Smudging

Click on the following to skip down to that section on this page:

Smudging - by Jane Alexander
Basic Smudging for a Self-Clearing
Using Smudging for a Space Clearing
Making your own Smudge Sticks
Making a Sacred Smudge Bowl
The Aura and Chakra System

Daniel is often smudging himself, and the space he lives in. With frequent visits from all types of people his office can become bogged down with all types of Energy, as can he, especially after visits to busy places like the mall…With a simple smudging he is able to clear the space and himself easily. As Daniel is neither Wiccan, nor Native, he borrows the practice from these traditions and works with his own knowledge of energy to clean up what he needs to energetically. When he smudges a home, or the energy of a person, he combines Reiki with the smudging as his own little twist.

Daniel uses all locally grown smudging products. The sweetgrass he uses in smudging comes from the Six Nations of the Grand River reservation in Ohsweken. It is used by members of the Six Nations (Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondage, Tuscarora, Oneida and Seneca). The sage smudge sticks he uses, an Ojibwa tradition, are from members of the Mississaugas of the New Credit, they are adjacent to Six Nations. Both sweetgrass and sage sticks are given to him in the traditional manner, he never purchases the two items himself. “I usually have my friends over for a really nice meal and a fun evening, they are Native and are always pleased to bring along some fresh sweetgrass braids and a sage stick. They find it interesting I’m so fascinated with one of their traditions.”

In addition to sweetgrass and sage, Daniel uses Juniper needles, Cedar nuts and Cedar branches for clearing and protection. Hibiscus flowers for psychic development and Lavender to encourage healing and relaxation; All in conjunction with Reiki, of course.

Indigo Energy has had several hits to the Smudging page, despite it not being an active link for sometime from the main page. So, Daniel decided to re-link the page with new information. The following is an excellent, detailed, story of the history and practise of smudging. It was written by Jane Alexander.

Reprinted from "Smudging" - by Jane Alexander

Smudging is wonderful. Truly. Try it and you’ll become a convert, I’m almost willing to bet. I love it because it’s the simplest yet most incredibly effective form of space clearing available. It takes just five minutes to learn the basics and you’re off. Obviously the more you do it, the more sophisticated you become, but it really is entry-level metaphysics, esoteric practice condensed into a few fool-proof actions. Most importantly it really works.

My most powerful experience of smudging came when I visited shaman Leo Rutherford in London. I had moved out of the city quite a while before and had totally lost the "street savvy" sense you have when you live in a big city. Consequently I was feeling pretty nervous about stepping out into an unknown (and slightly rough) neighborhood on my own at night. Leo must have guessed my apprehension, because he said, "Hold on, Jane. Just need to give you a quick smudge before you go." I stood, in my coat and with bag in hand, in his hallway while he wafted smoke around me with a huge eagle’s feather. It felt like having an energy shower – tingles ran all over my body in waves. I breathed deeply and it was as if someone had fired up every one of my charkas. I gave Leo a hug and walked out, totally forgetting my fears. I walked through the dark streets feeling totally invincible. It was as if I had a cloak of power surrounding me.

If you’re not familiar with it, smudging is the common name given to the Sacred Smoke Bowl Blessing, a powerful cleansing technique from the Native American tradition. Smudging calls on the spirits of sacred plants to drive away negative energies and put you back into a state of balance. It is the psychic equivalent of washing your hands before eating - and used as an essential preliminary to almost all Native American ceremonies.

I use smudging to cleanse myself (particularly if I’ve had a lousy day or have had to deal with difficult or unpleasant people). I use it as a prelude to all kinds of spiritual and magical work (it’s like a kind of spiritual power shower). I use it to cleanse my home and office. I use it to mark the seasons and as part of other rituals. Basically I use it all over the place, at all kinds of time – it is totally adaptable and practical, a really user-friendly soulful tool.

But how does smudging work? The answer lies in the sub-atomic world of subtle or spiritual energy. Homes and bodies are not just made of purely physical matter; they also vibrate with subtle, invisible energy (you might know it as qi or chi, prana, quwa etc). (Click here to learn about the Aura and Chakra system, the energetic system which powers the physical body.) Cleansing a space or our bodies with techniques such as smudging clears away all the emotional and psychic "garbage" that may have gathered over years or even hundreds of years. It’s like spiritual spring-cleaning.

These ideas are not new-fangled nor are they airy-fairy New Age waffle. Native American tradition dates back millennia and most traditional cultures, from the Zulus to the Maoris, from the Chinese to the Balinese, have age-old forms of cleansing and blessing ritual. Even the West retains relics of it, although we have long forgotten the true purpose behind many of our rituals and ceremonies. The incense wafting through a church or temple is cleansing the atmosphere just as surely as the medicine man’s bowl of sacred smoke, or smudge. The bells that ring out on Sunday morning were originally intended to purify the whole parish through sound and lead the community from everyday space into worship - just as the shaman’s drum can lead us on sacred journeys into the world of the spirits.

