Terza Luna Palo Santo^White sage smudge

White Sage

White Sage Smudge – Incense or Herbal Tea

Salvia Apiana

Format: Smudge

White Sage: Plant

The white sage, scientific name Salvia Apiana, is a plant from the Lamiaceae family (like aromatic mint), native to the southwest of the United States and northern Mexico, particularly in the Mojave and Sonora deserts, where it grows naturally. It is an evergreen perennial plant, whose leaves turn white when mature: for this reason, white sage is often used as an ornamental garden plant, as well as for its more common use as incense.

It is different from common sage closer to our Mediterranean tradition (Salvia officinalis) although they share some aspects. For example, both types of sage have antibacterial properties and a similar taste and appearance, but differ in color, with Salvia Apiana tending towards white/silver.

White sage is best known for its use in the ceremonies of Native American peoples in Central America, now increasingly known and widespread in Europe as well. In these ceremonies, white sage smudges (bundles of twigs) are burned because their fumigations are believed to be able to purify environments at a deeper and more subtle level. White sage is primarily used as incense, also known as sacred sage for this purpose. It is called Salvia Apiana because it attracts many pollinating insects, including bees.

White Sage: Properties and Uses

Many wonder what white sage is used for and what its uses are. White sage is a sacred plant for many Native American tribes, who use it in various ways, including smudging. It is a plant with a long tradition and multiple properties, which is why it is also called sacred sage or shamanic sage: legend has it that in a Native American tribe it was customary to make an offering to the “White Bison,” and that a woman, poor but extremely devout, offered herbs she had picked along the path to the altar, herbs that, due to the purity and sincerity of the gesture, were transformed into silver leaves.

White sage leaves have numerous properties: they are rich in resins and oils that release a strong aroma when burned, which is why it is used as incense in many spiritual purification rituals and to accompany trances, prayers, and meditations. White sage is often referred to as a herb with magical properties: the white sage to burn is perfect for making smudges and bouquets to prepare environments and renew their energy.

How to Use White Sage

White sage can be used to purify domestic environments if there are particularly negative energies, or simply to give an “energetic cleanse.” In shamanic traditions, burning white sage is used to purify both environments and people: the bundle or smudge is burned and then the smoke is blown on the person, from head to toe. Burning white sage in environments, according to some studies, helps reduce the number of bacteria and is therefore an antibacterial and antiviral incense. White sage can also be used as an herbal tea, and some tribes used it in pastry dough.

White Sage: Smudge

The white sage smudge available for sale online is simply a bundle of white sage twigs or sticks used for fumigation, obtained by tying fresh herbs with a string and letting them dry hanging. Native peoples consider many plants sacred and believe that burning them has beneficial effects on environments. This practice is called smudging.

To perform fumigations with white sage sticks, just take a smudge, place it on a small plate, and light it from the end where the leaves are. A lighter will be enough. The bundle will go out after a while without burning completely. If it doesn’t go out, just dampen it a little. It is preferable to extinguish the white sage smudge shortly after lighting it and let it emit the typical incense smoke.

Purification Rituals with Burning White Sage Incense

The purification rituals with white sage belong to the tradition and culture of Native Americans and are linked to the purification of energies, individuals, and environments, becoming part of numerous cultures and practices, such as feng shui. We have mentioned that white sage is associated with magical properties: mainly, the smoke of shamanic sage is used in these rituals to purify a person’s soul. Therefore, burning sage incense, sending the smoke towards the person with a feather or a fan. It is also used to purify environments: a white sage smudge is generally burned at the beginning or end of a ceremony, but also to eliminate negative energies or purify the room after a painful event, or the first time one settles in a place, like a new home or business. In shamanic culture, it is believed that the environments in which we live or stay absorb the energies of the people who inhabit them, and that behaviors and thoughts modify the energies of a place: when the air in a place becomes heavy, and staying there becomes annoying, the purification with burning white sage incense is carried out, capable, according to this tradition, of capturing negative energies.

Burning White Sage Sticks: Antiviral Effect?

But purifying environments with white sage not only has a spiritual significance or “magical properties”: a study by the University of Arizona has shown how white sage has antibacterial and antiviral properties, observing how an environment in which white sage is burned using the smudging technique undergoes a reduction in many species of bacteria and microorganisms. This biological activity could explain the historical use of white sage as a disinfectant: the burning white sage incense with the smudging technique also leaves a clean sensation in the room and a fresh aroma.

White Sage Herbal Tea

White sage can also be consumed as herbal tea: just crush the smudge and let it infuse in boiling water for about 10 minutes. According to Wikipedia, the Cauhilla women consumed shamanic white sage in herbal tea after childbirth to strengthen themselves, while Native Americans in general drink white sage tea to cleanse themselves of diseases and promote sweating and therefore the expulsion of toxins.

White Sage: Where to Buy?

Where to buy white sage? Many people ask this. At Terza Luna, you can find ready-to-use shamanic white sage smudges, available for online purchase to be delivered directly to your home. White sage smudges are perfect to use as incense for fumigations or for excellent white sage herbal teas. Buy your shamanic sage smudges easily and quickly to purify body and mind!

Shamanic White Sage: Price

White sage smudges are sold individually and have a price of €5.90 each.

Studies:

   
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  The Health-Benefits and Phytochemical Profile of Salvia apiana and Salvia farinacea var. Victoria Blue Decoctions

  – Antibacterial properties of plant species native to the New Jersey pinelands