The Sacred Tradition Of Smoke Cleansing

Smoke cleansing is an ancient spiritual practice found in many faiths, cultures, and wisdom traditions all over the world. These age-old rituals, ceremonies and healing practices involve the burning of various aromatic plants, resins, and woods and have been practiced since humans first discovered fire. Traditionally ceremonies and rituals involving smoke are mostly used for energy cleansings and spiritual blessings, but the purposes, techniques and materials used vary widely among belief systems, tribes, nations, and cultures.

The burning of incense, for example, was a revered practice in ancient Egypt as part of religious ceremonies. This practice continues today in the Roman Catholic church, with the burning of incense to amplify prayers and intentions.

In both Hinduism and Buddhism, incense is burnt for ritual offerings and rites, while in ancient China incense was burned during festivals and processions to honor ancestors and household gods, and in Japan it is part of the Shintō purification ritual.

In ancient Rome cinnamon was burnt during funerals. The Assyrians burned various aromatic woods in their homes, temples, and places of healing. In traditional Chinese medicine, the burning of agarwood and sandalwood is done to promote emotional wellness and physical healing.

One of the most well-known smoke cleansing traditions, especially in the United States, is known as smudging. To ‘smudge’ means ‘to make a smoky fire’ or ‘to emit a dense smoke.’ Smudging involves various purification and healing ceremonies originally practiced by the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Certain sacred herbs are traditionally used in smudging to purify and bless people and places, of which the most commonly used today is white sage or salvia apiana, also known as bee sage or sacred sage. It is an evergreen perennial shrub native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.

Sage is a living being that we take from the earth, which means that we are connected to it. When we make a sage bundle and burn it, we are taking its breath and purifying ourselves with it ~ Shilo & Shawna Clifford

Smudging with white sage has, however, become so popular that it has led to over-harvesting, and even theft of this sacred wild plant by commercial traders, to the extent that some indigenous groups and conservationists are concerned that it may become endangered, or even extinct. In fact, the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) estimates that the vast majority of white sage products on the market today are not commercially farmed, but instead poached! The destructive harvesting of this sacred wild plant has become so widespread a problem in recent years that some indigenous communities have even requested that non-indigenous people completely stop using white sage.

It is therefore essential for environmentally conscious and socially responsible practitioners to only use smudging sticks that are ethically sourced and sustainably produced, and are not the result of illicit poaching and destructive over-harvesting practices. And if you have the garden or land to grow your own, even better!

Using more sustainable alternatives to white sage is fortunately becoming more popular in the metaphysical community. Some great aromatic plant alternatives for smudging include dried bay leaves, cedar, cinnamon, garden sage, juniper, lavender, lemon balm, mint, mugwort, pine, rosemary, sagebrush, tulsi and wormwood.

That sage bundle you’re burning in your apartment in New York City to get rid of the bad vibes – that sage was ripped out from a place that had been part of someone’s family, community for thousands of generations ~ David Bryant

Also, look into finding other plant alternatives that are indigenous to the area or region where you live. Working with ethically sourced local botanicals tend to be more potent and powerful, as the plant’s energy will be much more resonant with the energy fields, frequencies and vortices of its indigenous area. And if smoke is not your thing, then you can also opt for energy clearing using smokeless alternatives, such as crystals, rock salt, or holy water.

Smudging is a sacred ritual that is meant to be conducted in harmony with Mother Earth. It is a hallowed ceremony that must be done with great care and respect. Attempting to do energy cleansings with plants that were carelessly ripped from the earth in sacred indigenous lands will most certainly not serve the practioner’s highest good, nor attract the blessings they seek.