OK, I’ve gone on about how wonderful it is for long enough. Let’s get smudging. These exercises come from The Smudging and Blessings Book, a simple DIY guide to get you started.

BASIC SMUDGING FOR SELF-CLEARING

There are many ways to use smudging. I suggest this as a simple way to get started. As you become more proficient, you may well find you want to use different words or actions. That’s fine – just be guided by your intuition. But always treat smudge with great respect.

YOU WILL NEED: smudge stick, matches, a small ceramic or stone bowl, or a large shell (a saucer will do), a large feather.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Light the end of your smudge stick and let it burn for a few minutes until the tip starts to smoulder. You may need to fan the flames for a while to get the smudge really smoking. Then extinguish the flame so the smudge stick smokes.
Call on the spirits of the smudge to cleanse and protect you, saying: "Sacred Sage, drive away all negativity from my heart; take away everything unworthy and impure."
First waft the smoke towards your heart. Hold the smudge stick away from you and use the feather to waft the smoke towards you. Then take the smudge smoke over your head, down your arms and down the front of your body. Imagine the smoke lifting away all the negative thoughts, emotions and energies that have attached themselves to you.
Breathe in the smudge, visualizing the smoke purifying your body from the inside. (Note: be careful if you suffer from asthma or respiratory difficulties. Experiment cautiously).
Now bring the smoke down the back of your body towards the ground. Visualise the last vestiges of negativity being taken back into the earth, away into the air.
Repeat your smudging once again, this time calling on the spirit of Sweetgrass in this way: "Sacred Sweetgrass, bring me the positive energy I need to do this work. Help me to come into balance. Purify my soul." As you smudge, imagine yourself being surrounded by gentle, loving energy. Breathe in positivity, courage and love.

USING SMUDGING FOR SPACE CLEARING

Smudging not only cleanses people: it can also clear a room or area of any old or stagnant energy. All rooms need cleansing - just as much as they need physical cleaning. If your life feels stuck or things just aren’t going according to plan, you may just find that simple space clearing solves the problem. Clearing the space around you is also an important part of most rituals and ceremonies.

YOU WILL NEED: smudge stick, bowl or shell, feather, matches.

INSTRUCTIONS:

To cleanse the space in which you are working, light your smudge stick as described above (Self-clearing) and smudge yourself and anyone with you.
Walk around the room wafting smoke into each corner. Call on the spirit of Sage as in the Self-clearing to drive away all negativity from the room. Then repeat, asking the spirit of Sweetgrass to bring harmony and balance to the room.
Come to the centre of the room and stand quietly for a few moments. Turn to the East of the room and fan smudge out into that direction four times, saying: "Spirit of the East, Great Spirit of Air, cleanse and inspire this space."
Turn to the South and smudge four times, saying: "Spirit of the South, Great Spirit of Water, strengthen and bring peace to this space."
Now turn to the West and smudge four times, saying: "Spirit of the West, Great Spirit of Fire, energize and protect this space."
Turn to the North and smudge four times, saying: "Spirit of the North, Great Spirit of Earth, ground and cleanse this space."
Return to your original position and look upwards, sending smudge up to the ceiling four times. Say: "Great Father Sky, guard this space from above."
Now finally squat towards the floor and send smudge down to the floor four times, saying, "Great Mother Earth, nurture this space from below."
Put down your smudge stick and stand quietly with your eyes shut. Visualize the great spirits you have summoned standing guard around your room. You could imagine them as the great archangels or the four animal spirit keepers of Native American tradition (Buffalo - North; Eagle - East; Coyote - South and Grizzly Bear - West.) Visualize the loving energy of the Mother and Father Spirits above and below you. Give thanks to all of them.
Note: You should also smudge anything you will be using for your blessing - i.e. crystals, candles, flowers, stones etc.

MAKING YOUR OWN SMUDGE STICKS

Although smudge sticks are now readily available from this shop or New Age and Native American artifacts, you can make your own. Making your own smudge allows you to make a deeper connection with the spirits of the sacred plants used in smudge - and so can make your rituals and ceremonies even more meaningful. I think it’s a great idea to use plants which are local, plants you know and with which you have a connection. I tend to use sage, lavender and rosemary a lot – as they are herbs which grow around my house and which have powerful cleansing properties as well. They also smell gorgeous.

YOU WILL NEED: A selection of your chosen herbs - see list below; colored cottons (embroidery threads work well); a little tobacco or cornmeal; candle and matches.

