How To Smudge With Sage

Long, funky day at work? Have some strange interactions at the grocery store? Feel like there is some bad energy hanging around you or your space? You may be in need or a good smudging, or clearing, with sage.

Smudging your space, whether it’s your home, apartment, or workspace is a great way to clear out negative or heavy energy and cleanse or clear your environment. It’s a way to invite positive energy into your area and it’s a ceremony that you can do on your own, whenever you feel you need an energetic reset. 

What Kind Of Sage Should You Use?

Sage is a common kitchen herb and while it is delicious it’s not the same variety most often used in smudging ceremonies. White sage, or sacred sage is used to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit. It grows naturally throughout the southwestern states of the US and throughout northern Mexico. It’s often sold in a smudging stick, which is a bundle of leaves tied together with string. Lighting this bundle on fire and then blowing out the flame produces the aromatic smoke used in the smudging ceremony. 

Smudging Your House

You may find that once you’ve lit your sage you know exactly how you want to cleanse your space, but if you’re not sure how or where to start, consider starting at your front door to your house, apartment, or whatever space you want to cleanse. Allow the smoke to billow up from the bundle and let it waft throughout each area as you move from the entryway throughout the entire space. Some people say you should move clockwise, others say counter clockwise. Just move where your heart tells you to and allow the sage and the energy of the smoke to guide you as you enter each room and pay attention to each corner. 

If you’re in a closed space, make sure and open a window so that the smoke can eventually leave, taking the bad energy with it. Also, you don’t want to set off any smoke alarms if you’re in an apartment or a more confined location. 

Smudging Yourself

I like to smudge my own house every so often and clear out funky energies that can accumulate as I go about my daily life. I also like to smudge myself from time to time and you might enjoy it as well. To smudge yourself, light your sage stick on fire and blow out the flames. Then trace the outline of your body, starting at your foot, following the line of your leg, down to your other foot. Circle the sage around your mid-section, around one arm, then the next, and finally circle the smudging stick around your shoulders and head. Again, let the sage guide you as you cleanse yourself of bad juju that you don’t need to carry around. If you’re in ceremony with another like-minded individual, try saging each other. Starting with the backside first, outline all limbs, feet to arms, then move to the front body, outlining all limbs, and ending again with the shoulders and head. It can feel very relaxing to have someone you trust and feel comfortable with share in this process. 

Sage Alternatives

White sage has been used as a powerful tool in Native American culture for hundreds if not thousands of years and with all natural resources, the popularity of white sage for smudging has had an impact on the native plant. Make sure you can ethically source the white sage you are purchasing or consider using an alternative such as juniper, rosemary, cedar, or even other varieties of sage. The main idea behind smudging is to use the smoke to clear away negative energy so as long as there is plenty of smoke and a scent that brings you joy, you can find serenity in the ceremony. 

And remember to make sure your smudge stick is completely out before you walk away from it. Smudging is a fire ceremony and you always want to be very careful and respectful when working with fire. Keep a ceramic dish, an abalone shell, or even just a glass ashtray on hand to snub out your smudge stick when you’re all done cleansing your space. 

Happy smudging!