Ancient Incense: Recipe for the Egyptian Kyphi or Kapet

Kyphi was the name given to a style of sacred incense, rather than to a specific blend. The name is derived from the Greek rendering of the Egyptian word kapet, which simply means “fumigation” or “incense.” Whether due to the limited number of fragrant herbs available at the time, or due to some requirement dictated by the way it would be used, kyphi recipes do have certain things in common and do not seem to be a totally random combination of herbs. Honey, cinnamon and mastic appear to always be included, and raisins or wine are very typically added. The total number of ingredients might be fewer than ten or they could number more than seventy.

A simplified version of the recipe can be found in my book The Conjure Cookbook.

Here is a simple version of kyphi from the 12th century BC.

• palmarosa

• cinnamon

• sweet flag

• mint

• pine resin

• mastic

• raisin wine (preferred -- red wine from grapes is an acceptable substitute)

• honey

The herbs can be used fresh or dried.

A proper kyphi should be made in a mortar and pestle. The preferred method was not to mix all the ingredients together at once, but to add each item individually to the mixture. This is important not just ritually, but also from a practical standpoint, as adding sticky ingredients like pine resin too soon can make the other herbs difficult to grind. 

Here is our recommended procedure: Add first the lemongrass, beat it fine; then add the cinnamon, beat it fine; add the sweet flag, beat it fine; and when you have a good even-grained powder you can add your pine resin and combine well; then your mastic and combine well. 

The final liquid ingredients serve as binders, and you should be careful not to add too much -- remember, it’s always easier to add more if you need to, than to remove an excess. Carefully moisten the ingredients with a little wine -- this will help dissolve the resins a little more, and soften the herbs so they cling together. Then add as much honey as it takes to create a paste about the consistency of fresh Play-Doh. Roll the kyphi into pellets, and allow them to dry before use.

Historically, a priest would recite sacred texts over the kyphi as it was being prepared; unfortunately, the exact words that were used seem to have been lost to us. 

For those who object that the previous recipe for kyphi contains no measurements, here is a more elaborate version from the Greek era, which preserved for us a record of quantities. It is presumably the dried herbs being used in this version.

• 2.75 grams each sweet flag, palmarosa, mastic, cassia, cinnamon, mint, rosewood. 

Pulverize and sift, till achieving a very fine powder. Set aside. 

Beat separately:

• 2.75 grams each juniper berries, galangal, chaerophyllum

• 22.5 grams wine

Powder. Let soak overnight. The next morning, drain any excess liquid.

• 18 grams unseeded raisins

• 22.5 grams oasis wine (regular red wine is an acceptable substitute)

Grind well. Remove skins and seeds. 

Place the herb and raisin mixtures together in a pot, and let rest for 5 days.

• 12 grams frankincense 

• 30 grams honey

Boil together till thickened and the weight reduced by about 1/5th. Mix with other ingredients and leave for 5 days.

• 11.5 grams myrrh

Add this, powdered; mix well, and you have finished kyphi.

Plain resins like frankincense and myrrh were burned as incense as well, but kyphi compounds were felt to have special properties for purifying the mind, body and spirit, and for enhancing spiritual experiences. 

It is recommended that kyphi be burnt as an all-purpose blend to accompany every ritual.