the CB₁ and CB₂ cannabinoid receptors, with some selectivity for CB₂. It produces effects in animals similar to those of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a cannabinoid naturally present in cannabis, leading to its use as synthetic cannabinoid products that, in some countries, are sold legally as "incense blends".

As a full agonist at both the CB₁ and CB₂ cannabinoid receptors, this chemical compound is classified as an analgesic medication. The analgesic effects of cannabinoid ligands, mediated by CB₁ receptors are well established in treatment of neuropathic pain, as well as cancer pain and arthritis.