| Making Smudge Sticks |
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| Smudge sticks are used in many different spiritual paths (especially Native American) to cleanse, purify, and remove negative energy from people, objects and places. Wiccans today carry on this practice. Usually I make my own smudge sticks out of Sage and Lavendar, but you can make them out of any herbs you want. For example, if you were doing a ritual to honor a specific diety, you could make a smudge stick out of herbs that are sacred to that diety. But, usually smudge sticks are use to cleanse, or remove negative energy from something. In this case you would use some kind of cleansing herb such as the following: |
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| Sage Cedar Pine Lavender Sweet Grass Mugwort You can use smudge sticks to cleanse a ritual space, or the area where your going to do a spell or ritual. You can use them to cleanse yourself when your feeling emotionally and spiritually down, and you can use them to cleanse and bless objects like crystals, tools, candles, etc. Here is how you can make smudge sticks: |
| First you need the herbs. I used fresh sage and lavendar in these pictures. I would recommend growing your own sage grown in pots inside the house, that way you can always have at least some sage for smudging. A lot of times you can also find fresh sage at supermarkets. If you have your own sage plants in a garden, when fall comes, cut some sprigs and make the sticks so you can have them during winter, and that way you wont have to worry about finding fresh sage in the middle of January! |
| You will also need some string to wrap the leaves with. You can use just plain white string or you can used colored embroidery thread if you want to make them look nice. First tie the bottem stems to keep them together. Then start wrapping the string around the leaves, making sure you pull it tight because you don't want to string to get loose once the leaves start to dry and shrink. Once you get to the other end, start wrapping it back the opposite way - you want to get a criss cross pattern going, that way you make sure all the leaves are tightly bound. |
| Once you have the stick all wrapped up, you want to hang it somewhere to dry. It will probably take about 2 weeks two dry if your using sage, and it may take longer depending on the kinds of herbs you use (some herbs dry faster than others). You want to make sure it is completely dry because it wont stay lit when you go to use it. |
| To use the smudge stick, you want to light the end with a match or lighter and wait till it catches fire, then blow on the end to make it start smoking. You would wave it around an object to cleanse it. You also want a heat-proof container to rest it it, like a shell (like in the picture at the top) or cauldron. When you want to put it it, just put the burning end in some sand, or push it to the bottom of the container untill the ashes are extinguished. |