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While being an artiste comes with its glamour, it’s not always a smooth sail. One receives love and hate in equal measure. All this may trigger a range of emotions, which might sometimes amount to hurricanes. It is important to, therefore, for your well-being be able to find a way to stay calm. For reggae singer and businesswoman, Kareh Wangari, sage burning also known as smudging works for her. 

“For the three years that I have been smudging with sage, it has been an empowering journey and it has done a lot in calming me as a musician. It is my perfect form of aromatherapy,” shares the musician.

The Latin word for sage salvia, stems from the word heals or be well. Sage is an evergreen perennial shrub that is often used for culinary, medicinal, and ornamental purposes. It is used as a spice and a way to improve health in traditional medicine.

Burning sage has long been used to connect to the spiritual realm or enhance intuition. Qualities believed to be associated with sage when burned are giving wisdom, clarity, and increasing spiritual awareness. 

This may have some scientific basis, too. Certain types of sage, including salvia sages and white prairie sage contain thujone and research has shown that it is mildly psychoactive. It’s actually found in many plants used in cultural spiritual rituals to enhance intuition.

The burning of sage may also be used as a ritual tool to rid yourself or your environment of negativity. This includes past traumas, bad experiences or negative energies from others. As Kareh shares, this establishes a positive environment for meditation— choosing to sit and let go of negative thoughts while smudging sets your intention and dedication to self-improvement.

Be intentional

“A lot of people like to think that they are only keeping away bad energy brought in by other people when in reality, the bad energy is sometimes you. You must be intentional with smudging because it’s a two way thing, put in the work and the plant will work for you,” shares the musician. 

While she had started the practice as a personal journey, Kareh has also established it as a business and now attracts more users. 

Burning sage has been an essential part of many Native American cultures, but as business woman Ciru Karimi shares, more Kenyans are waking up to it.

“Sage smudging was more popular with indigenous tribes across the world, to cleanse, purify and pray,” shares Ciru, whose brand, Afriquency sells Sage smudge sticks.

Until about three years ago, Ciru had only been planting most of her herbs for personal use. But when some friends visited her home in Nakuru, and discovered sage, they were interested to purchase for similar use. That birthed the idea of her business venture. Her smudge sticks are a combination of the sage with different plants including; lavender, rosemary, lemon grass and rose petals all which she has planted.

“It started small, but the number of client is growing. The price is also fair at Sh350 a stick, because the point is to educate people and let them enjoy the benefits of the plant. Aside from the spiritual values, it is also an organic air freshener,” says the businesswoman. 

How to go about sage burning

When using sage to cleanse the energy in your home, first ensure you’ve opened a door or window before lighting up. After all, that negativity (not to mention smoke) needs to have a pathway to get out. Set your intention and say a mantra.

Intentions are central to the practice of smudging, you can take a moment before you light the sage to determine what exactly it is that you’re trying to purify or release from your space. Then, decide on a mantra or prayer to repeat while saging that encapsulates this intention. It can be something you come up with on your own, for instance,“I let go and release what no longer serves me.” 

Once you are ready, hold the sage at a 45-degree angle, light it using your match or candle, and let it burn for about 20 seconds. After that, gently blow out the flame so you see orange embers on one end. The smoke should now billow up. Slowly walk around your space and allow the smoke to waft around. Guide the smoke and the negative energy toward the open windows or a door, so it can escape.

Burning sage can also be used to cleanse specific objects. This can be useful with new purchases, gifts, or secondhand items. However, any item can be cleansed. If you have any concern with negative history or energy attached to a new or unfamiliar object, burning sage may help bring peace of mind and make the object more sacred to you. You could even cleanse your technology devices such as your phone or laptop.