smudging

[whiporwill-o]

"Burn clippings of the herb in a brazier... not a shell as some "new age" shamanic circles do... it is an insult to White Painted Woman (The Goddess) to do this, especially with the abalone shell which is especially sacred to Her."

this was said here: Internet Book of Shadows, but i wonder, since i do not follow a goddess or a religious path, would it still be considered wrong of me to use an abalone shell?  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

I've read that one before!

If you don't worship White Painted Woman I can't see that it's relevant, myself. I mean no matter what you do it's probably going to be an offence to SOME god, so you may as well just focus on the gods you personally worship.  

[Morgandria]

Smudging is a misappropriation of Native practice, when you boil it down. At this point, it's been done for so long there's very little that can be redone to claim it - the New-Age community picked it up early and disseminated it as they went, and the Natives themselves have shrugged and moved on. It doesn't make them happy, but there's also a belief that holding onto anger or frustration won't make anything better, either.

Smudging using sage and an abalone shell is a practice done by several different peoples, as it was given to them by a holy female figure - although what you're describing is Apache. But smudging is done by almost all Native peoples, at least in Canada. I have been taught that if you use an abalone shell, it is never to have burning incense or a coal placed in it - it is an insult to the entity who gifted the shell for your use. The ashes from a smudge stick are scattered across your threshold, to keep negative things out.

Some tribes, though, consider a shell a sacred symbol of water figures, and don't use them in association with smudge. There are plenty of elders who use clay bowls or other such things to hold their smudge wands as they go.

I don't have a shell myself. I do smudge, from time to time, but because I find smudge wands totally irritating and I can't deal with the smell of sage, I tend to burn cedar tips on charcoal instead, or burn a sweetgrass braid in a ceramic bowl.  

[whiporwill-o]

wow, i never knew all of that. i dont smudge often at all, just when i move into a new place or when i move out (which i will hopefully be doing sometime this year). i don't like the smell either, it reminds me of marijuana >.>  

[Morgandria]

whiporwill-o

wow, i never knew all of that. i dont smudge often at all, just when i move into a new place or when i move out (which i will hopefully be doing sometime this year). i don't like the smell either, it reminds me of marijuana >.>

Different kinds of sage smell more or less strongly. White sage is pretty common, but there's also desert sage, culinary sage, and clary sage....plus about a hundred other ornamental sages that grow all over the place. Try finding out what grows in your area. But I don't use it myself.

You don't have to use sage only. Cedar, tobacco, and sweetgrass are the other three sacred plants for Native smudging. If you're going to use an abalone shell, these are the only things that should be burned in it.

You can make up your own smudge out of local plants and trees, that have meaning for you. I sometimes use juniper and pine. You can also collect things like poplar or birch buds when they're fresh in spring; they dry very resinous and sticky, and are what's called 'Balm of Gilead". Or you can use things like stalks or blends of vervain, lavender, mugwort, etc.

I have a 'forest smudge' that I made that's cedar, pine, white willow, oak bark, juniper, and oakmoss.  

[Esiris]

I just use inscence sticks if I want to use sweet smokes to purify something.  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

We have paua here. Shells are all over the ******** place. They're practically national symbols.  

[whiporwill-o]

i actually just like working with herbs, be it sage or anything else, i hadn't really thought about using anything else for smudging (i like your suggestions, morgandria), but like i said, i don't do it often. and as for using the abalone shell, i used to live at the beach and could get shells easily. the abalone shell was large and didn't seem as fragile as the other shells and i had seen them being used to hold sage before, so i just thought "why not" when i got it.

@ esiris, i'm not a huge fan of incense sticks anymore. after i started using resins, the sticks (and cones) just smell so unnatural to me. one of these days i want to try my hand at making my own. maybe that'll make all the difference in the world, lol.

@ sanguina, paua are so pretty! i would love to have one.  

[iKillCaustic]

Hmm...over here we have mother of pearl...which is basically a species of abalone related to the paua. Ours tend to be lighter in colour and paua are much deeper blues and greens (right Sang? O.o). I'm still yet to find a whole shell that hasn't been smashed to bits...

Back on topic, I generally use sage incense sticks if i want to use sage but if I want to do any purification I generally use freshly picked eucalyptus leaves from the tree in our front yard (acknowledging the traditional owners of the land beforehand).
Though I really need to get a replacement for my brazier... sweatdrop  

[Esiris]

whiporwill-o

@ esiris, i'm not a huge fan of incense sticks anymore. after i started using resins, the sticks (and cones) just smell so unnatural to me. one of these days i want to try my hand at making my own. maybe that'll make all the difference in the world, lol.

To me they smell about as "unnatural" as the charcoal blocks that people use to burn resins and stuff- after all, it's the same thing.  

