A Beginner’s Guide To Smudge Sticks — And How To Choose The Right One For Your Home

As featured in Martha Stewart

Since ancient times we have been drawn to the elements of fire and smoke and its mesmerizing nature. Historically, we have created numerous traditions to honor our human connection to the natural world and the mystical nature of “smoke.” The same practices continue in the present day. In the Western world, rituals incorporating handcrafted incense made from sacred woods and spices for meditation, healing and purification remain. In the East, the tradition of the hearth as the center for home and family exists in outdoor fire pits and cozy living room fireplaces. Just as smoke rises, we are seeing an elevation of wisdom and understanding in the powerful nature of healing that the plants offer humanity. The understanding and spiritual connection to these “sacred spirit medicines” is finding a path of ascension in the world as we hunger for a deeper bond to nature and to one another.

I was introduced to sage (Salvia Apiana) and “smudging” for the first time in Northern California in a sacred ceremony with a Native American “Medicine-Man.” As a New Yorker at the youthful age of 18, I was naive to this culture, and yet this experience opened my eyes, and my spirit, in new ways. I was drawn into the world of plants and indigenous culture with great…