Enchanting Smoke: Sacred Traditions in Today’s World
Sacred smoke medicine is an ancient practice from around the globe that dates back thousands of years. It involves the burning of wood, resins, herbs, or plants for spiritual and healing purposes. It is also known as smoke medicine, smoke cleansing, smoke clearing, and smudging. While there are many rituals that involve smoking or inhaling the residue of plants, that is a different practice from the one we’re focusing on today.
The use of smoke medicine is often focused on purifying or clearing a person, space, or object by engulfing it in smoke. While much of its use can be in “ceremony,” ceremony has many meanings. A ceremony can simply be something you do ritualistically, say before a meal or after an event. Nightly prayer, dinner time with those you love, and smudging your physical space during each full moon can each be ceremonial. Fire itself is symbolic of “cleansing,” and as such can be made part of the act of purifying.
“In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous.”
– Aristotle
History
Smudging, a popular term and practice in recent years, is a bit more specific than general smoke medicine or smoke cleansing. Smudging is a relatively new word that dates back to the mid 1700’s, while the various elements of sacred smoke medicine have been with us for thousands of years. There is an enormous variety in the benefits of utilizing smoke in ceremony or for general healing properties.
Here are a few of the different ways you might think about smoke medicine:
Incense,
Burning herbs and specific plants within fires during community-wide ceremony,
Burning particular plants or herbs within a vessel (such as a bowl or dish),
Smudging, and
Burning and then rubbing the ashes on the body
Protect
Some of the oldest traditions of smoke medicine were intended to create protection. Particular herbs were burnt to ward off insects or to make offerings to gods for the protection of warriors before a hunt or combat. Over time, a wider range of uses was found in sacred smoke medicine.
Many who have utilized any form of smoke medicine might be familiar with Palo Santo. The words translate to “holy wood.” It is utilized to cleanse a space, and most notably to combat negative energy. It can be a great resource to have on hand to set an intention and tone of your physical space before stepping into anything where you feel called to seek physical and spiritual protection.
Clear
“Clearing” energy has a range of practices, and I love discussing this topic with friends and health practitioners. Perhaps you and your partner had a challenging argument and you just want to energetically hit the reset button within your home (your physical space). Maybe you had an incredible night at a concert where you were around thousands of other people. It was rather stimulating and you need to literally shake it off and come back into your own body and energy. This is what energetic clearing, and clearing through smoke medicine, is for.
I have long used White Sage for this purpose, primarily to clear myself after being in stressful situations or when I feel I’m carrying extra weight after being around groups of people. I was taught how to do this in accordance with specific Navajo traditions. There is an intention to offer smoke to all parts of the being, with a focus on the energetic flow points of the body (where energy comes into and leaves the body): this includes the back of the neck, top of the head, and (often overlooked) bottom of the feet.
Herbs from the Heart has a wonderful Sacred Smudging Kit, which includes not only White Sage but also Palo Santo and a beautiful shell for burning them.
“Clearing” can also be an opportunity to do a “spring cleaning” of your energetic self. As you transition through seasons or changes in your life, you can take stock of your emotional self. Utilize smoke medician ne along with your other tools to set intention and let go of what no longer serves you.
Invite In
Utilizing sacred smoke is not only about keeping things out; it also means being intentional about what you invite in. For us, this looks like happiness, joy, love, and connection. There are many spiritual guides who can teach you deeper ways to utilize sacred smoke in ceremony as you perhaps connect with emotions, beings, and energies.
The new moon is a wonderful time to not only cleanse your spirit, but also invite in “new” energies and intentions for what you desire in your space. Our Love Spritzer helps foster deeper feelings of love, joy, and inner trust. The wonderful scents help you connect more deeply to the self as you invite in the feelings and people you most need at this time.
Getting Started & Advancing in Your Practice
Whether you’re new to sacred smoke medicine or have years of experience, we want to express the same thing to you: follow what your intuition is telling you.
We’ve shared a lot of the traditional plants to get you started, such as White Sage and Palo Santo. What’s calling to you at this time? Follow what you’re feeling, and build a routine or ceremony that aligns with you. The more you incorporate it into your life, the more you’ll develop a relationship with the plants; this will cause a deeper connection to the self, the plants, and spirit.
If you’ve been at this for years, know that a great deal of plants can be used in smoke medicine. This includes herbs like Lavender, Rose, and even Cinnamon sticks. We are passionate about our relationship with plants, and if you want to understand why and when you might utilize one of these, reach out- we would love to share our knowledge and experiences with you. Thanks for being here.
This article is for educational purposes only. Our articles have not been evaluated by the FDA and our products do not claim to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
About the Author
Tim Peters is the Founder of Mind Body Business as well as a Certified Herbalist. He provides 1 on 1 business coaching plus writing and copy editing for health professionals. If you want to connect or learn more about him:
Email: Tim@mind-bodybusiness.com
Website: www.mind-bodybusiness.com
Instagram: @mind_bodybusiness