I use a smudge stick often in my home, in my Reiki practice and my office space. Smudging is used to help clear the room of any negative or stagnant energies. It is essential to have my healing space cleared and ready for my next client or Reiki training workshop.  I also find it to be a healthy practice to frequently clear clutter in our home and then clear the air by burning the herbs.

Smudge sticks have been used in ritual and ceremony for ages. When lit, the smoke from the dried herbs helps clear a room– carrying the negative energies out off the space and out an open window or door. I light a white sage leaf or use a bundle of dried aromatic herbs and then envision the space being cleared. After the smoke has dissipated, I will burn some sweet grass or palo santo and invite in the sweetness to fill the space left clean by the sage. I will work in a clockwise direction and make sure I get in room corners and under couches.

These smudge sticks are usually made from white sage or sage, cedar or juniper needles and you can add all sorts of other burnable herbs, such as mullein, lavender and mugwort.  I like to make them pretty by adding flowers to adorn them–such as lavender, rose, poppies, and other wildflowers. Smudge sticks are handmade by tightly binding fresh herbs together–allowing them to come together more easily, wrapping twine around the stalk and then tying it off and trimming it if necessary. Dried herbs are more brittle and can be difficult to work with.

Although I know that certain cultures have traditions about how to harvest and what herbs to include, I go by my intuition, giving gratitude to the plants that I have harvested for this purpose and trusting that the ritual of burning the herbs is beneficial for our wellbeing. I feel smudging is a great way to cleanse rooms, situations and ourselves, and it feels great to be able to make them ourselves with intention.

I recently created a quick How-To video on how to create a smudge stick from herbs in your backyard — enjoy!