What Is Smudging?

In Witchcraft, the consecration of a person or thing involves a sprinkling with salted water and a "censing" with the smoke of incense. Some Wiccans have adopted the Native American form of censing known as "smudging," which involves the burning of sage and other herbs and grasses.

Almost any herb that smells good when burned may be used for smudging. Any combination of two or three of the following herbs are traditionally favored among Native Americans: sage or sagebrush (Artemisia spp.); sweetgrass (Hierochloe odorata); calamus (Acorus calamus); red will bark (Cornus amonmum); dogwood bark (Cornus floridum); cedar needles or bark (Thuja, Chamaecyparis, and Juniperus spp.); and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). After being ground or cut finely, the herbs are burned on an open plate such as a thin, flat rock or a shell, and the smoke is wafted onto the person or thing using a feather or fan made of bird's wings.

Modern Wiccans will also use white sage, garden sage, sweetgrass, and lavender. These can be dried, then the leaves tied together in a tight bungle wrapped with thread, and the resulting "stick" is burned.


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