Article by Angie Webster
Smudging is an ancient technique used by many cultures to purify and bless the energy of people and their spaces. In the West, it is most often associated with the many Native America tribes, but many cultures around the world have the custom of burning herbs or incense for these same purposes. Many places of worship use some variation of this before or during their rituals or services.
Typically, sage is the herb that is used for smudging. There are many varieties of sage and any can be used, though white sage is the most common. Sage smoke is very effective for clearing and removing negative energy. Cedar or sweetgrass or other herbs, such as lavender can also be used to smudge, although these herbs are generally better used to infuse positive energy and are not as effective as sage at removing negative energy. They can be useful to burn after smudging with sage, or can be bundled into a smudge wand along with sage to be burned at the same time.
Smudging is an excellent practice to do regularly for yourself and in your home as basic energetic hygiene. It is very useful to do after you have guests in order to clear the home of the energy of those that do not live there and any issues they may have brought in with them. It is also good to do during and after an illness or an argument to cleanse the home of the negative energy around these issues. If you move, smudging is a very useful way to clear your new home of the energy of the former residents, leaving a clean slate for you and your family.
Image by AnnSalinas
If you want to smudge yourself or your home, you can buy a smudge stick, which is dried sage leaves bundled together, or you can simply buy loose sage leaves. Have a ceramic or clay bowl nearby before you start. This is to lay the smudge stick in after you light it and can also be used to safely extinguish it after you are finished.
I put a layer of sea salt in the bottom of my clay bowl. It serves as an addition aid in purification and I know that it won’t burn, and I can extinguish the sage in it safely without getting the entire stick wet. I usually use loose sage leaves, laying two or three directly on top of the bed of sea salt in my clay bowl. Sage leaves can be left to burn out on their own but it’s best to put a wand out when you’re done. Put it out by snuffing it in the salt bed in your bowl, rubbing it out, or wetting it.
Open a window in each room, at least a crack before you start. This encourages the smoke to leave the house, carrying any negative energy with it. Besides, you don’t want a heavy build up of smoke in your house! Set your intention to cleanse your space and call upon your guides. Call upon north, south, east, west, above, below and within.
Then you can light the end of you smudge stick (the leafy end, not the stemmy, woody end) or the few sage leaves in your clay bowl. Once they are burning well, gently blow the fire out. If you are using a smudge stick, lay it down in the bowl. Rub your hands together in the smoke, just as you would if you were washing them, allowing the smoke to wash the energy of your hands. Then use your hands to direct and “pour” the smoke over your head, directing it across the top of your head, your eyes, ears, mouth and throat. Intend that the smoke clear you so that you can think, see, hear and speak, clearly and peacefully, with love. Continue using your hands to direct smoke to your heart, solar plexus and lower belly. Then carefully pick up the bowl and run the smoke under each of your feet. You will quickly feel the shift in your energy, feeling lighter and more peaceful.
You can smudge another person by directing the smoke toward their body, using your hand or a feather. Start at their feet and work your way up, focusing on the chakra areas and hands and any areas of density you observe or sense in the aura.
To smudge your home, after smudging yourself, start at the front entrance of the main room of the home and move around the home in a counterclockwise direction (work to your left) Direct the smoke or let the smoke pass into all areas, especially around the perimeter and in corners. To be very thorough, open cabinets and closets and allow the smoke to waft into them as well. When you have completed the smudge and come back to the front entrance, take any ashes you have outside and place them on the earth to discard them.
If you like, you can burn a candle (beeswax candles are great!) or a sprig of lavender to seal in positive energy after cleansing your home through smudging.
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Angie Webster made a significant contribution to the Reiki community, with a particular focus on Animal Reiki, which she had a deep affection for. As a knowledgeable Reiki Master Teacher and Author, she conducted online courses on energy healing, herbalism, flower essences, and personal growth.
She is the author of “Animal Reiki: How it Heals, Teaches & Reconnects Us with Nature” and “Reiki from A to Z”. Currently, Angie has decided to retire from her professional life to devote more time to her health, family, and the little joys of life.
Hi, great article. Can you please tell me while smudging my home, do I need to go to each room and put the fumes in them or can I do it via one room, or place the bowl in the centre of the house?
Ananya,
When you wish to cleanse the energy of your entire home, you need to walk through your entire home, allowing the smoke to flow into the corners briefly. Simply walk through the home in a counter clock wise direction as you carry the bowl with the burning smudge stick or sage with you. That is all it takes. You an choose to do one room only, if you feel that room is heavy with negative energy. However, the negativity can sometimes stay stuck in other rooms. so it is best to cleanse the all periodically just as you would clean them of dust and dirt.
You say that a periodic recleanse is needed. May I ask, what would you consider periodic? Is once a year enough? I can incorporate with a yearly ritual I do… Every winter solstice I redo a blessing/ protection (includes a large rose quartz point, cleansed again each year, also left under full moon 24 hrs) / reversal of evil or negitive energies (said over 4 mirrors one facing each cardnial direction.
Smudging is a very good thing to incorporate in to a yearly cleansing ritual. However, it is useful to do after an illness, an argument, a stressful day or any time you feel heavy energies build up in your home. I smudge my home every time I have visitors, not because I feel they have brought something bad into my home, but because their energy is foreign to my space. I wish to clear it and make my space my own again. For the same reasons, I smudge myself nearly every time I come home from being around a large number of people or shopping. It helps to clear my energy of the energy of others and it leaves a clean, peaceful energy. I guess I would say to judge by when you feel your home need to have an energetic cleanse. We can often feel the heaviness in the home and in our hearts when this is the case. Each home is different and each person is as well.
Thanks for this article. May I add, intention is also an important part of smudging. As I was taught by my Reiki Master Teacher, who had a special prayer she said as she was smudging a room to remove negative energy. I personally mentally ask, with right intentions, for the release as I’m smudging.
Iris, thank you for that. Yes, you are right. Intention is very important and mentally or verbally asking for the release of the negative as you smudge should be part of the process. I also ask that myself and the space I am clearing be filled with peace and love.