Buy White Sage and Yerba Santa Smudge

This White Sage grows in the wild in California and is hand harvested. It is untreated and is only dried. Smudge (literally: smoldering fire), in sticks or woods, is completely natural, ceremonial incense, which is burned among some Native American tribes, for example in sweat lodges.  Doctors, therapists, and other wellness experts are increasingly discovering the beneficial effects of these herbs.

Types of smudge are used all over the world to get back in touch with the power of Mother Nature. The use of smudging plants and resin possibly originated from the campfires in the Prehistoric Age, in caves. The ceremonial cleansing of people, places and objects, with smoke is still popular today. It’s not just good for driving away pesky flying insects, the smoke of certain plants (smudge) was also found to preserve food and skins longer. Also, certain smudges were thought to provide protection from invisible spirits and thoughts.

To apply this protective and cleansing effect leaves or resins were heated to make smoke which was then dispersed over a person or object, often with the use of a large feather or fan. Some plants gave smoke that was used in healing, and others had more general powers. Smudge smoke is made by laying dried plants or herbs on smoldering coals, or by lighting dried herbs in an earthenware bowl or large shell. White Sage is burned in ceremonies to exorcise evil spirits, negative thoughts or influences. The leaves are renowned for their special fragrance, and they are used as a natural repellent against moths (in clothing) or mosquitoes (in a room).

White Sage can be used in numerous ways. Indigenous people in Central America cover the floor of their sweat lodges with it. They also breathe in through a small bunch of sage and sometimes rub it on their bodies while in the sweat lodge. It is said that white Sage makes evil spirits sick and that they are driven away with it, if it is burned. On the contrary, good spirits love sage. They don’t vanish through the smoke like the bad ones do.

Yerba santa means sacred herb in Spanish. The leaves of Yerba Santa were once used to treat asthma, respiratory infections and rhinitis. Other Indian tribes used it to make a paste to treat wounds, insect bites, broken bones and ulcers.

A very nice combination!