Palo Santo is a mystical tree that grows along the coast of South America. The wood is naturally fragrant and related to frankincense, another of mother nature’s high vibrational aromatic gifts. The indigenous people of the Andes have used palo santo for centuries as a spiritual remedy for purifying and cleansing and as a medicinal plant for all kinds of ailments.
I love clearing my healing room with palo santo smoke before and after Reiki sessions. A combination of palo santo and frankincense is even more powerful for purifying a space and keeping the atmosphere light and free of heavy energy. It smells heavenly.
Image by lundyd
Once you’ve got your palo santo stick smoking use it to draw Cho Ku Rei in the corners of the room you’re clearing and over any areas you intuitively feel need purifying. You can also draw the symbols you might use during your Reiki session in the palms of your hands. Drawing the Reiki symbols with smoke really seems to amplify the effects.
It can be very beautiful to “smudge” yourself and the person receiving Reiki before you start the healing session. Gently wave the burning stick around the aura with the intention of purification. You can also draw Reiki smoke symbols over the chakras before and after the session.
Whenever I get some new palo santo, I offer it Reiki to connect with its magical medicine, to clear it of any energy accumulated during the shipping journey to me and to welcome it into my space as a fellow healer. Plants reveal their magic to us when we honour and treat them with respect. I hope you feel inspired to work with palo santo in your Reiki practice and to invite this special vibration into your everyday life too.
Article by Taryn Walker
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Taryn Walker
Taryn Walker is a traveling Reiki Master Teacher who wishes to inspire people to realise that they are miraculous! She believes that Reiki can reveal our natural ability to heal ourselves and this empowers us to take responsibility for our lives. She works a lot with distant Reiki and loves the way it allows people to experience the illusion of separation. Taryn is grateful for being able to connect with her Reiki clients even while traveling. She usually lives on a little island in Thailand, where she practices and teaches Reiki, but finds ‘home’ wherever she is. Taryn enjoys yoga, nature, creating art, cooking and finding magic in “ordinary” places. Follow her here: reiki-alchemy.com, and alchemyhealing.
One should always point out that when using a plant that (while Palo Santo is not endangered it is being overharvested much like frankincense is and beginning to endanger the species) to always make sure you’re buying from someone who ethically Harvest and ethically sources their plant material. You also have to worry about buying fake Palo Santo as there have I’ve been reports of cheap Pine being soaked in Palo Santo oil and sold I’m places like eBay Etsy and Amazon.