This week I wanted to write about smudging partly because I got this gorgeous Abalone shell as a gift from a friend and I’m so excited to use it to smudge. Isn’t it pretty? Smudging is another way to clear the air and use the power of the plants to purify a space. Humans have used the smoke from plants to create a sacred space for millennia.; from the Native American using White Sage to the Catholic use of Frankincense during mass and Hindus and Buddhist burning Sandalwood to deepen meditation.
Extracting essential oils is a relatively new practice. (The distillation process is thought to have been discovered by a Persian scientist Avicenna in the 11th century.) So, before discovering how to create essential oils, people used strong smelling plants and their smoke to create fragrance, clear energy, purify and burn as a gift to the divine.
Using essential oils is a bit easier than smudging (which really means lighting the plant and letting it smoke; letting the smoke purify what it touches) so I had gotten out of the habit of doing it. With smudging the smoke can be irritating to some, it can set off fire alarms, people get weird when they smell burning herbs and annoyingly assume people are smoking something and the smell sticks in your clothes.
BUT
It’s fun.
And powerful.
Doing it the other day I remembered how much I enjoyed it; harvesting the herbs, drying the herbs and then lighting them -seeing their edges curl into flame and then smoke with a bright edge of burning. So, even though it might make people sneeze, I recommend doing a bit of smudging, especially if you have been feeling stuck or like some things need to be cleared out. It really does energetically purify and clear the air and your mood. It also engages you with nature and the elements, which is usually a pleasing and calming thing to do.
I dried some fresh herbs- The classic is White Sage, but that doesn’t grow wild in New England so I use nice smelling local herbs like Sweet Fern, Cedar, Pine, Rosemary, Lavender, Garden Sage, and Thyme.
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| Here’s some Sweet Fern, Rosemary and Garden Sage drying on a screen in a dry, warm room. |
Here’s an article on drying herbs.
Once the herb is dried you can light it with a match until it begins to smoke. (A lighter is frowned upon because it is not as pure as a wooden match, but on a windy night I have used a lighter and been glad to have it :))
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| Smudging with some dried Thyme, a strong clearing herb. |
Then you let the smoke wash over you or the space you want to clear. Sometimes sacred meetings start with a smudge, passing around the bowl or stick (You can bundle your herbs together once they have dried wrapping them in twine or yarn and then light the herb-stick you have created.) Each person lets the smoke wash over them from top to bottom before passing it to the next person. It is a method for leaving behind the regular world and clearing the energy of the day; allowing you to be more present.
You can also use a little piece of charcoal in the bottom of a fire-proof bowl (You can put sand or dirt in the bottom of a bowl and then put the piece of charcoal.) It looks like a thick quarter of charcoal and you can buy them here. https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/products/charcoal-rounds/profile
These little charcoal rounds let you burn pitch and harder plant extracts like Myrrh and Copal, which are strong healing herbs. I just bought some Myrrh at the Brattleboro Food Co-op to burn next time I feel like the room (Or I) needs some clearing out and grounding.
So, be sensible and don’t leave anything burning or let the bowl get too hot, but enjoy a bit of smudging, if you feel like clearing the air.
(It’s also fun to throw some herbs on a bonfire and then smell the sweet smoke.)
Let me know if you have any questions and enjoy the clouds of smoke.
xoxo
Katherine
