White Sage is At Risk; Here’s What to Smudge with Instead

Interest in smudging has grown over the years, putting the white sage species at risk due to over-harvesting in the wild. Fortunately, there are many alternatives to white sage for all of your smudging needs.

What Is Smudging?

A certain person’s energy can cling to you like your grandmother’s lavender perfume. Like that familiar scent, a person’s energetic vibes can cling to you long after they left the building.

Just like a scent can cling to you, bad energetic vibes can cling to your home. To rid your personal space of bad energy, you can do something called “smudging”. Smudging is another name for burning sage. There are many different types of sage, but white sage is most commonly used here.

You might have seen smudge sticks, or bundles of sage, before in a friend’s house or in a store. Some even believe that sage can turn energy into a more positive space for you.

Smudge sticks originate from Native American culture. Native Americans used smudge sticks to cleanse spaces of negative energy, as well as to bestow blessings upon people.

Native Americans have used sage to talk to spirits and clean spaces of negative energy. The smoke from the sage penetrates the atmosphere and absorbs any dense energy that’s around. According to the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, sage can clean up over 90% of the bacteria in the air.

Smudge sticks usually get made from dried white sage. They can also be made of other dried herbs and flowers like rosemary, thyme, and lavender. These sticks give off a pleasant scent when burned. The act of smudging then involves the burning of the smudge sticks in a certain space.

Is Smudging White Sage Bad?

Smudging is the practice of burning dried plant material – traditionally white sage – to cleanse and purify a space.

The practice of smudging homes has become more widespread, but with that comes issues: white sage is now an at-risk species due to over-harvesting in the wild.

Fortunately, there are sustainable sources out there and a few alternative, more abundant plants you can smudge with instead. 

Alternatively, you could also forgo smoke clearing rituals altogether and use other energy cleansing tools, such as sage spray, water, sound, light, and visualization. All can be powerful as well as more sustainable and respectful.

But if smoke clearing is a must, here are a few more eco-conscious ways to source your smudging supplies.

Ethical Sources of White Sage

When you buy white sage, choose organically grown white sage. Avoid wild harvested sage and sage smudge sticks. If the seller can’t tell you the origin, that’s not a good sign.

You can purchase white sage and smudge sticks from First Nation’s people who use sustainable practices. 

You can also choose a trusted supplier of organically cultivated white sage, such as:

• Mountain Rose Herbs

You can also grow your own white sage if it will do well in your area – this is by far the most ecologically sound choice.

Alternatives to White Sage for Smudging

If you’re not too tied to the white sage plant, you might consider using an alternative for smudging.

Many other types of sage are actually very abundant and possess many of the same cleansing properties.

• Black sage
• Garden sage
• Wormwood (this is my go-to, since it’s so abundant where I live)
• Cedar
• Pine
• Holy basil
• Mints
• Rosemary
• Lemon balm
• Juniper

Making smudge sticks doesn’t differ too much based on what plant you use – things simply need to be arranged differently to hold together. You’ll learn more in the tutorial for how to make a smudge stick below.

How To Clean Up Your Home’s Energy With Sage

The sage that you will need to clean up your home’s energy isn’t the type that you can purchase in the produce section of your local grocery store. You want to find dried white sage. It can come in sticks or dried leaves. Feel free to choose other herbs, as desired.

If you really want to go all out, create an altar for all of your supplies. You can place this altar on any flat surface. While all you will need for the cleansing is the herbs, some people decide to add other items such as bells, feathers, and even eggs!

Want to cleanse the energy of a space but need to do it without sage smoke? You can use a mist instead. Put spring water in a spray bottle and add either sage or palo santo oil.

Those who are cleaning up the energy in their home should clear away any clutter that’s around. Open up all doors and windows. Ring a bell in each room of your home to wake up the present energy.

Place your herbs on your altar. Put the sage or other hebs in a heatproof bowl and burn a candle while setting an intention. Use the candle to light the sage. Holding the sage in your hands, position the sage smoke towards your heart, over your head, and down your front and back.

Once all of this is done, go to the lowest level of your home. Send the sage smoke into all four corners of each of the rooms. Try to get the smoke into the areas where the walls and ceilings meet. Then direct the smoke out of the windows and doors.

When you have completed the smudging process, extinguish the sage by putting it out on the ground. Just don’t extinguish the sage in water. Doing this will ensure that you won’t be able to use it again.

After you have cleaned up the energy of your space, you’ll find that the energy has neutralized. At this point, you will need to fill up your space with love. You can use rose petals or rose water for this purpose. An advanced tactic involves mopping your floors with rose tea. But if you’re a renter, you might want to stick with the rose petals and rose tea. The first two methods make for easier cleanup.

Experts state that homeowners should sage about once a week. But you’ll get good results the more you do it. You can use saging as part of your morning routine. In the morning, burn some incense while you say a prayer to maintain the good energy of your space.

How to Make Smudge Sticks

The smudge sticks you make at home can be just as powerful as those you buy on Amazon. While most people use sage for smudging purposes, different herbs can be used for different purposes.

Some herbs are great for cleansing purposes. Others can be used for their medicinal properties. Other herbs like lavender just smell nice. You can use your own smudge stick for your own needs and preferences.

Try these different types of sage for smudging:

• Common sage (or garden sage)
• Mealy cup sage
• Scarlet sage
• Pitcher sage (or humming bird sage)
• Anise sented sage
• Autumn sage
• Discover all of the different types of sage here

Some popular herbs for smudging include the following:

• Cedar
• Frankincense
• Juniper
• Lavender
• Lemon Balm
• Myrrh
• Palo Santo
• Sweetgrass
• White Sage
• Yarrow

Some other herbs that you can add to your smudging stick include the following:

• Bay leaves
• Cinnamon Stick
• Rosebud
• Rosemary
• Spruce
• Thyme
• Cannabis fan leaves