Quick Specs
- Type: Backflow incense cone burner
- Included: 10 backflow cones
- Material: Glazed ceramic
- Size: 5 inches
- Finish: Glossy black glaze
- Design: Crescent moon with a sculpted eye, cone dish, sculpted clouds, and a shallow basin
- Burns: Backflow incense cones
A Glazed Black Crescent Moon above a Bank of Clouds
The crescent curves around a small round dish near its foot, and that dish is where the cone sits. The dish is a shallow cup with a golden-brown rim, set low enough that the cone stands inside the arc of the moon. The glaze is a glossy black that shifts toward blue-green and gold wherever the light catches it. The moon has a sculpted eye and brow, which gives the crescent a face in profile. At the foot of the crescent, sculpted clouds roll in waves, and below them a wide, shallow basin with a rippling, cloud-like rim spreads over a rounded, lumpy base. From top to bottom the piece runs crescent, clouds, then basin. The basin is the broadest part of the piece, wider than the moon above it, which gives the tall crescent a wide footing. A second pointed horn curls out behind the clouds at the lower left, and a small round opening sits on the rounded bulge beside it. The whole piece is one dark color, so it reads as polished obsidian, with the smooth, hard surface of fired ceramic.
The crescent is one of the oldest ways of drawing the moon. On Mesopotamian cylinder seals more than four thousand years old, a crescent stands for the moon god Nanna, called Sin in Akkadian, and artists drew it lying on its back, the way the thin new moon looks at that latitude. Greek artists gave the moon goddess Selene a crescent on her brow or rising from behind her head like a pair of horns, on pottery, sculpture, and coins. By the fifteenth century, Christian painters were setting the Virgin Mary on a crescent. Across those uses the crescent keeps the same job: it marks the moon at its thinnest, a curve of light with the dark part still there. In a burner that thin curve does practical work as well, because the arc leaves room for a cone dish inside it, and the shape still reads as the moon at a glance.
Practical Ritual Applications
Place the burner where the air stays still: a shelf, a desk, a bedside table, or an altar away from doors and fans. A backflow cone burns in the dish and sends its smoke downward, so the burner works as a display piece as well as a source of scent. The burner comes with 10 backflow cones, so a first cone needs only a still room and a heat-safe surface. When the box runs out, backflow cones come in many scents, and my backflow cone collection has them. A crescent moon suits a lunar altar, an evening reading table, or a windowsill that catches moonlight. As a gift, it works for anyone who likes incense, moon decor, or something unusual on a shelf. When no cone is burning, the burner stands as a small moon sculpture, so it keeps its place on display between uses.
How to Burn a Backflow Cone in Your Crescent Moon Burner
A backflow burner needs still air, a heat-safe surface, and a lit cone, so set up the room before you light anything.
- Choose a still, heat-safe spot
Set the burner on a ceramic tile or another heat-proof surface, away from fans, vents, open windows, curtains, and paper. Even gentle air movement scatters the smoke. Keep it out of reach of children and pets, and keep it in sight whenever a cone is lit.
- Light the cone and let the smoke settle
Stand a backflow cone in the dish and light its tip until it glows, then blow out the flame. Leave the burner alone while the smoke thickens and begins to sink, which can take several minutes. Don't move or bump it while the cone burns.
- Let it cool, then wipe it clean
Wait until the cone has burned out and the ceramic is cold to the touch. Burning leaves a light, oily residue, and a damp cloth wipes it off the glaze. Never wipe or lift the burner while it's warm.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stock this burner because it does two jobs: a backflow burner for the smoke effect, and a small moon sculpture for the shelf when no cone is burning. It comes with 10 backflow cones. The dark glaze suits an altar built around the moon, and the sculpted eye gives the crescent character. Ceramic also suits the job, since the glaze wipes clean after burning. If you’re building a lunar corner, my moon products collection has more to set beside it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it comes with 10 backflow cones. Backflow cones have a hole at the base that lets the smoke sink through the burner, so choose that type when you buy refills, because standard cones send their smoke straight up.
A backflow cone has a hollow channel at its base, and a backflow burner has a hole beneath the cone dish. When you light the cone, the smoke cools, becomes denser than the surrounding air, and follows the path the burner sets for it. It sinks through the hole and flows down the burner like water, then pools at the bottom. That is why the smoke falls.
Not if you want the waterfall effect. Retailers that sell backflow burners say that only backflow cones produce it and that standard cones will not. Backflow cones have a hole at the base, which lets the smoke travel down through the burner, while a standard cone sends its smoke straight up. Look for the word backflow on the cone's packaging before you buy.
Air movement is the usual cause. A fan, a vent, an open window, or someone walking past scatters the smoke upward, so move the burner to a spot with still air. Patience matters too, because cones can take up to ten minutes after lighting before the effect begins. If the smoke still rises, check that the cone is glowing at the tip and that nothing blocks the burner's hole; a toothpick or cotton swab clears a clog.
Both. A crescent appears just after the new moon, when the lit edge is growing, and just before it, when the edge is shrinking. In the Northern Hemisphere the waxing crescent shows its lit edge on the right and appears in the western sky in the evening, while the waning crescent shows its lit edge on the left and appears in the eastern sky in the morning.
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