I have a close friend who is a "pipe Carrier" in the Lakota tradition. He blends his own tobacco/herbal mixture. and I have seen him use lightly aromatic tobaccos in a pinch. Again as stated above, this mixture is for ceremonial purposes, as is the pipe (and no not that type of herbal). If you plan on using it as you would a church warden, you'd probably be more satisfied with a church warden. Then again without going to far into religion, I have a short stemmed Antler pipe that I pray with when I need it, so what is sacred to some, is not to others. It's really all about intent...if you plan on making your own,more power too you it's your pipe smoke what you want in it. If you got it at a flea market or roadside souvenir shop..then your taking a risk smoking anything out of it, as it's probably cheaply made as a souvenir and may not be intended for actual use. If you got it as a gift(note: as in gifted to you by the maker or a tribe member), it was most likely created with the intent of being used in a sacred manner and while it is you decision to make I strongly recommend you respect that intent. If your not sure about the origin of the pipe, fire up the camera, some of us may be able to help. Well and many of those are works of art in their own right.