The Science Behind Smudging: What Really Happens When We Burn Sage

The practice of smudging dates back to prehistoric times, and is still very much in use today worldwide for cleansing everything from dwellings to human spirits. However recent research has shed light on the popularity of this activity, revealing that burning certain plant matter actually clears harmful bacteria.

All Western use of burning herbs and plants for spiritual purposes aside, the activity rests firmly in the sensibilities of ancient cultures in that, historically, smudging was believed to put forth the spirits of various ‘allies’ to provide ease and balance to an individual or group.

In this way, the practice was used to clear spiritual and emotional negativity that has built up in a body or a space...read more>>>...

Cleansing Sacred Spaces

Ok, here are some important things to consider before reading further;

1. Everything is energy. Humans, animals, minerals, plants, thoughts, emotions. All aspects of existence, no matter what it is … is the same energy.
2. When energy impacts an environment, it changes it. For good or bad --- it will change it.
3. Everything has some form of consciousness. Everything is a ‘spirit’ thought form. Created by higher forces to exist in the form that it is; to function in the form that it is; to interact it the way that it does.
4. You are part of everything else. What affects one part, affects all other parts.
5. Like attracts like.
6. Cleansing is healing.

From the above, you should glean the importance of cleansing the energy fields which make up you and your environment. Although we might not always be able to sense an energy imbalance; we are nevertheless affected by it. Some areas/buildings feel comfortable to us, while others may make us feel edgy, depressed or anxious to get out.

After there has been a heated argument in a room for example, the atmosphere may feel heavy and dismal. You may even begin to feel irritable yourself. This negative energy, if allowed to exist and even grow (like attracts like), can adversely affect all the inhabitants in that area. In your house, it can even make you, your family, your pets and your plants sick. It will actually make your house sick. Animals are especially vulnerable as they act as buffers for us, and will absorb this negativity until they get physically sick.

When we cleanse, we're replacing undesirable energy (aka negativity) with desirable or positive energy. Anything can be cleansed and probably should be from time to time..

If you do a cleansing ritual or procedure with anger or fear of the negativity you are trying to release, you will only exchange one kind of negativity for another. You gain nothing. Always enter into any cleansing process with an attitude of love. Negative energy is not bad or evil; it is simply energy that does not sustain you. Nothing is inherently evil --- it is our judgement of it that labels something good or bad.

There are numerous cleansing methods available, but one which is particularly reliable is Smudging.

Smudging, (passing through smoke,) is an ancient method of cleansing that works quite well. I've used it to cleanse my house, and it's very good for smaller items and for cleansing your aura. When smudging a room, work in one direction, spiralling to the center. Which direction you use is up to you - try both. Counter clockwise is usually considered banishing; clockwise is invoking.
Use White Sage, but garden sage works equally well. Pine, of any kind, is generally thought to bring in desirable positive energy; while the sages are more for banishing the negative. Both can be used during the same smudging ritual. Use powdered sage or pine on charcoal, or a smudge stick or even a small wad of the leaves. Carry a heatproof container (ashtray) in the left hand; the smudge in the right.

For a room, try to start near, but not in front of the door, sweeping the smoke into all corners; up to the ceiling and down to the floor. If you use leaves or a smudge stick, knock the ashes off often, so you won't catch anything on fire. It's a good idea to keep a container of water close by, just in case.

Repeat the following, if you wish, during the smudging:

From the Element of Fire 
Comes this smoke, which is Air.
From the Element of Earth
Grows this plant, which is Water.
I call upon the Elements and the Blessings of Spirit
To please cleanse this (area, space, being, etc.)
For the good of all.
Continue until every inch of the area has been touched by the smoke and you it has been finished. As with any magickal rite, intent and visualisation are important. Visualising the movement of energy adds the power to the cleansing procedure.

A Cleansing Ceremony

Today was a great day of cleansing using a genuine WHITE SAGE stick. The house will filled with the smell and the smoke of the white sage as it permeated through every room ...

Cleansing,
Clearing,
Balancing,
Releasing the negative
Restoring the energies within
Relaxing
Vibrational harmony ...


Of course by removing the negative energies, the unwanted influences, the prying eyes, the black spells ... leaves a space which must be filled lest these energies creep back in.

So suitable positive incenses were lit and their wondrous fragrances floated through the rooms carried by the wintry breeze that crept through the open windows in the house.

