smudge stick

I like to burn all kinds of incense and sometimes I use a smudge stick. Smudging is a way to change how a space feels or to purify a person's aura. It's also thought to be a way for hope and prayers to rise. Using herbal plant material from my own garden and making it myself adds another element to its meaning.

This morning, I collected a big bouquet of lavender and garden sage because that's what grows here. I tried growing the traditional white sage, Salvia apiana, but it didn't work out, so it's back to regular S. officinalis from the garden. A single stem of mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris, was added for visions and dreams, and sweetgrass, Hierochloe odorata, to carry hopes and prayers in its smoke.

After inverting half the lavender, the mugwort and sweetgrass were placed in its center. I'm only using the one stem of mugwort because too much can actually cause disturbing dreams. I once had some mugwort bundled and drying near my bed and this was learned from personal experience. The truth.

Next I inverted half the sage and placed the stalks all around the lavender bundle. It was bound with a cotton string looped at one end for hanging and bow-tied at the other end for tightening. It's a dry climate here so it could be wound pretty tightly. In high humidity with mold potential, I would leave it much looser and tighten as it dries.

To make a loose incense to burn on a charcoal disc, dry the herbs thoroughly, break them up a little and mix together. I do like the feel of a smudge stick in my hand though!