Something new happened tonight. I got hit by a walk in Sage-ing.
One of my students had come into do a trade with me. She had actually worked on me the other night while I was her victim for a Reiki healing. During that time, she got some messages that showed sage being used under my feet. So, tonight, she brought in some special white sage and showed me how to sage oneself. (In being welcomed into a Pagan circle many months ago, my aura was cleansed with sage smoke before I could go in. This was to clear all impurities from one’s energies.) When one uses sage to clear auras and areas, it is called smudging. (Catholic priests do something similar with smoke coming out of some container hung from a chain that is carried by one of the aids.) Seeing as this may be helpful, I am putting the procedure here.
As I’ve talked before, sage is a cleansing herb. The special white sage that my student brought has bigger leaves, and is more powerful. It can be purchased in the form of a sage-stick. This is leaves and stems of sage bundled together into a ‘log’ shape and then tied with string or some such (something that will burn). These can be purchased at many metaphysical places as well as many dealers in Pagan goods. You just have to make sure it is white sage. As that is the strongest
Now it is far easier for someone else to work on you, but one can sage oneself. The idea is that the sage smoke has to touch and stay on each place for a few minutes (no, it’s not a short procedure). The smoke can go through certain clothing (like cotton pants an such), and it is easily possible to lift one’s shirt to allow the smoke to get to all the chakras there. However, if one is working on themselves, and can be alone while doing it, it is best done without clothing at all.
To do the smudging, one starts by lighting the sage and letting it burn for a minute or so (duh). Next, blowout the flame, but keep blowing on the sage now and then to keep it burning and producing smoke. You want to have a lot of smoke for this. (When I first cleaned the studio, I did not have enough smoke as I had never done something like this before. A friend came and helped with the second cleaning where we smoked the place up real good... and scared the stuff out of the landlord.) *** Important safety tip: If you are doing this indoors, make sure no burning embers get dropped on anything that can catch fire, and don’t do this where you have smoke detectors.
To let the smoke hit the places needed, one needs to hold the burning sage stick under that area. Hold it close enough to feel the heat, but not close enough to get burned. If the heat is too hot for you, move the stick further away. The location being smudged must be above the burning stick as smoke goes up.
The basic locations include the chakras and some of the sub chakras (like the ones in the palms of the hands... where Reiki comes out). To do the actual smudging, hold the smudge stick under the following locations for several minutes...
| Location |
Process |
| Bottom of the feet (one foot at a time) |
Hold the sage directly under the arch of the foot |
| Behind the knee (repeat with other leg) |
Hold the leg up so that the sage smoke can flow directly up to it. |
| Root chakra (pubic region) |
Hold the stick between your legs so it is directly underneath you. (Yes, you are literally blowing smoke up your... uhh... root chakra.) |
| Front Side |
The smoke should hit each of the next locations along the vertical center of your body. |
| Center (or spleen chakra) |
Bend over so the smoke hits you at the level of the naval. |
| Sternum (immediately below the rib cage) |
Allow the smoke from the stick to hit just below the ribs. |
| Heart |
Allow the smoke to hit the center of your chest. |
| Throat |
You may want to close your eyes as smoke directly contacts your throat. |
| Back Side |
The smoke should hit each of the next locations along the spine. You might set the sage stick on a glass so that you can balance over it enough to get the smoke to the following three locations, or simply hold it behind you if you can reach comfortably. |
| Center (or Spleen Chakra) |
Hold yourself over the stick so it hits the spine at about the level off the naval. |
| Sternum (immediately below the rib cage) |
Move up so that the smoke hits the back just below the rib cage. |
| Heart |
Stand so the smoke strikes the back at the level of the heart. |
| Hands (one then the other) |
Hold the sage stick under the palm of one hand so the smoke flows directly up to the palm. When done with the palm, turn your hand over so the smoke hits the back of the hand. |
| Ears (first one, then the other) |
Let the smoke go in each ear. (Close or block your eyes to protect them. Also be careful not to set fire to your hair.) |
| Third Eye (center of forehead) |
Let the smoke hit the center of your forehead. (Protect your eyes and hair.) |
So, there you have it. Happy smudging.