Smudge stick
Encyclopedia
A smudge stick is a bundle of dried herb
s, most commonly white sage
(Salvia apiana). Often other herbs or plants are added, and the leaves
are usually bound with string in a small bundle and dried. Additional herbs and spices that are often used in contemporary practices include cilantro, cedar
, lavender
, and mugwort. All have a strong, pleasant aroma when burnt.
The English word smudge stick was first applied to describe a specific tool used in North American Native traditions, particularly those that include shamanism
. The binding of smudge sticks for many traditions was a sacred intentional process
in and of itself. Using scent and scented smoke in rites of purification, whether through smudging (the process of using a smudge stick) or burning incense
, is common in many traditional cultures around the world, as noted in ethnographic
literature.
spirituality, where it is analogous to censing with a thurible
or aspersion
. It may also be used in rituals or meditation. Smudging rituals are regarded by their practitioners as psychologically and spiritually cleansing, and as a means to "clear negative energy." Participants can smudge themselves or others by fanning smoke in the appropriate direction, often with other ritual tools such as a bundle of feathers.
For practitioners, the intent behind the ritual is usually considered as important as the actual constituents of the smudge stick. Care is taken to determine the time of day, month, or year when the herbs should be collected; for example, at dawn or evening, at certain phases of the moon, or according to yearly cycles. It is considered respectful to ask permission from the plant before collecting it. Gertrude Allen, a Lumbee
, reported that her father, an expert in healing with plants, stated that sage varied in potency at different times of the year. For full potency, he would only gather sage in months that contained the letter ‘r’ and only on the full moon, and was careful to select only crinkled leaves. Smudge stick ceremonies are quite significant at aphelion (when the earth is farthest from the sun), perihelion (when the earth is closest to the sun), equinox
es, and solstice
s.
The Thames Valley District School Board
voted in 2010 to hold an annual smudging ceremony to build relationships with its 1,400 First Nations
and Métis
students.
ceremonies often use smudges of sage, sweet grass, balsam fir, or juniper
for cleansing and to give prayers to the Creator, or Gitche Manitou
. Smudges with hot coals underneath can provide a lot of smoke for many hours or days to repel mosquito
s and other insects.
In Native American ceremonies smudge sticks were traditionally used to purify people and places. Boughman tells of smudging done in hospitals to "cleanse and repel evil influence."
Smudging is known to have medicinal and religious correlations to spiritual beings. It is a type of ritual that can be done before, during, and after prayer.
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s, most commonly white sage
White sage
Salvia apiana is an evergreen perennial shrub that is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, found mainly in the coastal sage scrub habitat of Southern California and Baja California, on the western edges of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts.-Description :S...
(Salvia apiana). Often other herbs or plants are added, and the leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are usually bound with string in a small bundle and dried. Additional herbs and spices that are often used in contemporary practices include cilantro, cedar
Cedar wood
Cedar wood comes from several different trees that grow in different parts of the world, and may have different uses.* California incense-cedar, from Calocedrus decurrens, is the primary type of wood used for making pencils...
, lavender
Lavender
The lavenders are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. An Old World genus, distributed from Macaronesia across Africa, the Mediterranean, South-West Asia, Arabia, Western Iran and South-East India...
, and mugwort. All have a strong, pleasant aroma when burnt.
The English word smudge stick was first applied to describe a specific tool used in North American Native traditions, particularly those that include shamanism
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
. The binding of smudge sticks for many traditions was a sacred intentional process
Process art
Process art is an artistic movement as well as a creative sentiment and world view where the end product of art and craft, the objet d’art, is not the principal focus. The 'process' in process art refers to the process of the formation of art: the gathering, sorting, collating, associating, and...
in and of itself. Using scent and scented smoke in rites of purification, whether through smudging (the process of using a smudge stick) or burning incense
Incense
Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
, is common in many traditional cultures around the world, as noted in ethnographic
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
literature.