INSTRUCTIONS:

You really need to be able to pick your plants, or at least the mainstay of your smudge stick, fresh from the wild. It is unusual to find the length of herb needed from shops - and dried herbs will flare too easily. However you can combine fresh and dried herbs if necessary.
If you are picking your herbs from the wild (or your garden) ideally you should gather them as they come into bloom during a waxing moon. Approach the plant with respect and ask its spirit for its permission to be used in your smudge. When you feel it is right, cut the plant with a sharp knife (you will need pieces around eight to twelve inches long). Only take what you need and give a pinch of cornmeal or tobacco with your thanks.
Gather your materials together. Light the candle and quietly center yourself, asking the spirits of the plants you have gathered to help you make a powerful smudge stick.
Take a sturdy stick as a base. Arrange the other stems around it. If you are using a combination of fresh and dried herbs, keep the dried, more fragile herbs on the inside.
Take a piece of cotton or hide and tie it around the stick, starting at the bottom. If you want to add dried herbs which are powdered or crushed, you can add these on the inside of the smudge stick as you start to bind the bundle.
Tie your smudge stick quite firmly - the cotton should reach about half way up the length of the stick. Now hang your smudge stick up by its bottom end (the tied end) somewhere warm and dry until the plants are almost dry - but not totally moisture-free.

MAKING A SACRED SMUDGE BOWL

Native American shamans do not always use smudge sticks: equally common is a loose smudge mixture, which is placed in a bowl or shell and lit. This is easy to make and especially useful if you do not have access to fresh herbs. It also has the advantage that, as you become more experienced and intuitive, you can alter your mixture to fit each individual ritual.

YOU WILL NEED: your choice of dried herbs and resins; a shell or bowl; self-igniting charcoal blocks; candle and matches, feather, sea salt.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Sit down with all your ingredients. Light your candle and center yourself. Ask the spirits of the plants you are using to give you their help.
Take a bowl or large shell - it needs to be able to withstand the heat of the burning charcoal. Ensure it is clean and cleansed by washing it in water to which you have added a little sea salt.
A basic smudge mix would include a tablespoon of crumbled sage (either sagebrush or culinary sage) plus a teaspoon each of cedar bark and lavender. Mix the herbs together. See below for other ideas.
Place a charcoal block in your container and light it. Wait until the charcoal stops sparking and has turned white-grey.
Add a few pinches of your smudge mixture. It will readily smoke.
Use your smudge bowl in exactly the same way as you would your smudge stick - hold up the bowl and use a feather to direct smoke towards you, someone else or out into the area in which you are working.
You will need to add more smudge from time to time.

To understand the concept of Reiki, or smudging, one must understand the natural energy field which resonates around every living object. This energy field is called the Aura. There are seven layers of Aura around plants, animals and humans. Every living species also contains energy centres called Chakras.

Each of the seven Chakras is associated with one of the seven endocrine glands, and also with a particular group of nerves called a plexus. Thus, each Chakra can be associated with particular parts of the body and particular functions within the body controlled by that plexus or that endocrine gland associated with that Chakra. (A diagram of the Chakras and Aura is below with a description of the purpose of each Chakra below the image.)

Crown (Seventh)
The Crown Chakra is where we receive “Universal Energy.” It is where we are most spiritually connected to the “higher power.”
The Crown Chakra represents that part of our consciousness concerned with perceptions of unity or separation. Just as the Root Chakra showed our connection with Mother Earth, this Chakra shows our relationship with Our Father in Heaven, or our spiritual perceptions. It is the centre for our relationship with authority, and ultimately, with God. It's the level of the soul.

Indigo (Sixth)
The Indigo Chakra is where most Extra Sensory Perception occurs, all of our inner senses corresponding to the external senses, which together are considered spirit-to-spirit communication.
These include, for example, clairvoyance (inner sense of vision), clairaudience (inner sense of hearing), clairsentience (inner sense of touch), etc… This Chakra is associated with the deep inner level of being we call the Spirit, and with what we consider spirituality and the spiritual perspective, the point of view from that deeper part of our being that western traditions consider the subconscious or unconscious. It is the place where our true motivations are found, and is the level of consciousness that directs our actions and, in fact, our lives.

Throat (Fifth)
The Throat Chakra is dominantly responsible for communication in all aspects. It can be in the form of communicating what one wants and what one feels, or it can be an artistic expression, as an artist painting, a dancer dancing, a musician playing music, using a form for expressing and bringing to the outside what was within. Expressing is related to receiving, as in “Ask and ye shall receive.” Or, “Be careful what you wish for.”
This Chakra is associated with listening to one's intuition, which guides one in an most advantageous flow, in which one sees one's goals manifest, and it seems that the Universe provides all their needs with no effort on their part at all. Grace and abundance are associated with this Chakra, as is the aspect of unconditional receiving necessary to accept the abundance of the Universe. This Chakra is related to creativity, creating, manifesting in the physical world the fulfillment of one's goals.

