Everything Under the Moon

I'm planning on practicing Smudging next week and i was wondering if anyone has some useful tips or ideas on what to or not to do about it since this will be the first time i will have tried it

Make sure you hold the fire (lighter or match) to the end of your smudge stick for a good bit, if not it will go out on you in the middle of the smudging start from top down as you waft smoke around your or the object and remember to say a prayer of blessing and purity cleaning while wafting the smoke.

You might want to open some windows while you smudge so the smoke won't be so stunning. (It produces a loooot of smoke) Keep a bowl of water near you in case something was to go wrong.

alright thank you good to know, i'm going to be having my window open or tring this outside so i don't set the fire alarm off

Also, do you know what herbs you'll use to smudge with? Lavender and sage both have great cleansing and purifying properties. Other great herbs are lemongrass and rosemary.

i got a small sage assorted 3 pack being mountain sage, white sage, and yerba santa. i haven't heard of the last 1 before, I'm also going to be looking at a lavender sage mix and sweetgrass

i'm tring out different ones to see which ones i like the best

It is personal preference for sure. Personally I like lavender but when going for a deeper cleanse I go to sage.

I like sage. I think I grew up liking the smell of sage because we went to Wyoming so much. I've also done candle magic for cleansing, although I had to rescue one of my cats from his flaming tail in the middle of one time. He walked through the candles, turned back and looked at his tail, like the fact that he had just set it on fire was incredibly interesting.

Frosty

SnowCat wrote:I like sage. I think I grew up liking the smell of sage because we went to Wyoming so much. I've also done candle magic for cleansing, although I had to rescue one of my cats from his flaming tail in the middle of one time. He walked through the candles, turned back and looked at his tail, like the fact that he had just set it on fire was incredibly interesting.

Frosty

thats not good i hope you kitty was ok. i'm also worried that my cat would do that, though I'm mostly using the candles for meditation now

I would do this outside because you are bound to set off the smoke detectors. There are many things to smudge with. Salvia Apiana=white sage is the most popular, it is endemic to southern California, however white sage is on the brink of being endangered, so when you use this one do so with great reverence and frugality.
Other sages (Salvia) work ok,... Lavender is good, rosemary is good, Any resin you can burn on a coal is good.
Sagebrush is good too ...(*foot note: sagebrush is NOT a sage) there are a couple different kinds, Artemisia californica and Artemisia tridentata,
...also wormwood and mugwort are Artemisia's,....
Artemisia absinthium=wormwood and
Artemisia vulgare=mugwort
When smudging it is important that you honor the directions with your lit bundle or censor, before you begin with a prayer, as Zili mentioned. The best smudge is when someone else can do you...then you can get your backside. I like to take special care to smudge the soles of my feet, and in my hair real well. Waft the smoke towards your face and over your head several times, taking a breath in between...sense the energy it is awakening with each breath, then continue to wave the smoke over the rest of your body a limb at a time...be very in the moment. This is a smoke "bath" so be thorough. When you are done, honor the directions once again and make sure your bundle or whatever is extinguished. A bundle can be used over and over.
Blessings Drago, Firebird

Yes Drago, Hoss lived a long and happy life even after his pyromania days. He's been gone for a while now. He never stuck his tail in a candle again. Good thing for him that he had long hair. The flame never got to his skin.

Frosty

ah thats good it didnt go to the skin

If your worried about smoke I can tell you I once had a dream about one of my disir. She was boiling water with mugwort in it. She told me to use the steam to clean the altar. I asked her why she didn't use a charcoal tab at which point she hit me with a spoon and told me they didn't' have them back then. If you are worried about the amount of smoke a tab will do try the steam method.

thats a good idea to try, the smoke im worried about is from the herbs burning i was in 1 smudging ritual where they just used sage sticks smoldering and fanned the smoke onto you

Another good tip, is to use a feather to fan the smoke. .. Using the AIR element symbol.. (don't go picking it off a live bird!, lol) but if you have come across one on the ground.. (make sure it's not an endangered species) ..

If you have any anyone else with you, make sure you smudge them bottom of feet to top of head too, before stepping into area to be smudged.

Also.. Don't know your path... But if your smudging, another good tip, is to sprinkle blessed water (not holy water) (different type of prayer blessing in that water.) in the areas too. Along with dashing bits of salt too...
There is no such thing as over doing a cleansing..

I had a friend tell me he felt raw afterwards. My advice to him, was to bring some wonderful elements into the area smudged. .. Set up your alter, with NO EXOECTATION. Light some soothing scented candles, bring some flowers in, ..
Just hints to help.

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