What Is Smudging?
Smudging is a way to energetically cleanse a space to invite positive energy. When smudging a space, you burn plant material, (there are many different plant materials you can use for smudging, some common ones are: sage, cedar, sweet grass, and lavender). The smoke fills and purifies the environment.
Gather Your Materials
Before you begin, take time to gather your materials. The mindfulness of a smoke ritual begins when you choose your supplies, so practice this with ease and care. Take your time and do not rush through this first step.
Keep the ritual materials sacred by using them only for space clearing. Store your other materials on your shrine or altar, or in a special secret cabinet.
Candle and Matches
It’s recommended to have a candle nearby to relight the smudge stick during the smudging ceremony. Matches or a lighter is used to light the candle. Use the candle to light the smudge stick.
Fireproof Container
It’s useful to have a fireproof container, like a small glass bowl, to hold underneath the smudge stick to catch any ashes or embers.
Bowl of Sand
A bowl of sand is a must. It is used to properly extinguish the smudge stick safely after the ritual is complete.
Smudging Feather One of the traditional elements of the smudging ceremony is the smudging feather, which is used to waft the cleansing smoke around the body, around items that require cleansing, around a room, and so on.
Before You Begin the Smudging Ceremony
Allow enough space and time for the ritual so you don’t feel rushed. If possible, meditate for at least five minutes to calm your mind and heart.
If anyone else is present during this smudging ceremony, you can include them in the ritual. Prepare some other space clearing tools that they can use while you are smudging. For instance they can work with sound and ring bells.
Remember when performing a space clearing, intention is key. Before you start, take some time to contemplate what your wishes are for your home and family. When you clear your house, there’s a vacuum that’s created. You want to welcome your intentions into the newly cleared and open space.
Smudging the Space
Now that you have all your tools and preparations in place, you can begin the smudging ritual.
Start at the front door of the home and light your smudge stick. Then, begin to move around the home. Move mindfully and with care, walking clockwise around the entire perimeter of the home. Be sure to allow the smoke to drift into even the hidden spaces, like inside closets, basements and dark corners. If there are stairs, just go up or down when you encounter them. Then keep moving clockwise until you meet the stairs again.
Moving around a space like this is called “circumambulation”. Circumambulation (from Latin circum around and ambulātus to walk) is the act of moving around a sacred object or idol. It’s a practice that’s been done for centuries in ancient cultures to make a space more sacred.
Our words carry great power. So if you repeat a mantra while smudging, you’re essentially using your words to fill your body or space with good vibes, while erasing the negative vibes with the sacred smoke. Use any of the mantras below which resonate with you– those which feel the best in your body are likely to create the most positive effect.
- I cleanse my home of any heaviness and negativity.
This one may be best to use after you’ve had company over. It’s always beneficial to smudge your house after having company over, to cleanse unwanted energies. This is especially true if you’ve played host to any energy vampires lately. Even the most positive guests, however, may have had a bad day and left some negative residue hanging in the air. Say this mantra out loud as you walk your burning smudge stick from room to room.
- I live in harmony of mind, body, and spirit.
Use this mantra anytime you want to smudge yourself. If you’ve felt like your energy is a little blocked up lately– as if you’re feeling generally negative, low, apathetic, or “off” without any explanation– this mantra can help you come back into balance. In addition, this mantra is perfect for anytime you’re experiencing any physical, mental, or spiritual concerns, such as aches and pains, low mood, or a lack of faith in the divine. As you wave your smudge stick around your body, speak these words to unblock your energy and get you to feeling positive again.
- I am grateful for health, abundance, and happiness.
Want to attract more abundance into your life? Smudging with this mantra can help! When you express gratitude for all that you have, you allow the Universe to give you more abundance to be grateful for. In addition, using your smudge stick can help you to eliminate any negative energy you may hold concerning abundance, good health, and joy. For example: think money worries, health anxiety, and apathy. Repeating this mantra as you smudge yourself and/or your home aids in letting go of a scarcity mindset and calling in an abundance mindset.
- I release all energies that do not serve me.
