Scent of the Season...Frankincense

Useful for visualizing, improving one's spiritual connection, and centering, it has comforting properties that help focus the mind and overcome stress and despair. Fundamentally, it promotes calmness, serenity and relaxation. They are also many medicinal uses and research is under way in many hospitals in treatment for various cancers. What does it smell like? Warm, rich, sweet-woody.

Frankincense is tapped from the scraggly but hardy trees (Boswellia) by slashing the bark, and allowing the exuded resin to bleed out and harden. These hardened resins are called tears. The aroma from these tears are more valuable for their presumed healing abilities and are also said to have superior qualities for religious ritual.

Frankincense has been traded on the Arabian Peninsula and in North Africa for more than 5000 years. A mural depicting sacks of frankincense adorns the walls of the temple of ancient Egypt Queen Hatshepsut, who died circa 1458 BC.

When burnt it emits a fragrant scent, and the incense was a symbol of the Divine name and an emblem of prayer. It was often associated with myrrh and with it was made an offering to the infant Jesus.

Source: heavily edited Wikipedia