And so it was the entire house was cleansed ... and in accordance with the highest intention, that which must be has begun, setting in motion an end to a chapter of events which is long overdue.

Nobody has the right to try to take my life force from me. A black spell which fails and is returned spells disaster for the spell caster ...

And so it was this very night that the means to the end was delivered to me ... such was the intensity of my own intention.  

Cleansing Sacred Spaces

A Light In The Darkness: Ok, here are some important things to consider before reading further;

1. Everything is energy. Humans, animals, minerals, plants, thoughts, emotions. All aspects of existence, no matter what it is … is the same energy.

2. When energy impacts an environment, it changes it. For good or bad --- it will change it.

3. Everything has some form of consciousness. Everything is a ‘spirit’ thought form. Created by higher forces to exist in the form that it is; to function in the form that it is; to interact it the way that it does.

4. You are part of everything else. What affects one part, affects all other parts.

5. Like attracts like.

6. Cleansing is healing.

From the above, you should glean the importance of cleansing the energy fields which make up you and your environment. Although we might not always be able to sense an energy imbalance; we are nevertheless affected by it. Some areas/buildings feel comfortable to us, while others may make us feel edgy, depressed or anxious to get out.

After there has been a heated argument in a room for example, the atmosphere may feel heavy and dismal. You may even begin to feel irritable yourself. This negative energy, if allowed to exist and even grow (like attracts like), can adversely affect all the inhabitants in that area. In your house, it can even make you, your family, your pets and your plants sick. It will actually make your house sick. Animals are especially vulnerable as they act as buffers for us, and will absorb this negativity until they get physically sick.

When we cleanse, we're replacing undesirable energy (aka negativity) with desirable or positive energy. Anything can be cleansed and probably should be from time to time..

If you do a cleansing ritual or procedure with anger or fear of the negativity you are trying to release, you will only exchange one kind of negativity for another. You gain nothing. Always enter into any cleansing process with an attitude of love. Negative energy is not bad or evil; it is simply energy that does not sustain you. Nothing is inherently evil --- it is our judgement of it that labels something good or bad.

There are numerous cleansing methods available...read more>>>...

Psychic Protection - Smudging

Psychic Revelation: 'Smudging is a North American Native tradition, which can be used to cleanse away negative influences from you, another person, or an object or area. Smudging is a sacred ceremony dating back hundreds of years and was often used in preparation for vision quests, sweat lodge rituals, other rituals and ceremonies.Smudging can be used to shield you as well as providing a grounding influence. Its prime purpose though is to clear away negativity and to protect. It is possible to buy ready made smudging bundles of herbs and these are great to use and are very traditional in their approach. White sage is very traditional but other herbs more suitable to your purpose can be used if necessary. But if you burn the herbs in a shell you can actually draw on all the elements in your quest. The shell represents the element of water. You should line the shell with sand, which represents the element of earth. The burning of the herbs obviously represents fire, and the smoke that arises represents the element of air. Combining all the four physical elements invokes the fifth element of spirit...read more>>>...

History of Smudging

Smudging is the common name given to the indigenous American tradition known as the Sacred Smoke Bowl Blessing. This is a powerful spiritual cleansing technique which calls upon the spirits of various sacred plants to drive away negative energy and to restore balance to an individual, a group, a space, or all three. This tradition has been a part of the spirituality of indigenous Americans for thousands of years, and now this cleansing ritual is available to anyone who is willing to give it a try. The ritual is very simple and very empowering, and you don't need a lot of expensive equipment to start doing it in your own home.

Perhaps you are wondering why smudging is effective? It is because it allows you to effect the world of subtle spiritual energies using the spirits of various powerful, healing plants. If you have ever worked with yoga or meditation, you will understand that your body, and indeed, the spaces that you occupy, vibrate with invisible energy currents that can be strongly effected by outside forces, both physical and spiritual.......read more>>>

A Word on 'Smudge Sticks'

A smudge stick is a bundle of dried herbs, most commonly white sage. Often other herbs or plants are used or added and the leaves are usually bound with string in a small bundle and dried. Some other herbs and spices that are often used include cilantro, cedar, lavender, and mugwort, none of which are native to the Americas. They have a strong, pleasant aroma when burnt.

The term "smudge stick" entered the English language through Indigenous American Indian traditions in America via cultural exchange and were propagated in traditions of shamanism. The binding of smudge sticks for many traditions was a sacred intentional process in and of itself.