Composition of smudge sticks
Smudge sticks can be made of a single herb or combination of several different herbs. Traditionally, white sage (Salvia apiana) is used, but common sage (S. officinalis) is frequently used outside of the traditional native American context. Other popular plants include cedar (Cedrus spp.), lavender (Lavandula officinalis), pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea), yarrow (Achillea millefolium), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), balsam fir (Abies balsamea), Silver King Artemesia, juniper (Juniperus communis), or mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris). Smudge sticks can be made from many different herbal materials and the practice of burning herbs for sacred or medical purposes persists in many cultures around the world, for example the common use of incense in Asiatic religions and the use of mugwort for moxibustion in Chinese medicine. In a neo-pagan context smudge sticks are used for clearing away perceived negative energies and may be a component in the working of a ritual and/or the crafting of a magical spell. The herbs are bound together, typically with such materials as cotton, linen, or hemp. Smudge sticks are often handmade by spiritual practitioners prior to use, but they can also be bought from outlets specialising in religious/spiritual supplies, with a wide variation in price.Contemporary use of smudge sticks
Smudging in the modern era has been incorporated into many belief systems, including new ageNew Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
spirituality, where it is analogous to censing with a thurible
Thurible
A thurible is a metal censer suspended from chains, in which incense is burned during worship services. It is used in the Catholic Church as well as in Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, some Lutheran, Old Catholic, and in various Gnostic Churches. It is also used...
or aspersion
Aspersion
Aspersion , in a religious context, is the act of sprinkling with water, especially holy water. Aspersion is a method used in baptism as an alternative to immersion or affusion...
. It may also be used in rituals or meditation. Smudging rituals are regarded by their practitioners as psychologically and spiritually cleansing, and as a means to "clear negative energy." Participants can smudge themselves or others by fanning smoke in the appropriate direction, often with other ritual tools such as a bundle of feathers.
For practitioners, the intent behind the ritual is usually considered as important as the actual constituents of the smudge stick. Care is taken to determine the time of day, month, or year when the herbs should be collected; for example, at dawn or evening, at certain phases of the moon, or according to yearly cycles. It is considered respectful to ask permission from the plant before collecting it. Gertrude Allen, a Lumbee
Lumbee
The Lumbee belong to a state recognized Native American tribe in North Carolina. The Lumbee are concentrated in Robeson County and named for the primary waterway traversing the county...
, reported that her father, an expert in healing with plants, stated that sage varied in potency at different times of the year. For full potency, he would only gather sage in months that contained the letter ‘r’ and only on the full moon, and was careful to select only crinkled leaves. Smudge stick ceremonies are quite significant at aphelion (when the earth is farthest from the sun), perihelion (when the earth is closest to the sun), equinox
Equinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
es, and solstice
Solstice
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...
s.
The Thames Valley District School Board
Thames Valley District School Board
The Thames Valley District School Board is a public school board in southwestern Ontario. It was created on January 1, 1998 by the amalgamation of the Elgin County Board of Education, The Board of Education for the City of London, Middlesex County Board of Education, and Oxford County Board of...
voted in 2010 to hold an annual smudging ceremony to build relationships with its 1,400 First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
and Métis
Métis
A Métis is a person born to parents who belong to different groups defined by visible physical differences, regarded as racial, or the descendant of such persons. The term is of French origin, and also is a cognate of mestizo in Spanish, mestiço in Portuguese, and mestee in English...
students.
Smudging in North American Native Traditions
Ojibway and CreeCree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
ceremonies often use smudges of sage, sweet grass, balsam fir, or juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
for cleansing and to give prayers to the Creator, or Gitche Manitou
Gitche Manitou
Gitche Manitou means "Great Spirit" in several Algonquian languages. The term was also utilized to signify God by Christian missionaries, when translating scriptures and prayers, etc...
. Smudges with hot coals underneath can provide a lot of smoke for many hours or days to repel mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
s and other insects.
In Native American ceremonies smudge sticks were traditionally used to purify people and places. Boughman tells of smudging done in hospitals to "cleanse and repel evil influence."
Smudging is known to have medicinal and religious correlations to spiritual beings. It is a type of ritual that can be done before, during, and after prayer.