Common sage or salvia officinalis is a smallish evergreen shrub that can be used in a wide range of applications. My favorite way to use common sage is for tea. Sounds crazy, I know, but it is delicious—it’s like drinking sage’s shadow. But when it comes to creating smudge sticks or bundles, white sage (salvia apiana) is most commonly used. White sage tends to have longer and more narrow leaves that densely populate the stem, more so than other sage varieties, which makes it easier to bundle together.
If you’re unfamiliar with the practice or ritual of smudging, it is the burning of sage by itself (or with other plants) to cleanse the energy or spirit. Lighting a smudge stick creates a spiritually cleansing smoke bath that can purify anything from crystals to spirit. It’s a calling on of the spirits of the plants being burned.
Early Origins
White sage is native to high desserts, but is most commonly found in California and the mountainous American west. And Native Americans were the first on record for using it in a ceremonial or ritual manner. For many of these cultures, white sage went by the name “Sacred Sage.” It was used to get rid of any unwanted persisting energies, to ask the spirits for blessings, prosperity, protection and more.
In many native cultures, plants are more than living things, they have a soul, a spirit, and sage was no different. Burning sage was a way of communing with the spiritual realm and connecting to the spirit of the plant and the earth. By burning the sage with intention, you are asking the spirit of the sage to lend its cleansing and protective energy into your space, body, energy, etc.
Symbolism
Most native cultures incorporate a fireproof bowl of sorts to catch the smoldering embers. Abalone shell is just one of such vessels. If you choose to use an abalone shell in your smudging, you are creating a synergistic loop. The abalone represents the element of water, the unlit sage represents the element of earth, the smoke, the element of air, and the lit sage, fire. By connecting all four natural elements, you are inviting harmony and balance into your space and spirit. The smoke is said to both bind to negative energy and spirits to carry them away and carry prayers into the Universe.
In addition to a vessel to catch the falling embers, feathers were also a staple in smudging ceremonies and rituals. Birds were reverenced for their ability to be closer to the heavens, the Most High, as well as their construction. Natives thought that bird feathers helped to comb a person’s energy and aural energies. Waving or combing the smoke was encouraged, but not blowing. It was thought that blowing on the smudge stick or the smoke released any negative energies from the person into the smoke.
Other common plants to smudge with include lavender, mugwort, tobacco, cedar, sweet grass, juniper, and copal. Tobacco, which grows very prolifically in the Americas, was actually considered to be the most sacred by many Native peoples. Each plant has its own merits and purpose, so experiment to see which ones you resonate with most.
Comments (Responses)
Annoyed User
Trying to read this article, Had two dep modal dialogs asking for signup for email and sms. This practice sucks. Won’t be reading, won’t be coming back.
Theo
I encourage you to stop referring to indigenous peoples in the past tense. These rituals have continued to occur in spite of genocide. Natives are here and their culture and sacred plants are being poached and appropriated under white supremacy.
Theo
I encourage you to stop referring to indigenous peoples in the past tense. These rituals have continued to occur in spite of genocide. Natives are here and their culture and sacred plants are being poached and appropriated under white supremacy.
Scarlett Giselle
While smudging is indeed an indigenous practice, white sage has been used by many civilizations for medicinal purposes since the ancient times. Anyone has the right to use white sage for smoke cleansing or any other purpose. It is not currently on any list as being at risk for endangerment, and different cultures have different rituals for smoke cleansing. For example, the Saxons called their smoke cleansing rituals “Recaning”.
But does anyone have the right to practice smudging? There is no correct answer. Every indigenous family and culture has their own opinion. I have had 100% indigenous people tell me that anyone can practice smudging if they wish to, and I have had another 100% indigenous people tell me that these ceremonies are very sacred and people must be invited. I’ve had others tell me it’s closed to all non-indigenous altogether.
Unless all indigenous peoples worldwide sit down and have a meeting on this topic and decide on a single answer, there will never be one correct answer to non-indigenous being able to practice smudging.
28 February, 2023
Pam
Why do people do these ritualistic and barbaric things? Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ,the Son of the one true God. He alone will save you, keep you and fill you with His Holy Spirit. Crystals, burning plants, reading tarot cards, ouija boards and such only open doors for the enemy to get in. God is our Creator and He’s all that matters. People have spirits, not plants or animals. We are to be the light of the world. How can a plant or animal sin then ask forgiveness to Jesus and be that example of God so other’s will know and follow Jesus and His plan for salvation? He is the way the truth and the life and no one can be saved without His plan.