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How to Smudge with Sage for Bad Energy Removal and Aura Protection

My Spirit Care, 25 Years of Psychic and Spiritual Advice for Thousands of People

There is nothing more effective, other than living a genuinely truthful, spiritually-centered and loving life, than smudging to purify the energy field of a person, place or thing. Smoke from a proper smudging clears the air. It removes bad energy, negative vibes, spirit haunting, heavy feelings, and deflects evil intentions. The proper use of smudge amounts to a good scrubbing of the auric body!

Although many different plants can be used for smudging, indigenous American tribes consider four plants to be especially sacred: sage, sweetgrass, tobacco, and cedar. Each plant is considered to have a special function and this can vary by tribe and tradition. While sage is used for purification and spiritual protection, sweetgrass is used to summon positive energies, and like tobacco, its smoke is considered to carry prayers to the Creator.

Before you engage in a smudgiSmudgeng ceremony, however, there are things you should know and practices to adhere to so that you will receive the cleansing you seek. This article covers the use of sage for spiritual cleansing and negative energy removal.

Smudging with sage is a deeply spiritual practice and so prepare yourself to treat it as such. Fact is, modern people are habitually rushed and generally irreverent. When you supplicate the Creator of life, don’t be impatient or in a hurry. Be attentive to what you’re doing, be reverent, and be completely focused. Don’t chat, don’t have the television turned on or be talking on your cell phone. Create a quiet space before you begin.

Get in touch with your heart before doing this ceremony…this is not a head thing. It’s a heart thing. Muster up some love. Some trust. There is a great and very deep goodness inside of you; this is the time to let yourself feel that. You are stepping onto sacred ground, where wonderful things happen. Let the awe of the immensity of life have a place at your side as you conduct this ceremony. You are turning your back on the darkness of this world and turning into the Light of the Divine.

When to Smudge:

  1. When you are feeling down, negative, stuck, or in a spiritual low place;
  2. When your house, property, or any place or space has been exposed to heavy and negative energies or painful experiences and even illness;
  3. When you move into a new location, to cleanse the psychic imprints of previous occupants;
  4. Prior to invasive medical procedures;
  5. If you feel the presence of bad energy in living quarters or if a solitary room makes us uneasy by being in there;
  6. To create a protective barrier against outside negative influences, such as neighborhood issues, escalating conflicts, etc.;
  7. When you want to make prayers stronger and feel more connected to Spirit;
  8. After an accident or a close call in your car, smudge the vehicle inside and out to remove negative energetic imprints that can attract more negative experiences;
  9. To cleanse second-hand items to remove psychic imprints of previous owners;
  10. Prior to engaging in any psychic contact, using mind-altering substances (even medically prescribed medicines that alter consciousness), entering an altered state of consciousness such as channeling, mediumship, deliberate OBE’s, or engaging in other spiritual ceremony;
  11. For a state of spiritual clarity and personal guidance

What You Need:

  1. You will need a smudge stick sage bundle or loose-leaf sage. Sage, sweetgrass, and cedar combination can be purchased in a smudge stick but a plain sage stick will do (try desert sage or white sage), or loose sage if that’s all you have. What follows here will refer to a “sage stick” or “sage smudge”. If you have none of these, you can temporarily smudge with burning tobacco although I strongly recommend that you purchase sage and keep some on hand for a proper cleansing ceremony.
  2. You will need a fireproof bowl. (Traditional use dictates that this be an abalone shell but this is entirely optional.) You will use this to hold under the smoking sage stick to prevent accidental burns from loose embers, or to hold the loose, smoking sage.
  3. You will need a cigarette lighter, or wooden matches (longer kitchen matches are best), or a lighted candle.

Before You Begin:

  1. Open a good-size crack in the windows on each side of the dwelling you are in, if possible. If not on opposing sides, then open at least one window anyway. If you cannot open a window, then open the doors wide enough for some airflow. This allows the evacuation of negative energies that will flee the sacred smoke.
  2. Create a sacred space around this ceremony. Turn off the phone and all electronic noise. Tell others you cannot be interrupted. Clear a table of all clutter. Place the bowl and sage upon the cleared table, along with a lighted candle, if you want. Stand quiet and offer a prayer to the Divine Creator to assist you in your intention to purify the energy. You may certainly call upon angelic helpers and Divine Guides to be with you. Offer thanks to this very special plant. Focus on the cleansing, purification, and protection of the energy field around you, the dwelling, or whatever the object of your smudging ceremony happens to be. Don’t rush, and open yourself to trust in Divine Spirit. You may not understand this undertaking but it works and it works best when undertaken with respect.

