Cheshire Cat Back Flow Incense Burner, 6.75 Inch

A waterfall of smoke around a grinning cat. Backflow cones send cooled smoke downward through the burner, so the cascade pools around the cat and the mushrooms instead of rising away, which makes it a piece you sit and watch during a working.

Three starter backflow cones included. Backflow burners require hollow-core cones, and three come in the box, so there is nothing else to buy before the first lighting.

6.75 inches of Wonderland detail. The striped cat and the colorful mushroom accents give it real presence on an altar, a bookshelf, or a reading table, and it holds its own as a piece of decor between uses.

• Height: 6.75 inches
• Design: Cheshire Cat with colorful mushroom accents
• Includes 3 starter backflow incense cones
• Requires backflow cones (hollow center) for the downward smoke effect
• Weight: about 2.3 lb

In eclectic witchcraft, incense smoke is used to cleanse a space and to set the mood for divination, and a backflow burner is a modern way to do both at once: the low, spreading smoke drifts over cards, pendulums, and scrying bowls before a reading. Cats have kept company with witches in European folklore for centuries, as familiars and as omens, and many practitioners still keep a cat figure on the altar as a guardian of the threshold between the seen and the unseen.

The Cheshire Cat comes from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), where he appears and vanishes at will and tells Alice that everyone in Wonderland is mad, including her. Practitioners who work with trickster energy, liminal spaces, or the logic of dreams find him a natural companion. This is modern, playful symbolism rather than an old tradition, and it earns its spot on the altar the same way any image does: by meaning something to you.

1. Place the burner on a level, heat-safe surface out of any draft; a breeze will scatter the waterfall before it forms.
2. Light the tip of one of the included backflow cones, let it glow for ten to twenty seconds, then blow out the flame so it smolders.
3. Set the cone in the top chamber with its hollow bottom centered over the opening. Give it a minute or two for the smoke to cool and begin to fall.
4. While the smoke pools around the cat, lay out your cards, hold your pendulum, or speak a short invocation asking for clear sight. Some practitioners simply ask a question out loud and let the smoke answer with its drift.
5. Let the cone burn out on its own, then wipe the channels once the piece is cool. Whether it becomes a nightly companion or a full-moon ritual is entirely your call.

• Wonderland Tarot Tin by Abbey and Abbey: the obvious deck to read beside a Cheshire Cat, with Carroll's cast on every card.
• Rabbit Backflow Burner, 5.5 Inch: follow the White Rabbit; a second Wonderland burner for a matched altar.
• Palo Santo Backflow Incense Cones by Sree Vani, Set of 10: refills in the hollow-core style this burner needs, in a cleansing scent.
• Amber Musk Backflow Incense Cones by Sree Vani, Set of 10: a warm, mysterious scent for evening readings.
• Cat Magick by Minerva Radcliffe: a hardcover on cats in folklore and witchcraft, for anyone who wants the lore behind the grin.

How do I use a backflow incense burner?

Light the tip of a backflow cone, blow out the flame once it glows, and set the cone in the top chamber with its hollow base over the opening. Within a minute or two the cooled smoke starts flowing down through the burner. Keep it out of drafts and let the cone finish on its own.

Are the backflow cones included?

Yes, three starter backflow cones come with this burner, enough for the first few sessions. After that you will want a refill pack. Backflow cones have a hollow channel through the center that lets cooled smoke escape from the bottom, which is what creates the waterfall; regular solid cones will not work.

Why is the smoke going up instead of down?

Either the cone is not a backflow cone, it is not seated over the opening, or a draft is breaking the flow. Check that the cone has a hollow center, that its base sits centered on the hole, and that the tip glowed fully before you placed it. Move the burner away from fans and windows.

How do I clean a backflow incense burner?

Once the burner is completely cool, wipe the smoke channels and the base with a damp cloth or a cotton swab dipped in warm soapy water. Backflow smoke leaves an oily film, so a little rubbing alcohol on a swab clears stubborn buildup. Avoid soaking the piece so the painted details stay crisp.

Is a Cheshire Cat appropriate on a serious altar?

Yes, if it means something to you. Altars hold what the practitioner finds meaningful, and plenty of witches keep trickster figures, cats, and playful imagery beside their most serious tools. The Cheshire Cat suits divination, dream work, and liminal spaces especially well. If it makes you smile every time you light it, that is its own kind of devotion.

How long does one backflow cone burn?

A typical backflow cone burns for roughly ten to fifteen minutes, long enough for a card reading or a short meditation. Burn time varies by brand and scent. If you want the waterfall to last through a longer ritual, keep a second cone ready and place it once the first has finished.