Sagebrush Smudge Stick Tutorial

As I told you in my previous post (HERE), 

my family and I are on holiday in New Mexico, 

at our family vacation home.

Our land and beyond is covered with sagebrush 

and I love to make sagebrush smudge sticks, 

when I am here.

Outside our house

WHAT IS A SMUDGE STICK 
AND WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?

A smudge stick is a bundle of dried woody, resinous herbs, usually tightly bound with string 
in a small bundle and dried. 

The herbs are later burnt as part of a ritual or ceremony.

The purpose of burning certain herbs, or smudging, 

is to create a cleansing smoke cloud, 

which is used to purify people, rooms or buildings, 

ceremonial and ritual space 

and ceremonial tools and objects.

The burning of herbs is a practice held sacred by many indigenous cultures. 

It is a ritual for cleansing, purifying, protecting and healing 

the physical and spiritual bodies. 

The effect of the smoke is to banish evil spirits, 

negative energies and bad influences. 

The practice dates back to Babylonian times. 

While it is often practiced by members of Native American cultures, it has been also embraced by a variety of other spiritual followers. 

SOME HERBS YOU MAY USE IN SMUDGING:

• White sage or Sacred sage (Salvia apiana), sacred to a number of U.S. Native American people.

• Cedar

• Sweetgrass

• Yarrow

• Mugwort

• Lavender

You can also make your own smudge stick

and below, I will show you how.

WHAT IS SAGEBRUSH?

Sagebrush, not to be confused with sage, 
the culinary herb Salvia officinalis, 
is a common name applied generally to several woody and herbaceous species of plants 
in the genus Artemesia.

The best known sagebrush is the shrub Artemisia tridentata.

Sagebrush is native to the North American west 

and other parts of the world.

Sagebrush is a perenial (a plant that lives more than 2 years) 

and can in fact reach ages of 100 years. 

It is an aromatic shrub 

with a strong pungent fragrance and a bitter taste. 

It has straight, stiff stems.

Sagebrush can grow to be 2 to 12 feet tall.

The leaves have ragged three-toothed edge 

("tridentata" means "three-toothed") 

and are greenish.

The actual plant is silvery-grey and roundish.

It has small white or yellow flowers 

that grow close together 

in clusters.

Source
Leaves and flowers of Artemisia tridentata

WHAT IS SMUDGING?

Smudging is a traditional Native American method of burning sacred herbs to produce a smoke cloud, which is used in various cleansing or prayer ceremonies and purification or healing rituals. 

During the smudging ceremonies and rituals, the smoke may be fanned either using the hand, feathers or a fan.

Source

Originally the herbs were placed in special herb bowls and burned. 

The dried herbs were then tied into easily portable bundles called "smudge sticks" and were included in the content  of medicine bags. 

When using smudge sticks, light and blow out your bundle until it is smoldering like charcoal. 
You may place it in a fire-resistant bowl, or walk around with it holding a dish below, to catch any falling ashes.
Focus on what you would like to accomplish as you smudge.

HOW DO I MAKE 
MY OWN SMUDGE STICK?

THINGS YOU WILL NEED:

• A basket

• Fresh sagebrush branches

• Twine/string

• Garden shears

• Scissors

Remember that anything you use to bind the bundle will eventually burn, 
so it is advisable to stick with natural materials that will not give off a toxic fume 
or compete with the smudge smells. 

I suggest using thin organic cotton or hemp string.

Red is a common color for ceremonial usage, 
which is why you will see many commercially sold bundles, bound with it.
I love the color turquoise blue and so this time, 
that is what I used.


•••

• Harvest the sagebrush. Use garden shears to cut the branches to equal lengths of 7 to 10 inches long.

• Cut an 8-feet long piece of string (to be on the safe side)

I wanted to make two 8-inch and two 10-inch bundles.

• Line up the branches so that the fuller leafy ends are all at one end and the woody stems are at the other. Create a loose bundle.

• Tie the twine around the woody base of your bundle. Use a double knot to hold the string in place and wrap it around the base a couple of times.

• Hold the stems in one hand while you wrap the string around the bundle with the other hand, moving towards the leafy end (diagonally). Wrap the bundle tightly. As the sage dries, it will shrink, so you want the string to stay tight. 

• Once you reach the end of the leafy side, wrap back towards the base. The string will create a zigzag pattern around the bundle. 

• When you reach the starting point, wrap the string around the base several times, then tie it in a double knot to secure.

• Wind in the excess string through the woody end and snip. Place the sage bundle on a flat hard surface, like a table. Lightly press the bundle while rolling it back and forth with your hands, a few times. This will compress the bundle, making it into a tightly packed smudge stick. Then mold it with your hands to give it a nice straight shape. Groom your smudge stick using your scissors. Snip away any stray leaves or branches to give it a smooth tubular shape.

Voilà!

• Place the smudge on a drying rack and let it dry for about a week. After one week, it should be dry and ready for burning.

Peace & Love,

CAUTIONS:

Make sure the area you are smudging is well ventilated. This is a health precaution as well as a spiritually practical one, as the negative energy will need an "escape route".

Do not use near infants or very young children, people with respiratory problems such as asthma, or pregnant women.

Never leave burning smudge unattended.


•••



Thanks for stopping by,
Alexandra