Just want Little info about smugging need to cleanse home due to illness?

Smudging is a sacred tradition that has its roots in the indigenous cultures of the world. As a tradition, it has been passed down for millennia and many ways and variations exist. The common thread is that, the smoke from sacred herbs can be used for purification and spiritual preparation. We can smudge to clear and ground ourselves and our intentions before and after healing, initiation and ritual. The smoke will help purify our crystals and other sacred objects. We can clear rooms and create sacred space. The herbs can also be burned to give thanks and to aid us in our prayers.





There are many ways to actually smudge. One ancient way is to start by drawing on the power of the five elements, by burning your smudging herbs in a shell. An abalone shell represents Water and the flowing and filling power this element offers us. The sacred herb is a gift of Earth and represents her creativity and strength. When we light the herb we are invoking the transmute element of Fire and the smoke that rises represents Air, carrying and releasing our cleared intentions and prayers. Through our deliberate action, we ourselves bring the fifth element: ether or life energy. Next we offer the smoke to the seven directions: east, south, west, north and up, down and center. Returning to center we are now ready to purify ourselves. Start by holding the shell in front of you and gently fan the smoke up to your heart. Pass the shell up along the center of your body, encircling your head. Be aware of how you feel through out this process. Sacred spaces are created by passing the smoke around the perimeter of the room, moving sunwise: east, south, west, and north.





Personally, I smudge with sage (clears negativity) and sweetgrass and white cedar (promotes positive energy). The resin of Dragon's Blood can also be burned to purify and cleanse.Just want Little info about smugging need to cleanse home due to illness?
I assume you mean ';smudging?'; If so, you'll need a braid of sweetgrass or a twist of sage. Place it in a natural container (a large sea shell works just great) and light it with a match. Use your hands to ';pull'; the smoke up and all over your body as if you were bathing in it. Then use a potholder to carry the shell throughout the house, and in each room, use a feather to send the smoke throughout the entire area.





Saying a prayer from your particular spiritual tradition for healing and cleansing while you're smudging yourself and your home is also recommended. The smoke itself symbolizes prayer in many traditions (including Catholic and Native American), so you're sending out a double prayer when you smudge and pray.Just want Little info about smugging need to cleanse home due to illness?
Maybe this question would get you more answers if you were to post it in the ';Cleaning/Laundry'; forum. Smuggling need?
Smudging is when you use herbs to cleanse a space of negative energy.


I'm not sure what illness you are talking about- smudging won't kill germs if that's what your looking for.


But to improve the spirit and feel of your home, you can smolder white sage leaves, lavender, or any other herb you feel creates the right atmosphere. I use a smudge stick made of white sage.





First I light the tip on fire and then blow it out so it is smoldering, but not burning.





Then I walk from room to room, focusing on happiness and good energy, fanning the smoke around the room. If you have a lot of negative energy you may want to open cabinets so the smoke gets everywhere. (be careful not to let any ashes fall- I set my smudge stick in an abalone shell)





Afterward I set the smudge stick in the abalone shell (you can use any heat-proof container) and allow it to go out on it's own. They say the sage knows when to stop smoking.
Taken from the website





http://www.the7thfire.com/smudging_with_鈥?/a> :





Smudging has been used since ancient times by many people as a ceremony of purification--among pre-Christian pagans as well as Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, among Hindus and Buddhists as well as Cherokee and Lakota. Called ';incense'; in some traditions, it can be made of a variety of fragrant plant materials. Native Americans have used their local plants of obtained more exotic materials through trade with tribes of other regions. Among the plants used for smudge are tobacco, sweetgrass, calamus, red willow bark, red osier dogwood, cedar needles and sage. (This is not culinary sage of the genus Salvia, but is one of the species of the genus Artemisia, which includes the landscape perennials, silver mound and silver king, as well as sagebrush and mugwort.) We gather my favorite sage in the Rocky Mountains of Utah, Nevada, and northeastern California. Its fragrance is wonderful before and during the smudging.





The chosen plant material should be dried and tied into bundles with cotton string or any other natural plant fiber. We wrap bundles as thick as our hands can hold. Four colors of string is combined to honor the four directions--red for the east, yellow for the south, black for the west, and white for the north. Or the material can be crumbled, cut or coarsely ground and stored in a container that prevents the loss of the aromatic oils that give sage its characteristic fragrance.





A natural container is needed to hold the mixture as it burns or smolders. Some prefer a large shell (although some people believe that a shell has water energy which impairs the fire energy of the smudge), others use an earthenware bowl or a hollowed rock.





You will need a way to fan the embers to keep them burning. In some traditions, it is considered disrespectful to blow upon the smudge with one's breath. You can use your hand to sweep air into the embers, but a feather, feather fan, or wing are much more effective. To keep smudge burning you will also need matches or perhaps a lighter.





You can use this ceremony to purify and cleanse people, places and things. Smudging brings an awareness of the sacred and should be performed with sensitivity and respect. As you add each pinch of the smudge mixture to the shell or pot, offer thanks to the Grandmothers and Grandfathers of each of the four directions, The order of honoring may differ from nation to nation. Some start with the east, others from the north or east. Always the rotation is sunwise, following the path of the sun (east-south-west-north, for example). Then to Mother Earth (down), Father Sun (up) and finally to the Great Mystery within all things (brought to your heart).





Bring all of the smudge together in a mound in the center of the container. After igniting the mixture, fan it until it is burning well. Continue to fan the embers as needed to keep them smoldering. Once again offer the smoke to the seven directions--East, South, West, North, Mother Earth, Father Sun, and the Great Mystery. Cleanse yourself by drawing the smoke over your head, over each shoulder, and over your heart. With the help of another, you can be cleansed under each foot, along your legs and across your back. Sacred space is smudged before it is entered by others or at the beginning of the ceremony. Pass through the smoke whatever ceremonial instrument you wish to use--the fan, the pipe, your hands, a dream catcher. This is a useful way to cleanse your dream catcher to make it ready for use.





When the ceremony is complete, the ashes should be totally burned (avoid using more than you will need) and respectfully returned to Mother Earth, perhaps at the base of a tree, a shrub, or rock. Never dump the ashes into the garbage or trash. The purpose of the medicine path is to always walk in beauty, in balance between ego and heart, honoring the Great Mystery within you and All That Is, and respecting all other beings in the Web of Life. Ah hau!
The word is ';smudging';. :-)





Get some frankincense or sage or pine incense and light it (I prefer to burn pure incense resins, but most people find it easier to get stick or cone incense), then carry it through the rooms of your home, letting it waft into every corner.





You can do a further cleansing by using water with lemon juice in it to wash the floors, walls, etc.
Sage is the best, but braided sweet grass is nice too. If you can't tolerate the smoke, there are sprays with essential oils that you can use (smuging sprays). You can also clear the area with a burning salt/alcohol solution, putting quartz in stagnant areas, and with your own intention to clear.
Sage is the best... but if you are worried about burning it, you can always boil it and use it as a cleanser as well. Depends on what illness you are talking about. I don't recommend burning anything if the illness has to do with the respiratory system.