Smudging: Down to Earth Ways to Clear Your Space of Negative Energy
By Warren Francisco
One of my favorite scents is the pungent smell of a cedar wood fire. It fills me with a contented feeling of happiness and home. I imagine people sitting around a cozy wood fireplace and basking in the glow and warmth that it provides for the body and spirit. An essential part of the human experience for millennia, the sensual smoke and pleasing aroma heal us and make us whole. This is the key to understanding the power that smudging has to dispel the negative energy that we accumulate in our daily lives.
Smudging or using sage and other herbs to ceremonially cleanse ourselves and our environment is a part of Native American culture that we have adopted in modern times. Smudging is a true gift handed down to us from the ages! Practiced regularly it will help us maintain energetic balance and spiritual health. Like many of you I use incense to foster an atmosphere of tranquility in my home, but smudging takes it to the next level. It is a real tool that can be used to effectively cure ailments and cleanse the spiritual toxins that build up in our bodies.
It has been said many times in many ways but it is still amazing to remember that all life and all matter around us is energy! It is important to be mindful of this when smudging. Burning sacred herbs such as sage, cedar and sweetgrass in a ceremonial way lets the smoke collect the negative energy from our bodies and our environment. As the smoke clears it takes the negativity with it and releases that energy back into the atmosphere to be recycled into positivity.
How you smudge will depend on your purpose. A smudge stick is a bundle of dried herbs held together by string. Light a smudge stick by holding a flame to it until it is evenly burning and then blow or fan the flame out while making sure that it remains smoldering like an incense stick. Allow the refreshing aroma to lift your spirits and put you in a serene state of mind. If you are feeling bogged down by a personal experience or spiritually depleted you will want to smudge your body and your aura by waving the stick and fanning the smoke around all areas affected by negativity. Go from head to toe and feel the smoke infuse that unwanted energy and allow the smoke to take it away. Any objects that are important to you may be smudged in the same way. Move about your home and allow the cleansing smoke to penetrate the corners of each room you want to purify.
White sage is the most commonly used smudging herb. Sage is another of my favorite scents! I am blessed to live in a virtual forest of wild sage. It is especially helpful in purifying ourselves and the ritual objects used in meditation and ceremony. Crystals, pipes and tarot decks can be smudged with sage to make them more energetically powerful. If the smell of sage is not pleasing to you, burn incense before and after smudging and open windows to allow the smoke to clear quickly. Some good medicines are bitter going down!
There are many other sacred herbs that may be used for smudging. Cedar was used for purifying temples in ancient times. It is known to aid in clairvoyance. Sweetgrass is used for making your space more inviting to good spirits and clearing the area of negativity. Pine has long been used by Native Americans for its healing properties. Ancient Mayans used a tree sap called Copal in divination ceremonies. Lavender is inviting to faeries and aids in relaxation.
In my experience there is no wrong way to smudge and doing so regularly creates a wonderful energetic equilibrium in my life and will in yours too.