A smudging ceremony is the ritual of burning dried wood, plant and herbs while setting intentions and prayers to it.
Over decades, Native American and Indigenous cultures have practiced smudging rituals to clear away negative
energies, to invite in peace and harmony for individuals or environments.
The smoke from the herbs and the plant resins are fanned using a feather or a hand and directed like a
spiritual cleansing bath surrounding the person or the space.
The purpose of this cleansing ritual is to clear away anxieties, sadness, impurities, dark thoughts or
unwanted energies that may have attached themselves to a space or an individual.
Smudging is most often performed before or as part of a ceremony to clear the environment and the people f
rom certain thoughts or feelings that will not serve the highest good in themselves.
For this reason, it is important to set a clear intention while smudging.
As the smudging ceremony is practiced, the smoke rises and so do the prayers to mother earth, father sky,
to the sun and the moon, to the plants, the animals and the water.
The burning of the sacred plants- sage, cedar, sweetgrass and palo santo- to name a few, support the connection
to the sacred realms between the earth and spirit. Through this connect to spirit the smoke bath lifts
negative feelings and energy and creates an opening for prayers and intentions to be heard,
therefore bringing positive intention into practice.