If you’re looking for a new incense stick holder then you’re in good company. As humans, we’ve been burning incense for over 5,000 years, back to the ancient Egyptians and beyond. A good incense stick holder keeps your sticks burning evenly and safely as well as protects your surfaces from falling ash.
If you’re looking for sage burners, consider smudge kits.
I about sprained my finger with how fast I hit the button to add this to my wishlist. This gorgeous bowl mimics the look of a tiny koi pond with floating lilypads and submerged 3D koi fish. I can feel the tension in my shoulders relax just looking at it.
The poured resin creates a realistic fake water effect that’s peaceful and eye-catching. It’s like having your own serene fish bowl with none of the maintenance. The ceramic lotus holds a slot for stick incense at its center which keeps the ash contained.
It’s a nice size at about 6.5 inches in diameter and the intricate detailing of the flashy koi and all the tiny goldfish behind it is incredible. They also have a White Koi design that looks more like a natural pond.
This mythical incense holder turns your incense into the curls of smoke leaving the legendary dragon’s nostrils. The handcrafted resin sculpture is made up of two pieces: the base which has a holder for stick or cone incense and the dragon head housing which fits snuggly on the base and releases the smoke through the nostrils.
If the fact that the dragon breathes actual smoke wasn’t enough, the detailing on this sculpture is intense. There are raised individual scales, horns, teeth, and fire-red eyes. Even the separate base looks like flames as though the dragon is sticking its head out of huge fireball.
Plus, if you buy this burner, you get to name the dragon–whether you’re more interested in owning an Argoth, Destroyer of Worlds, or a dragon named Mittens is up to you.
This one is beautiful and clever. At the base of the serene bamboo pattern on the soft green traditional burner, the notch that holds the incense stick is actually shaped as though it is part of that branch. This little detail makes the whole thing one cohesive piece.
The burner is elegant from afar and bound to get a reaction up close when people notice it’s unique design. At 9.8 inches long, this is a perfect length for standard incense as the angle at which the incense stick is held more than makes up for the 0.2-inch difference.
This is an impressive piece for the price. The 11-inch tall tower is intricately carved sandstone on a separate sandstone base that has slots for five incense sticks. The smoke rises to the top and through the elaborate carvings.
Being stone it feels substantial and looks like a beautiful decor piece with a secondary purpose that isn’t immediately obvious.
This clever backflow incense burner makes it look like the dragon is breathing smoke. Special backflow incense cones make the smoke fall downward instead of rising up for a really unique effect.
When you light the backflow incense and place it over the dragon’s head the smoke flows down through its jaws and then down the different levels of the burner making it look like a waterfall of smoke. Check it out in action in this YouTube video.
At the base of the burner is a slot for holding vertical stick incense giving you lots of options for how you want to use this one. The ceramic figure has great attention to detail on the dragon scales and brickwork of the castle walls.
You can find more backflow incense ideas on my witchcore post.
This is a dual-purpose burner and containment box. It looks like a hollowed out branch of bamboo but this handmade burner is actually carved from mango wood for a heftier, more sturdy feel.
The top plank that catches the ash lifts off to reveal a hidden box inside for storing your incense. You do probably want to dispose of the ash before lifting the lid though to avoid a mess. I like that you can keep you incense right where you burn it and, depending on the size of your lighter, you could probably store that there as well.
The burner is 9.2 inches long which is a little shorter than average stick incense length. If you tend to burn shorter incense brands, then this will work perfectly for you. Plus, if your incense doesn’t quite fit, it’s easy enough to cut off some excess bamboo stick at the ends to make it fit.
I love the feminine look of this handmade ceramic bowl. The flowers painted on the bowl are gorgeous and the curled pink lotus blossom hides the slot for your stick incense. The shape and 4.6-inch diameter means you’ll never have to worry about ash falling onto your table.
This one is perfect for those with connections to Tibet and Buddhism. This ornate box-style burner is entrancing to look at and handmade in Nepal from copper. You place your incense stick into the slot inside the box so that it hangs horizontally over the ash-catcher.
With the cover on, the incense smoke slowly seeps through the openings in the box for a soothing and diffused look. The box design means you’ll never have ash spills which is a huge plus.
If you love incense but hate dealing with ash, go for a bottle-shaped burner which completely contain the ash with no spills. With bottle burners, the incense stick tends to hang upside-down from the cap or cork, dropping all the ash into the bottom of the bottle. The ash is easy enough to dump out when you want–or don’t ever dump it and leave it there forever.
Deej Does bottles have ventilation holes drilled into the glass at two different levels to make sure your incense stays lit in the enclosed space. Each one of their bottles is a handpainted piece of art and is unique in the world. Plus, the bottle comes with a free set of incense sticks.
I love this pink, teal, and lavender one because it reminds me of crystals and gemstones. They also have more nautical Sky and Waves bottle and unique Cubist Pineapple.
Sometimes you don’t want fancy. Sometimes you want utilitarian.
