Bdellium
Commiphora wightii
This undistinguished shrubby tree gives us a resin (pronounced "delm") that was once an adulterant of myrrh, which it resembles in color and shape but not smell.  In sacred rites, it was steeped in wine to increase its fragrance (wine has a wonderful effect on plant resins). Agrippa associates bdellium with attack magick and with Mars (probably on account of the thorns on the tree that produces it, as its scent is not hot but typically resinous). The name comes from Hebrew, bedolach, for something that is stuck together, like rice, and it is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible together with onyx, which to me gives it a strong Pluto aspect (or the dark, non-physical side of Mars).  The gum makes a good fixative of scent in perfumes but adds dark notes of its own.

Uses in Witchcraft & Magick:

Incense of Mars & Pluto
Attack Magick

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