The smudging guide for beginners: sage, palo santo, frankincense and lavender

The smudging guide for beginners: sage, palo santo, frankincense and lavender

A guest article by Alisa Füssel

Herbs, juices and woods have these positive effects on your health

Why do we burn smudge? The ritual causes an energetic cleansing of body, mind and soul, but also of your environment. It cleanses stored emotions, vibrations and energies from people, conversations or events. Therefore, it is worthwhile to reach for your favorite incense, especially after an emotionally charged argument or heated discussion. However, smudging also helps you to simply escape from the hectic pace of everyday life and to slow down for the moment. In addition, smudging has an antibacterial, antiviral and thus disinfectant effect.

Since time immemorial, smudging has been a lived tradition: where many people gather, the atmosphere is purified to protect against negative energies or even bad spirits. The best examples are religious places like temples and churches. Here, incense is burned to create a safe, harmonious and neutral atmosphere. Thus, smudging has also gained a valuable spiritual meaning. It is often used in rituals to establish grounding, eliminate negative energies and establish a protective framework. Therefore, it also serves as a component in oracle, vision work, yoga, meditation, circles or other spiritual practices. The list could be continued: Smudging is an integral part of setting intentions and letting go, at certain seasonal rituals such as the Rough Nights, and is used in harmony with the phases of the moon (especially at new and full moon).

How to smudge properly: A brief overview

For smudging you need an incense stick with a tea light and herbs, a fireproof bowl with incense sand, charcoal and charcoal tongs or a smudging bundle. Of course, incense sticks are also sufficient at the beginning.

These herbs are used most often:

Sage has a clarifying, calming, cleansing and mood-lifting effect. It cleanses the atmosphere, rooms and your aura by pushing out disturbing and stressful energies. This makes centering and concentration possible again.

Palo Santo has a calming effect, but can also have a euphoric effect. It creates harmony and protection.

Frankincense relieves stress and depression, as well as has an anti-inflammatory and health-promoting effect.

Lavender has a balancing, calming, strengthening and clarifying effect on the mind and body. It is also cleansing and disinfecting.

The most popular herbs for smudging in detail

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One of the oldest known medicinal herbs: Sage

For smudging, the herb is particularly well suited, as the intense scent of the plant frees from negative energies and cleanses the aura. Sage is a cleansing and purifying herb for smudging, and as such was already used by the indigenous people of North America. Sage is primarily used for major cleansing and "clearing" in your home.

White Sage has an intense aroma: spicy, herbaceous, somewhat resinous and slightly sweet. The sacred incense plant cleanses the atmosphere, attracts positive energies, has a disinfecting, invigorating, concentration-enhancing effect and dissolves energetic blockages. It clears the consciousness and is popularly used in ceremonies and rituals to purify the body, mind and spirit. White sage is usually smoked in the form of a bundle of herbs called a "smudge stick". The plant is popularly used for house cleansing, as well as for colds and sore throats. White sage also has a positive effect on mood and concentration.

How to smudge with sage:

To start, light a Smudge Stick with a lighter or the flame of a candle until a gentle smoke is produced. Then move the smudge stick evenly through the air and blow gently on it - this is how you maintain the smoke of the incense bundle. You can also place individual sage leaves in a fireproof bowl and light them.

Palo Santo can also be used for purification, but it differs from sage in that it focuses exclusively on negative energies, whereas sage purifies everything. So Palo Santo only increases the "good vibes" while Sage does a basic energetic cleanse. Once you have cleansed your home, you can then use Palo Santo to attract positivity. At some point, you will intuitively decide which incense fits best.

The sacred wood from South America: Palo Santo

Palo Santo is extracted from the tree of the same name from South America and has a long tradition. Supposedly, it has been used for rituals since the Inca period to release the power of spiritual purification. The Palo Santo tree matures between 50 and 70 years of age. Only when the wood dies naturally and then rests for at least 5 years is its highest quality assured.

The effect of Palo Santo is scientifically still little researched, but the small wood is said to have a relaxing, cleansing, protective and healing effect. It is therefore used mainly in house cleaning to remove those energies that reduce the vitality of rooms and their inhabitants. Smudging balances energies, because it banishes negative energies and at the same time increases everything positive. The field of application of sacred wood is wide: it is also used in cases of illness caused by stress, to bring more peace and harmony to the body and mind, and to purify the soul. In addition, it is often used ceremonially, for example, before a meditation, yoga, Reiki, aromatherapy, shamanic sessions or even before important events and before or after visits.

Palo Santo connects us to human love and increases the ability to give and receive. That is why smudging with the sacred wood is so popular before gatherings, meetings and healing sessions, among others. It relaxes the mind, puts us in an inner peace and promotes devotion. Palo Santo has antidepressant, diaphoretic, diuretic, detoxifying, anti-rheumatic and antiseptic properties, among others. Palo Santo also helps prevent flu.

This is how you smudge with Palo Santo:

To use Palo Santo, simply light a piece of wood at a 45-degree angle with a lighter or on a candle and let it burn for 45 seconds until the smoke spreads. To burn it down, place it on a fireproof bowl. Combine the smudging of Palo Santo with an intention, and then open the windows so that everything negative can leave, and everything positive can spread. You can light the sacred wood again and again.

Smudging with dried tree juice: Frankincense.

Frankincense is a dried natural tree sap obtained from trees of the plant genus Boswellia from the family Burseraceae. This tree sap is especially well known in Abrahamic religions and has a long and interesting history behind it. Smudging with frankincense even today usually has a religious or spiritual meaning. Frankincense purifies the soul and is a spiritual healer, so to speak.

A nice side effect: frankincense looks beautiful when you burn it. Apart from that, it also has several health benefits: It is known worldwide for its beneficial properties. It relieves stress and depression and has an anti-inflammatory effect. It also promotes oral health. Frankincense is valued in aromatherapy and skin care for its relaxing and restorative properties. An important component of African and Asian traditional medicine, frankincense has long been used to aid digestion, as it speeds up the digestive system and also shows positive effects on internal organs.

How to smudge frankincense:

1. You need the right equipment. This includes a vessel, charcoal and possibly sand (and of course the frankincense). Use a heat-resistant container such as a teapot, a shell or a bowl. It is best to use charcoal, because frankincense burns very well on it. If you use sand, make sure it is special smudging sand, as it absorbs the heat of the vessel and allows air to get under the charcoal. This improves the combustion.

2. Light the charcoal first. Use a long lighter and hold the charcoal with tongs. Now carefully start to light the charcoal from the outside. As soon as the charcoal sparks and the heat spreads throughout the charcoal, you can extinguish the burning flame.

3. The charcoal is now burning and everything is ready to add the frankincense. Carefully add about 1/4 teaspoon of the frankincense resin to the burning coal. Work well dosed here, because the scent is very intense. Fan the charcoal so that the resin burns and the smoke spreads.


Portrait-ALisa

Alisa Füssel

Alisa is a yoga teacher and spiritual mentor. In 2020, she launched "from heart to toe" because she wanted to showcase the many aspects and facets of yoga: Everyone should be able to take out what they need for their path right now. Her goal is to accompany you a bit on your journey to yourself and to give you the support you need; in exactly the form that is good for you. Alisa takes a holistic view of people and yoga, building a bridge between you and yoga, but also between you and your path to healing and a life full of joy and harmony.

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