Smudge and Incense

In many traditions, shamanic smudging involves a four directions ceremony or prayer, which sends specific kinds of smoke or prayers into the four directions. Different tribes have different smudging prayers that program the smoke to do a specific action, such as cleansing or aiding in divination.

In general, shamanic smudging can be used in daily life for practical purposes: to restore physical, mental and emotional balance; to shield against negative energies; to cleanse yourself, your magickal tools and your space; and to restore you sacred space. You can burn these common smudging herbs singly or in combination with each other. One good combination that covers all four magical elements of air, fire, water and earth is pine resin and sage (either desert sage or white).

Smudging yourself on a daily basis can be very helpful in keeping yourself balanced and maintaining a peaceful state of being. However, you should definitely use shamanic smudging techniques when you’ve been around people who are ill, depressed, fearful, angry or generally emotionally unbalanced; before meditating to create a calm state of being; when you’re feeling blue or depressed; or when you’ve been under a lot of stress.

Want to know more? Smudging and Incense classes available –  Check schedule for current dates.

Smudging Kits  includes: sweetgrass, sage bundle, flat cedar, abalone shell, quick-lite charcoal, mini fan

Sage The use of sage is for healing. The smoke is used to bless, cleanse and heal the person or object being smudged. Sage is used to ‘wash off’ the outside world when one enters ceremony or other sacred space. Objects are likewise washed off with sage medicine smoke to rid them of unwanted influences.

Cedar Cedar is a medicine of protection. Cedar trees are very old, wise and powerful spirits. Cedar is often used to cleanse a home or apartment when first moving in, inviting unwanted spirits to leave and protecting a person, place or object from unwanted influences.

Sweetgrass Also called Seneca grass, holy grass and vanilla grass. This very special herb’s sweet vanilla-like scent is the breath of the Earth mother, bringing the blessing of Mother Earth’s love. Sweetgrass is burned to remind us of essence of the feminine and that the earth provides us with everything we need. Sweetgrass can also be be unbraided or trimmed with a scissors into small pieces and sprinkled on hot Charcoal Tablets. Allow the sacred smoke that follows to wash over the subject of the blessing. The sacredness of the sweetgrass herb then sustains the smudging process. Use a smudging feather if you need to douse the flame or promote more smoke.

Lavender This native of Europe is often used for invitation of the spirits. The name may be derived from the Latin lavare (to wash) or livendula (meaning bluish). In ancient times lavender was an important herb used in mummification. Burning Lavender is best done on Charcoal Tablets.

Palo Santo  literally meaning “holy wood” in Spanish.   Palo Santo is used in South America in much the same way as White Ceremonial Sage is used in North America- to combat negative energy and to cleanse the space. Palo Santo is different than many of the other smudging materials as it is fragrant in its raw form and does not necessarily need to be lit, though it usually is when being used for ceremonial purposes.

Nagchampa Incense Sticks   Satya Sai Baba Nag Champa Incense is made from mixture of herbs, floral extracts and oils, which are hand rolled onto a bamboo stick.

Copal Resin  Dried resin, collected from the trunk.  Ceremonially, the resin is placed on hot coals for spiritual cleansing.

Frankincense Resin  Dried resin, collected from stems and trunk.  Frankincense is used in perfumery and aromatherapy. It is also an ingredient that is sometimes used in skincare.

Various incense sticks & cones

Incense holders and trays