Smudging or the burning of sacred herbs is a common practice in many healing ceremonies and shamanic traditions. Its a way of purifying and cleansing a space, person or an object of negative energies or influences. Burning certain herbs gives access to the power of the plants and the fragrance releases a high vibrational energy which protects the physical and spiritual bodies.
Sage is the most commonly used herb in ceremonies. Some of the other herbs used are – Copal, palo santo, sweetgrass, cedar, tobacco. The herbs used for smudging are tied into a bundle and allowed to dry to make a “smudge stick”. In traditional societies the herbs used for smudging are considered sacred and the smudge stick is treated with great respect. Smudge stick is fanned around the person’s body several times with the intent to cleanse the energy fields.
Let’s look into the five common sacred herbs used for purification and removing negative energies-