The bowl has a fountain-style pedestal in the center with four slots for stick incense. The placement keeps ash inside the bowl and being cast iron it’s extremely heat-resistant. It’s also raised up on small legs to better protect the surface it’s on.
This has such a cheerful springy look to it. I love the skinny shape and realistic leaf veining. Now, this one is photographing a lot greener than it really is so if you love this design, click through some of the customer images to see the lovely cyan blue color it really is.
The edges have a slight curled upwards to them as the leaf is suspended on a short base making it look even more like decor first and an incense burner second. The ceramic holder is 11 inches long, plenty of space to contain the falling ash for standard 10-inch incense sticks.
It may be cast in resin but this stand is shaped to recreate a tall crystal geode in a dragon’s cave. The outside is rough but inside there are jagged “crystals” painted sapphire blue with sparkling glitter.
A metallic dragon is perched at the base with a holder for stick or cone incense on its back so that the smoke rises through the geode. It stands 13 inches tall and is a great gift for someone who is into dragons or other fantasy themes.
For those who love the dark and the macabre, there’s this Grim Reaper sitting in a rowboat filled to the brim with human skeletons. Even the edges of the boat are made from human bones.
Death is in his black shroud and has a very sinister look on his face (skull?). The stick incense fits into his hands like a fishing pole.
The holder is 12 inches long so there should be plenty of space to keep the ash contained.
For something that doesn’t shout, “I’m an incense burner!” consider this house-shaped incense tower. The 13-inch tall wooden home looks like a cozy bit of decor with a secret.
The house structure lifts up to reveal a base with slots for holding four vertical incense sticks and one incense cone. When you replace the house covering over the incense the smoke travels up and out of the chimney. How cozy is that?
These are handmade to order to allow an extra day or two after purchasing for your burner to be shipped.
Backflow incense burners are magical. The smoke falls down like water instead of rising up making it look completely otherworldly. In this burner, the smoke looks like a waterfall that collects at the bottom of the holder creating a pond of smoke. I barely believed it until I owned one myself. Here’s a time-lapse video on YouTube of this Fisherman Burner in action.
This post isn’t about backflow incense but this gorgeous holder has room for both. The spot at the top of the mountain is for the special backflow incense cones and the fishing pole is actually a slot for a stick of incense.
The ceramic holder is beautifully made with wonderful details. It comes with 10 free backflow incense cones.
This simple wooden trough has a rustic but smooth look that can fit into most any decor setting. It has a deep well for catching ash and two slots for holding an incense stick on either side.
The design of the two incense sticks facing each other is an opportunity to stretch your fragrance muscles and make your own blends by burning two different scents.
At 12 inches long it’s plenty big enough to hold standard 10-inch incense with no ash spills.
This is a more abstract burner is truly elegant decor as well as a burner for incense. The graceful curve is inspired by the leaves of the willow tree and makes me think of willow branches bending in the wind.
The ceramic is easy to clean and the holder is 9.4 inches long, just a little shy of the standard 10 inches but the angle of the incense should make up for that.
Zen gardens are meditative and peaceful. Just looking at them can be calming to the nerves. This set comes with everything you need to create your own tabletop zen garden to keep in your home or office including the base, sand, stones, rake, Buddha statue, two candles, and incense burner bowl.
I use a lot of bowl-style incense burners in my home because they’re so convenient and don’t need to be cleaned as often as some others. To use these you place some sand into the bowl and stick the incense into the sand so it’s standing up vertical. The falling ash lands in the bowl and can stay there.
I like that you can arrange your garden however you like and that the two candles look like rocks so they fit right in.
Another neat thing is that if looking at zen gardens relaxes you, the more you use this burner the more your brain will associate incense smoke with being relaxed. Our memory of scents and our state of mind in those memories carries forward according to the American Psychological Association. You can train yourself to de-stress with incense smoke.
I couldn’t resist adding this pentacle holder for all my fellow Witches out there. The wooden pentacle is five inches in diameter and has metal-lined slots for 15 sticks of incense at once as well as a metal holder for cone incense at the center.
That’s a ton of incense at once so if you want to seriously incense-up your ritual space or need holders for each ritual participant to contribute their own incense offering, this little disc is for you. I can’t help but think of the visual effect of this burning outside with 15 incense sticks. And it’s hard to beat that price.
There’s something magical about a feather that I think we’re all drawn to. Plus incense smoke is in the realm of the element of Air so a feather is a natural image for holding your incense.
This feather is hand-cast in America in ceramic and then hand-painted and glazed. The average length of an incense stick is about 10 inches and this feather is 13.3 inches long which gives you some good leeway for making sure the holder catches all of the ash.
For those into traditional dragon longboats, check out this ceramic stick burner. The handmade incense holder is wonderfully shaped with details like the woodgrain of the boards, rivets, and shields lining the sides.
At the back there is a slot to hold a standard incense stick at a slight angle. The swirling smoke makes it look like the ship is sailing through fog-covered waters. At just under 10 inches long it’s a good size to fit standard sticks.
Your incense stick holder is there for all to see. Make sure your burner is functional but as attractive as decor with these best incense stick burners.
