Smudge Sticks and Smudge Bowls
The use of sage to cleanse a home is deeply rooted in Native American history. They used sage for many purposes, including healing, energy cleansing, to remove negative energy and ritual ceremonies. Historically, medicine people used sage cleansing on people who were ill, to bring them back from the negative space where their body and soul resided at that point. Today, Native Americans use it in sage cleansing ceremonies for those who are seeking balance and pure thoughts.
When to Smudge
Whenever you need to re-balance your mental body (self-destructive/limiting thought patterns) or emotional body (fear, anger, depression), or when you desire to let go of/transform any negative energy that is not for your highest joy that’s affecting you or your environment/reality or belongings and to embrace/ground new positive energies in to your being/reality.
Purpose of Smudging
Balance/upliftment/self-empowerment.
Cleansing/protection.
Attracting positive energies to you.
Letting go of negative energies.
To create/enhance positive energy.
Spaces for healing and manifestation.
Cleansing Crystals.
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How to Smudge
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Take a moment before you light the sage to determine what exactly it is that you're trying to purify or release from your space. First open a door or window before lighting up, so all negativity (not to mention smoke) has a pathway to get out. Start at the front door of the home and light your smudge stick. Then, begin to move slowly around the home. Move mindfully and with care, walking clockwise around the entire interior perimeter of the home. Be sure to allow the smoke to drift into even the hidden spaces, like inside wardrobes, cupboards and dark corners.
If there are stairs, just go up or down them so you can smudge the upper or lower levels in the same manner. Then keep moving clockwise until you meet the stairs again. Then continue to go down or up the stairs and resume smudging on the main floor.
Moving around a space like this is called “circumambulation.” It’s a practice that’s been done for centuries in ancient cultures to make a space more sacred.
If you feel comfortable doing so, there are things you can say when you sage your house. It’s helpful to chant a mantra or a prayer that is meaningful to you as a way to fill the space with more cleansing vibrations.
