MYRRH - 5g in Rosewood Cutwork Box - Resin & Wood Incense

MYRRH
in Rosewood Cutwork Box
Contains supreme high-grade resin. Strong fragrance. Boxes may be re-used.

Myrrh is the sap that oozes from specific types of small bushy trees native to desert areas of northern Africa and the Middle East. Collected as a thick, yellow liquid from natural cracks or man-made cuts in the tree bark, myrrh dries into amber-colour lumps.

Myrrh is burned to purify and consecrate, traditionally mixed with frankincense for this purpose. In general, myrrh darkens a blend, though myrrh was burned in Egypt during midday and is sacred to Hathor.

Valued as a fragrance as well as a medicinal agent by the early Egyptians and the ancient Chinese, myrrh was well-known and used extensively during Biblical times. At various periods in history, it was used in foods and drinks as a flavouring agent, in incense, perfumes and other cosmetics as a fragrance, and in embalming as a preservative.
The Bible mentions Myrrh as one of the three precious gifts presented to the baby Jesus by the wise men. Ancient Greeks and Romans used Myrrh to treat wounds and digestive problems.

Myrrh is a red-brown resinous material, the dried sap of the tree Commiphora myrrha, native to Somalia and the eastern parts of Ethiopia. The sap of a number of other Commiphora and Balsamodendron species are also known as myrrh, including that from Commiphora erythraea (sometimes called East Indian myrrh), Commiphora opobalsamum and Balsamodendron kua. Its name is derived from the Hebrew murr or maror, meaning "bitter".

Primarily earth element though can also be used as for four-element general purposes. Produces a lot of smoke when burned, very earthy, piny scent. Gathered from an almost leafless Middle Eastern shrub called the Commiphora Molmol. It was used by the ancient Egyptians in rituals of Healing and Passing. It is one of the ingredients used by the Egyptians to embalm bodies. Useful for spirituality, meditation, happiness, release, transformation, strength, confidence and stability.

Myrrh is a constituent of perfumes and incense, was highly prized in ancient times, and was often worth more than its weight in gold. In ancient Rome myrrh was priced at 5 times as much as frankincense, though the latter was far more popular. Myrrh was burned in ancient Roman funerals to mask the smell emanating from charring corpses. It was said that the Roman Emperor Nero burned a year's worth of myrrh at the funeral of his wife, Poppaea.

The scent of raw myrrh resin and its essential oil is sharp, pleasant, somewhat bitter and can be roughly described as being "stereotypically resinous". When burned it produces a smoke that is heavy, bitter and somewhat phenolic in scent, which may be tinged with a slight vanillic sweetness. Unlike most other resins myrrh expands and "blooms" when burned instead of melting or liquefying.

Myrrh was one of the gifts of the Magi to the baby Jesus in the story told in the Christian Bible, Gospel of Matthew. Myrrh was used as an embalming ointment and was used, up until about the 15th century, as a penitential incense in funerals and cremations. It is alluded to in the Christmas carol We Three Kings. The scent can also be used in mixtures of incense, to provide an earthy element to the overall smell, and as an additive to wine, a practice alluded to by ancient authorities such as Fabius Dorsennus. It is also used in various perfumes, toothpastes, lotions, and other modern toiletries.