How to Smudge:

This is an abbreviated ceremony for average people, not familiar with this spiritual practice or not trained in the shaman’s way. What matters most is that you are focused, prayerful, and reverent.

1. Holding sage stick over a fireproof bowl, light the end of the stick until it starts to flame. Blow out the flame and continue to blow the embers until they begin to smoke. At all times keep the stick over the bowl and pay attention to any embers that may fall outside the bowl. (Obviously, you want to be sure they have gone cold before you turn your attention elsewhere.)

2. You will want to hold both the bowl and the smudge stick in one hand if you can, so you can fan the smoke with your other free hand. Practice this technique a bit before lighting the smudge stick.

3. If you are smudging a dwelling, begin at the front and work your way to the back. You will want to smudge all rooms, attic and basement, cupboards and closets, and especially all corners. Be sure to include the bathroom(s). Holding the bowl under the smoking stick, blow on the stick as needed to keep the smoke rising, and re-light the stick when necessary. You need to have a visible trail of rising smoke as you work. As you walk through the dwelling, use your free hand to fan the smoke in each room, high and low, paying special attention to all four corners. (Negative energy collects in tight places and tends to “hide” there as well.) Say a verbal prayer to the Creator, asking for the area to be cleansed and purified of negativity. While you are asking, also give thanks that that you are receiving this help.

4. If you are smudging yourself, begin by holding the bowl and stick in front of your heart/chest area. Continue to pray that any negative energy be removed and that you be cleansed and protected, helped and healed. As with cleansing a space or thing, also give thanks that you are receiving this help. Wave the smoking stick up from your heart, over your head, down your face and neck, down shoulders, arms, to the ends of your fingers, top and bottom. Beginning again at the heart area, swirl the smoking stick around your tummy, pelvis, both legs and under your feet. Turn yourself around in the smoke so that your back side is also completely bathed in this sacred smoke.

5. When you have finished, give thanks to the Creator and to the plant for the cleansing. This is also a good time to give thanks for all the good things in your life. Please don’t forget to sincerely express your gratitude.

6. Crush and grind the tip of the smudge stick into the fireproof bowl to extinguish the embers. As an extra measure of safety, when you are finished, feel the end of the stick to make sure it is thoroughly cooled. Set the stick, inside the bowl, in a safe place away from anything flammable for awhile. (A porcelain stove top in the kitchen is a good location to place the bowl until you are sure the stick is cold.)

7. Now you can close the windows and/or doors, and begin to enjoy the blessed and purified energy. You will feel the difference immediately.

And finally, when you empty the bowl of smudge ashes or get down to a tiny stub of the stick and want to toss out what’s left, please do not dispose of the sacred plant remainders into the the garbage. Instead, scatter the ashes and left-over smudge  bits into a flower bed or under a tree, or another suitable earth spot, offering it back to the earth with sincere gratitude.

This age-old sacred ritual is a precious gift handed down for you to take into your life, to  use it to keep spiritual darkness at bay. Learning the reverent and proper way to smudge will bring purification into your spiritual body and surroundings, as well as bring spiritual help into your life. Done frequently and reverently, it will serve as your guardian and reliable connection to the Divine.

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If this post has been of help and assistance to you, great! Diana offers these valuable insights from her heart and with the highest intentions to be of service to you and to all. She gives freely. Please consider completing the beautiful energy exchange with her by donating if you found this article helpful. Thank you.
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The Smudging Ceremony: Remove Bad Energy with Sage Smoke

My Spirit Care, 25 Years of Psychic and Spiritual Advice for Thousands of PeopleMany of you want to know how to perform a cleansing ceremony with the use of burning sage, also known as “smudging.” A smudge stick is a dried and bundled plant. One can also use loose leaves in smudging, but before we get to the particulars of such a ceremony it will help to have an understanding of the origins of this sacred practice and how it will cleanse, heal, and consecrate an energy field, or thing, or space.

