Cleansing our energies is as important as taking a shower. Today, everyone can easily have access to beautiful, powerful and natural products that are amazing for this purpose. And The Smudge bowl from Holistic ceramics is the perfect addition that will help you to practice daily this ritual.

To smudge is the act of burning leaves, plant, wood. The smoke has properties to energetically cleanse you, your space, a place. Each plant material you are burning has a purpose but overall they are all bringing positive energies, purifying the environment, transforms and blesses a place and the inhabitants.

There are many choices of different cleansing. I’ll here list a few you can start with. It’s also very important to respect and acknowledge that in many cultures to smudge whether it is with Sage, Palo Santo, Sandalwood, Resin or other material, it is an ancient and sacred practice. When you are choosing to use this practice, do it with respect, intention, gratitude and reverence to the communities, past and present.

The Sage - first and foremost, Sage is one of the most important plants for Native Americans and the ceremonies, the Sage is used as a purifying herb or incense. Sage is coming from the Salvia plant family. Savia derives from the word Salvere which means “To heal”, in Latin. The Shamanic way of smudging is often by using an Abalone Shell to hold the Sage and using a feather to spread the smoke. With The Smudge bowl, you just need the bowl to hold the sage and use your hand to spread the smoke.

The Resin and herbs on Charcoal - Is one of my favourite way to cleanse and I also use this technique to enhance psychic abilities. Light up the charcoal until it crackles. Place the tablet in the bowl. Take a teaspoon of resin/sacred herbs and gently, slowly put them on the charcoal tablet.

Frankincense resin is used to protect and cleanse the soul, even in death. Used in nearly every major religion on Earth. Also thought to ease depression and promote clairvoyance. Myrrh is burned in an attempt to reach enlightenment, and it clears the debris from our energy field and opens our perception.

The Palo Santo/Sandalwood - These two are wood sticks. Palo Santo means “Holy Wood” and comes from a tree that grows in South America. Burning the sticks of Palo Santo is a sacred ritual to the Indigenous communities of the Andes. It purifies energies in a house, restore tranquillity and calms emotions, clearing any negative energies remaining in our spiritual field.

The Sandalwood is believed to increase spiritual awareness, give power to our magic manifestations, and to aid in astral travelling. Sandalwood is today used in modern-day Buddhist practice. It calms the mind while allowing it to remain alert, so it is a preferred material during meditation and rituals.

Something very important is to be very careful about where and how you buy the materials. It has to be sourced ethically, it is preferable to directly buy it from the communities, even if it’s a bit more expensive. They are sacred to indigenous communities, and it is a privilege to be able to use their powerful properties. 

How to? Before lighting up the Sage, Palo Santo, Sandalwood or the resin, it’s important to decide what you want to cleanse. Say it out loud or strongly think about it with intentions. For example, you could say “ I let go and release what no longer serves me”. Open your windows or front door so the negative energies can go. Once you feel solid about your intentions, light up your Sage, Palo Santo, Sandalwood or Resin for 20 seconds and then gently blow out the flame. Place the Sage in the bowl, for the Palo Santo or Sandalwood, I like to keep the stick in my hand. Start walking slowly around, while the smoke fills up the smudge bowl use your hand to spread the smoke, giving particular attention to corners, mirrors, hallways, hallways and doorways. Once this is done, place the bowl in front of you and get the smoke over your head, around your face, around your body, behind you and below you.

For the ones who can’t do with the smoke, you can get really good mists.