D: Dragon's Blood, it's more than just incense and body oil

Most of the people I know have either heard of or have burned Dragon's Blood incense and or used the body oil. One of my favorite types of incense, it's a little heavier than most I typically like to use and has a little bit of a sweet  tone to it. Anyone who knows me knows I don't do sweet incense, I prefer something a little more woodsy, but for some reason there's just something pleasant about Dragon's blood that keeps me coming back for more. So, wanting to know more about it, I chose it from this week's Pagan Blog Project prompt list.

Dragon's blood, most commonly known for it's incense form comes from a several tree and plant species. It's Latin names are: Dracaena Cinnabari, Daemoorops Draco, Daemomorops Proqous. Folk names include: Blume, blood, Draconis Resina, Dragon's Blood Palm, and Sanguis Draconis. Dragon's Blood's gender correspondence is male, it's element is fire, and planet is Mars. Some deities associated with Dragon's Blood are: Horus, Mars, Aries, Shango, Shiva, Minerva, and Athena. Astrologically speaking it's primarily associated with Aries and Scorpio and secondarily again with Aries but also with Leo and Sagittarius. Its power is love, protection, potency, and exorcism. Dragon's Blood is also an anti-fungal, anti-viral, and an anti-bacterial.

Dragon's Blood has been, is, and can be used for various things but before I get to how cool some of these uses were and are, I'd like to impart a few words of caution. Before you start any type of herbal treatment it's a good idea to talk with your doctor or herbalist for the obvious reasons of allergies, what might happen in conjunction with any medication you're taking, and so forth.

Now for the good stuff!

The Romans used Dragon's Blood to stop bleeding, clean wounds, and to help with intestinal problems. But they also used it as a pigment for painting. During the medieval period it was used for alchemical and ritual purposes.

Medically speaking  it can help with menstrual problems, the lowering of fevers, stomach ailments, diarrhea (and won't cause constipation), wound healing, insect bites, and scars.

Dragon's Blood has been used as violin varnish by Italian violin makers. The Chinese used it as a furniture varnish and dye for paper.

As I said before most of the people I know use it in incense and body oil form. Lately, I've seen Dragon's Blood soap, shampoo, body butter and lotions, even candles and room spray. But, magically it can be used as an ink for writing and an ink for magical seals. It increases protection and banishing spells and can be used in rituals of fertility. It is said that it can bring lovers back and if you put a stick under your pillow it can cure impotency. When you burn it, it drives evil and negativity away and when you add it to other incense it increases power and potency. It's a powerful protectant when carried and or sprinkled around the house. And my favorite perk, if you want to quiet a noisy house, mix sugar, salt, and powdered dragon's blood, put it in a bottle and place it where it won't be found and that should quiet the house down. In my case, I'm trying to figure out just where the heck I'm going to hide it where someone won't bother it, which is a bit tricky.

You can buy Dragon's blood from various places on the internet. Diane from The Crunchy Pagan Mom Blog, says: "So long as you obtain true Dragon's Blood, such as the Dragon's Blood found in the Sangre de Drago tree, there are no known side effects". She recommends using legit Dragon's Blood and the site she listed was: Mountain Rose Herbs. AzureGreen also sells it in several different forms.

Sources:

Scott Cunningham's encyclopedia of magical herbs

http://www.paganlore.com/view_herb_details.aspx?ID=49

http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/othermagicspells/ss/What-Is-Dragons-Blood.htm

http://thecrunchypaganmomblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/medicinal-and-magical-herbs-dragons.html

https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/candle/resins.php#irc_dra

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon's_blood

Azuregreen