In with the good sh*t & out with the bullsh#t. Smudging 101
Sage has been used in an ancient Native American technique called smudging for many, many years and has since become popular worldwide. It is believed that the thick smoke from the sage attaches to negative energy and carries it away, allowing fresh energy and new beginnings to emerge.
There are countless reasons why one might sage. Here are just a few examples for you:
- Moving into a new home
- Moving out of your old home
- After an argument or a break-up
- If you feel unwell or “off”
- If you find yourself in a bout of bad luck
- Problems in the home or at the office
- After a car accident or when you’ve bought a new car
- If you feel a visitor or a friend has come round with a lot of negativity going on
- Just because you, your home, your car or office need an energetic shower
Before we run through a step by step process to smudging, here are some tips for making the process safe, easy and effective:
- Make sure you clean your home/space before- hand, cleansing in a clean space simply makes sense.
- Turn off you phone so that there are no interruptions.
- Tie your hair back and wear comfortable clothing that isn’t too ‘baggy’. The ashes sometimes fall and you don't want your hair or clothing to catch alight, especially when smudging yourself.
- Have a heat-proof container ready to catch the ashes that fall. I have an Abolone Shell to help me with this and I recommend them if saging is going to become a regular thing for you.
Simple step by step Smudging process:
- Close all the windows and doors leading to the outside of your home, this ensures the smoke is able to gather as much as possible as it burns and rises to the ceiling. (if you are asthmatic or have breathing issues then you may need to forgo this step as the smell and smoke is quite strong)
- Set an intention before you sage your home, office, car and/or yourself. Setting the intention as to what you are clearing and why, and what you would like your cleansed space to bring forward is a pivotal part of the process. Your intention may look a little something like this “I am saging today because I had an argument with my partner lastnight and I want to clear any lingering tension and energy from our home. I invite a loving relationship into our space where we can have peaceful discussions in future and where we appreciate, respect and find happiness with one another”. If you have no clear reason and you just cleanse to upkeep then your intention might be along the lines of…. “I am smudging today to clear any and all negative energy within my home, myself and my family. I burn this sage so that happiness, health, abundance and love have plenty of room to come into our space to help create positivity around and within us.”
- Light the thick end of the sage and blow out the fire once it produces smoke as the smoke is what does the clearing.
- Start in one corner of the whatever room you chose and move your sage stick around to allow the smoke to spready throughout. Some people will tell you to create the infinity symbol or to move it up and down and what have you…. But we encourage our clients to do what feels right to them. The less rigid the process is the more authentic it will be for you.
- Move to each of the other corners in the room. This ensures that you cover the space of each room thoroughly.
- Once you've saged the corners of the room, walk it around the centre of the room and move the smoke over any furniture and décor you may have.
- As you're saging each room, remember what your intention/intentions are. I tend to speak aloud , I look slightly nuts when I do so, but it keeps me present and further cements my intentions during the process.
- Once you're done with each room, go ahead and open your windows and doors, allowing the smoke and all it has gathered to leave.
- Sit somewhere comfy in your space and take it all in as the smoke and negativity floats away, visualising all you want to bring and being mindful and grateful for all that has now left.
Once you are done you can either put out the sage that is still lit or place the smudge stick in a safe place and let it burn out on its own. Either way, once it is definitely not alight anymore you can put what’s left away till you are ready to cleanse again.
How often you sage is completely up to you, go with your intuition with this one guys but obviously if something huge has happened that has created a negative space or a negative vibe within yourself and/or home then a prompt sage may go a long way.
I have attached some links below that may be useful on your cleansing journey….
Happy Smudging