Heart (Fourth)
The Heart Chakra relates to the person inside the body, and distinct from the sensation of the Orange Chakra, which is more about the sensation one feels from their own body. Hugging, therefore, is a Heart Chakra activity. When one hugs, one is aware of what the person inside the other body feels, and they are aware of what you feel inside your body, and there is a sense of relating to the person inside the body. Sensitivity about being touched indicates Heart Chakra sensitivity.
Perceptions of love, relationships (relating) with people close to your heart, i.e. a partner, your siblings, your parents, your children.
Difficulty with breathing, or with the lungs, the organs of air, indicates tension in the Heart Chakra. A person's relationship with air reflects their relationship with love.

Solar Plexus (Third)
The parts of the body associated with the Third Chakra include: the muscular system, the skin as a system, the solar plexus, the large intestine, stomach, liver, and other organs and glands in the region of the solar plexus. Also the eyes, as the organs of sight, and the face representing figuratively the face one shows the world. Parts of the consciousness associated with this Chakra include perceptions concerned with power, control, freedom, the ease with which one is able to be themselves - ease of being.
Mental activity and the mental body are also associated with this Chakra. The solar plexus Chakra is also associated with the level of being we call the personality, or ego.
The relationship a person has with fire, or the sun, can be seen to have its parallels in the person’s relationship with the parts of their consciousness that this Chakra represents. Someone sensitive about the sun, then, can be seen to have particular sensitivities about power, or control, or freedom.

Orange (Second)
The Orange Chakra is associated with the parts of the consciousness concerned with food and sex.
It brings energy to the “Being” inside, about what the body wants and needs, and what it finds pleasurable. The person's ability to have children is also associated with this Chakra. A person’s relationship with water is a reflection of their relationship with the parts of their consciousness associated with this Chakra, i.e. food, sex, or having children. This Chakra is also associated with the emotional body, and the person's willingness to feel their emotions.

Root (First)
The Root Chakra grounds our energy and provides security, survival, trust, the relationship with money, home, job. The ability to be grounded, to be present in the here and now. Ability to allow one's self to be nourished, in the sense of allowing one's Inner “Being” to be satisfied. This Chakra also reflects a person's connection with their mother, and with Mother Earth. And how the person feels about being on the earth.
This Chakras connection to the physical body includes association with: Lymph system, skeleton system (teeth and bones), the prostate gland in men, the sacral plexus, the bladder and elimination system, and the lower extremities (legs - feet, ankles , etc…). Also the nose, since it is the organ of the sense of smell.

            For most people, a Reiki treatment will be started by working with the energy in the Chakras and the first three layers of the Aura. As you go through life you experience different situations which help you learn and grow. And everything you experiance in life, emotionally, mentally and physically are recoded holographically in the Aura.

            The first layer of the Aura is skin tight and is the "physical" layer. (Red.) It is associated with the Root Chakra. The energy from any physical injury still resonates in this layer, and even though the injury may have healed years ago the energy from it may still be in your Aura.

            The second layer of the Aura is next and it the "emotional layer." (Orange.) It is associated with the second Chakra. If you are stressed-out, or are having emotional problems due to a relationship with a family member for partner, that energy will reside in this layer of the aura.

            The third layer of the aura is the "Mental" layer (Yellow) It is associated with the third Chakra. The energy in this layer is related to the energy in the second layer of the aura. If you seem to be experiencing similar situations repeatedly that negative energy will translate into how you think, "I'm not good enough," for example.

When you are a baby you are virtually clear of all negative energy. You a clean slate waiting to be shaped. It isn't until Age 2 when children are starting to be told, "No, don't do that!" or, "Shhh! I have a headache today," that negative energy starts to build up in the different layers of the Aura. Our mental programming is also stored in the Aura. If not corrected, our energetic patterns will continue to be unbalanced and cause further disruption at all levels – physical, emotional and mental.

The Aura works like any other electrical system, there must be a source and a ground. To function property the source and ground must be properly balanced. Reiki helps to achieve this, thus allowing you to function as efficiently as possible. Above is a picture showing energy entering the Crown Chakra, and being grounded by the Root Chakra. In reality energy from the Crown Chakra charges the entire body and Chakras while your body grounds energy from your entire body and Chakras through your feet simultaneously.

Smudging and Reiki removes the negative energy out of the Chakras, the Aura and the physical body and replaces it with positive energy. This will result in you feeling better and thinking higher of yourself as a result. Because Reiki removes the negative energy from the aura and the physical body, any physical symptoms or ailments one might be experiencing will heal faster as a result of the negative energy being removed.