We all experience intrusive negative thought patterns from time to time– it’s human. If you find yourself repeatedly thinking things such as, “I’m not good enough,” “Good things don’t happen to me,” “I’m not capable of succeeding,” and so on, you may be carrying some negative energy that you need to clear. These negative thought patterns can get rubbed off on us by other people, or they can be conditioned into us from our culture or our upbringing. Either way, repeating this mantra while smudging can help– speak these words while you’re smudging your body or your home to release negative energy and make room for the positive.
- I release conditioned patterns, and trust the Universe and my intuition to guide me.
This mantra follows from the one above. Your conditioning and negative thought patterns can often block your intuition and connection with source, by causing you to listen to your head rather than your heart. As you smudge your home or your body, repeat this mantra as many times as you need to hear it. The smoke will help you to unhook from any negative energy you’re holding onto, and will instead create space for new, positive patterns to form.
- I release any worry from my body and my home.
If you’ve found yourself plagued with worry lately, speak this mantra while you smudge to bring yourself back into your heart’s wisdom. Remember that your mind creates problems that often may not exist, or may not be as bad as you think they are. Your heart, however, knows what’s best for you, and knows what you need to do to survive and thrive. Smudging with this mantra can help you to banish any worry-filled energy and welcome in love-filled vibes instead.
- I am filled with love, light, and peace.
Save this mantra for last because it’s best to fill yourself up with something positive after ridding yourself of the negative. Use this mantra in conjunction with any of the other mantras included here! As you repeat this mantra, you may even want to imagine your body and/or your house being filled with glowing white light. A combination of practicing this visualization, repeating the above mantra, and smudging can help to ensure that your home and body contain nothing but love and light.
- I release attachment and call in freedom.
Use this mantra if you’re feeling any fear of your material possessions or relationships leaving you. If you’re worried that you may lose your partner, your money, your possessions, etc., this mantra will help you to cleanse egoic attachment from your body as you smudge. Then, freedom will arise to take the place of your egoic attachments, leaving you feeling calm, grounded, and safe.
- I choose joy.
Joy is a choice, but we can often find ourselves feeling trapped under our own or others’ negativity. Have you been feeling as if joy is out of reach for you? Perhaps an encounter with a friend, family member, or coworker left you feeling apathetic and frustrated. It’s time to call joy back into your being. Smudge your body and your space with this mantra to remind yourself that you can choose to feel joyful. You’re likely to find yourself feeling lighter and freer after you’re done!
- I call all of my power back to me now.
Again, interactions with certain people in our lives can leave us feeling powerless, especially if we are prone to people-pleasing. If you feel like you’re being walked on, taken advantage of, or taken for granted, use this mantra to clear your solar plexus chakra for greater empowerment. As you repeat this mantra and clear your body and space of negative energy, you’ll likely feel energetic cords being cut. This means that those who were previously able to take your power away, can no longer do so.
- I call in protection from negative energy.
This mantra moves a step beyond clearing negative energy by calling in loving protection from hate, worry, apathy, and the like. As you smudge, this mantra will call in your loving spirit guides, angels, and ancestors to form a light-filled shield around you. Thus, you’ll feel less and less affected by external negativity the more you use this smudging mantra.
Here are important tips to bear in mind to make your smudging effective and powerful.
- Smudge yourself before you smudge your space
Picture this: if you’re mopping the floor, but your bare feet are covered in dirt, you won’t end up with a very clean floor, will you? Apply this imagery to smudging, as well. For best results, cleanse your body before cleansing your home.
- Keep sage spray for no-smoke zones such as hotel rooms and offices
If you haven’t already, you’ll eventually find yourself in a space with stagnant energy, which you can’t burn sage in– such as a hotel room or an office building. This is where sage sprays come in handy! Sage sprays come in portable bottles, and contain the sacred plant’s essence for you to diffuse throughout the air, without leaving a cloud of smoke behind. Keep one in your bag wherever you go– you never know when you might need it!
Above products by Strangely Magic ~ Little Shop of Wonders & Gifts from Nature