The Origins and History of Smudging

People commonly credit smudging as being a Native American practice, but the use of rising smoke in spiritual rituals has been practiced across many cultures for thousands of years. The ancient Hindu texts reveal this was practiced 6,000 years ago with the burning of incense.  Smoke purification was performed in Egypt, with the burning of aromatic resins for religious ceremonies.  It was practiced in Babylonia, Greece, Rome, Japan, Tibet, China, among the ancient Hebrews, and among indigenous tribal cultures around the world, with the native tribes of North America being only a portion. Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, which are an amalgam of pagan beliefs and practices, use incense in religious ceremonies, adapted from the pagan rituals popular when the Christian theocracy was legalized by the pagan-turned-Christian, Roman Emperor Constantine, in 325 AD.

So the use of smoke to purify in a spiritual way is not exclusive to the Native American tradition, although we have them to thank for the wonderful and deeply spiritual practice of burning sage and other sacred plants as a purification practice. This tradition is a very beautiful gift and the most effective method commonly used in spiritual cleansing ceremonies today.

How it Works to Cleanse and Purify

Smudging is an intrinsic part of shamanism, the world’s oldest medicine. Shamans recognize that every form of life on this planet has a spiritual purpose and a sacred consciousness. They know that plants have invaluable healing properties. Human animals, as it turns out, are not the top rung of creation’s ladder even though we think we are because we have big brains and walk on two feet. All beings, whether plant, animal, or mineral are divine and have sacred right to life; all have something to offer to the manifest “other.”

To approach a smudging ritual and to be effective in cleansing away negative energy, one must be reverent of the plant being used and even the energies being cleansed. All energy is divine at its core, whether Light or Dark. Respect for all life is essential to any smudging that you undertake. If you cannot feel reverent about this sacred practice, don’t do it. Find someone who is spiritually qualified and energetically prepared to do it for you.

Although many different plants can be used for smudging, indigenous American tribes consider four plants to be especially sacred: sage, sweetgrass, tobacco, and cedar. Each plant is considered to have a special function and this can vary by tribe and tradition. While sage is used for purification, sweetgrass is used to bring in positive energies, and its smoke is considered to carry prayers to the Creator.

When to Use Smudge

If you are feeling down, negative, stuck, or in a spiritual low place, smudging is an excellent way to change things for the better.

  • When your house, your property, or any place or space has been exposed to heavy and negative energies, or painful experiences and even illness, they should be cleansed with smudge.
  • When you move into a new location, it should be smudged to cleanse the psychic imprints of previous occupants.
  • If you feel the presence of bad energy in your living quarters, or if a solitary room makes you feel bad or uneasy by being in there, it’s time to smudge.
  • If you want to create a protective barrier against outside negative influences, such as neighborhood issues, it’s time to smudge.
  • If you want to make your prayers stronger and if you want to feel more connected to Spirit, it’s time to smudge.
  • If your vehicle has been in a fender-bender or you’ve had a close call in your car, smudge it, inside and out, to remove negative energetic imprints that can attract more negative experiences.
  • Cleanse second-hand items with smudge to remove psychic imprints of previous owners.
  • You can consecrate and energetically charge your garden by smudging.
  • You should smudge to clean yourself and your space before engaging in any psychic contact or spiritual ceremony.
  • You can smudge anytime just to connect to a state of spiritual clarity and harmony! Remember, you “clear the air” in your life with the help of sacred smoke!

Sacred sage and other wonderful herbs are Earth Mother’s gift, and once you understand how important a tool they are in your own spiritual welfare you will never be without a supply on hand. They are a fundamental part of your spiritual first-aid kit, given by Creation to heal wounds upon the soul.

To read another article and gain more information about how to smudge, please go here.

 

If this post has been of help and assistance to you, great! Diana offers these valuable insights from her heart and with the highest intentions to be of service to you and to all. She gives freely. Please consider completing the beautiful energy exchange with her by donating if you found this article helpful. Thank you.
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*Copyright notice: A copyright notice is posted on this blog. All Rights Reserved. This article and all content on this website is copyright protected. Do not copy any of this content, electronically or by any other means, without written consent from copyright holder.