ASPHALTUM MUMMIA "Olde Worlde Spellcraeft" Carabe, Bitumen of Judea, Egyptian Magick, Incense Base

★★ Dewberry's Herbal Apothecary, LLC™ ~ "Reflecting Your Inner Possibilities"™ With A Syncretism Of Pagan Herbcraefting ★★ ~ EarthASPHALTUM (not necessarily the modern petroleum-derived asphalt) is a resin but it is not commonly used as incense and the smell is rather unattractive; but it was an ingredient in Plutarch's version of Kyphi and is still sometimes used as incense by occultists and magical practitioners. ASPHALTUM is often used nowadays as a pigment, and also is used in some types of folk medicine.In ancient times it was used to fill out the body cavities of some Egyptian mummies. Reportedly, the black color of the mummies was attributed to the use of this pitch, although it is known nowadays that the blackened color is only a result of the drying process which the bodies would undergo. Nevertheless, this erroneous notion caused the belief that all mummies contained large amounts of asphaltum in their making.When burned this item does have a tar-like metallic smell. It wor