[Morgandria]

Esiris

To me they smell about as "unnatural" as the charcoal blocks that people use to burn resins and stuff- after all, it's the same thing.

It's the saltpetre. Some incense sticks, cones, and powders will have saltpetre added to keep them burning. If you're not keen on it, try using japanese charcoal blocks. They're usually square, and have a silver film on them. They take longer to light, but they also burn longer, a little hotter, and don't add that chemical smell to the incense.

For me, I use both stick and loose. Loose is nice, but I could go through serious amounts of charcoal that way, and charcoal is expensive and hard to find here. So when I want to light a shrine and make a small offering, stick incense is usually the way I go if I've got it.

I have to be super picky about the stick incense I buy, because fragrance oils are the devil - I have a serious allergy to perfume and perfume oils. I make sure what I buy is made only with essential oils, and that the sticks themselves aren't low grade punk. There's a good company here out of Toronto called Floré - that's what I tend to burn for sticks.  

[Esiris]

Morgandria

Esiris

To me they smell about as "unnatural" as the charcoal blocks that people use to burn resins and stuff- after all, it's the same thing.

It's the saltpetre. Some incense sticks, cones, and powders will have saltpetre added to keep them burning. If you're not keen on it, try using japanese charcoal blocks. They're usually square, and have a silver film on them. They take longer to light, but they also burn longer, a little hotter, and don't add that chemical smell to the incense.

For me, I use both stick and loose. Loose is nice, but I could go through serious amounts of charcoal that way, and charcoal is expensive and hard to find here. So when I want to light a shrine and make a small offering, stick incense is usually the way I go if I've got it.

I have to be super picky about the stick incense I buy, because fragrance oils are the devil - I have a serious allergy to perfume and perfume oils. I make sure what I buy is made only with essential oils, and that the sticks themselves aren't low grade punk. There's a good company here out of Toronto called Floré - that's what I tend to burn for sticks.

That's good to know- thanks Morg!  

[Moonlite__Syren]

im not sure if this idea clashes with this topic but i didnt see a reason for me to make this into a thread since it ties into the purpose of blessing rocks which majority wise is what smudging is for from what ive come to understand. anyway my idea is pretty simple. i like the idea of reconnecting a stone with the earth. especially if you bought it from a store and its been cut, tumbled, and polished. i like seeing the rock as a living thing since it possesses a lot of energy. and if you think about the process in which a stone has to go through to be sold its quite gruesome. and you have thousands of people touch you every day leaving behind a blend of energies, tossed and turned in a wooden cubby as dust settles in. and then you start thinking, how long has it really been since its been dug up after millions of years untouched by man living deep in the ground. feelings the vibes of centuries and generations pass it by. perhaps even seeing this earth shape into itself as it is today. ive read about reburying the stones in the earth but theres that chance you may misplace them, they get dirty, or you live in an area where you cannot dig a hole for whatever reason, you can stick it in a potted plant or what i do is put it at the base of a tree. but theres that chance your stones can fade due to too much sun exposure. so my clever idea is placing a wooden bowl or a sea shell over them so they may be protected and still absorb yet other natural energies. ill leave them out there for almost a week. just really depends on your preference. once i have them charged with the earth i then put them through the smudging process to make them blessed specifically for magickal use.  

[Morgandria]

Moonlite__Syren

im not sure if this idea clashes with this topic but i didnt see a reason for me to make this into a thread since it ties into the purpose of blessing rocks which majority wise is what smudging is for from what ive come to understand. anyway my idea is pretty simple. i like the idea of reconnecting a stone with the earth. especially if you bought it from a store and its been cut, tumbled, and polished. i like seeing the rock as a living thing since it possesses a lot of energy. and if you think about the process in which a stone has to go through to be sold its quite gruesome. and you have thousands of people touch you every day leaving behind a blend of energies, tossed and turned in a wooden cubby as dust settles in. and then you start thinking, how long has it really been since its been dug up after millions of years untouched by man living deep in the ground. feelings the vibes of centuries and generations pass it by. perhaps even seeing this earth shape into itself as it is today. ive read about reburying the stones in the earth but theres that chance you may misplace them, they get dirty, or you live in an area where you cannot dig a hole for whatever reason, you can stick it in a potted plant or what i do is put it at the base of a tree. but theres that chance your stones can fade due to too much sun exposure. so my clever idea is placing a wooden bowl or a sea shell over them so they may be protected and still absorb yet other natural energies. ill leave them out there for almost a week. just really depends on your preference. once i have them charged with the earth i then put them through the smudging process to make them blessed specifically for magickal use.

Actually, smudging's purpose, for the Native peoples who originated the practice, is to be cleansed so one can be healed or perform healing or acts of community; it's done before ceremonies and before consulting elders or receiving teachings. It is to remove negativity and bad spirits in the four sacred medicines. It's not intended as a blessing itself.