Smudge/Sage Sticks

The ancient art of cleansing/blessing your environment.

Smudge sticks are comprised of sacred herbs (e.g. white sage) or resins that are burned in a ceremonial practice known as smudging or saging.

This ritual was commonly performed by Indigenous peoples of the Americas for spiritual cleansing or blessing. This was not practiced by all Indigenous peoples and the purposes and particulars of the ceremonies, and herbs used varied between tribes, nations, and geographic areas.

This ritual has been integrated within the New Age and Spiritual movements where various types of sage are commonly used due to having antimicrobial properties which protects the space from infectious bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

Two popular sages used are white prairie sage (Artemisia ludoviciana), which is antimicrobial and antibacterial and white sage (Salvia apiana) which is also antimicrobial. The current practice is to use white sage to purify the home after an illness; to calm the senses, relieve stress and depression, and to help eliminate fever and nausea.

How to Smudge/Sage
Light the tips of the leaves. Once the leaves begin to burn and smoke, walk through your home allowing the smoke to spread throughout the rooms. Allow the aroma to fill your rooms. Depending on the amount of smoke you may want to open your windows. You can also ‘sage’ a person by tracing their outline with the smoke of the sage.