Sage Advice
By TwistieThis is a smudge stick.
Just last night, I was discussing smudge sticks with my good friend, Fabrisse (wave to the crowd, Fabrisse!). You see, Mr. Twistie and I have just recently inherited a Major Item from a Rather Dubious (to us mentally right now) Source. Said item feels kind of full of cooties, bad juju, negative associations… whatever you want to call it. We were deciding whether or not a good smudging is in order.
No, I’m not usually given to burning herbs to cleanse spaces and objects. In fact, the only open flame I’m comfortable with is the burners on my lovely new gas stove (I love you, Algy! And I always will!). Strong scented burning things aren’t my thing, either. That one David Bowie concert I went to?
Yeah… I didn’t last long. No more big concerts for Twistie. I now stick to small, intimate, smoke-free venues.
All the same, there are times when it just feels like a ritual is needed to deal with powerful negativity, whether it comes from within or without. And some of you may find that a good smudge stick is precisely what you need. If this is the case, you might head over to this rather cool article on how to roll your own. And speaking as someone who has had strong negative physical reactions to burning herbs… do take their advice to be careful – especially of potentially poisonous plants! – seriously.
Oh, and the Major Item? I don’t think I’ll actually burn sage over it. I’ve got a better, more personal, smoke-free way of cleansing the bad emotional baggage out. Because sometimes, traditionalist though I am at heart, you just have to roll your own to make it work.
July 17th, 2011 at 10:09 pm
I once worked with a co-worker so toxic and evil that when she was finally fired after 3 years, I came in early the next morning so I could burn sage and open the windows to cleanse the office of her negativity. I don’t know if the ritual actually did anything, but it made me feel about 800 times better. (Or maybe I was just doing a happy dance that she was finally gone.)
July 17th, 2011 at 10:27 pm
Sometimes just doing some sort of ritual really does help, even if you’re making it up as you go along. It gives you a chance to close the mental books on an unpleasant chapter and move on.
July 18th, 2011 at 10:40 am
For a time I got panic attacks every evening when I got closer to home. It was worst when I passed the door of my – toxic – neighbor, but even once I’d closed the door behind me I was prone to fear and depression. In the end I asked a friend who was studying to become a shaman of sorts for help. She asked all spirits to leave, sprinkled salt and tobacco on the window sills, burned sage and then invited good spirits back in. It might have been that, or it might have been a sort of self-hypnosis, or the need for a ritual, but it worked!
July 18th, 2011 at 10:59 am
I think that whatever makes you feel better about a situation (barring harm to self or others) is fine. If it’s burning sage, chanting self-affirmations or just screaming obscenities at the top of your lungs, there’s something cathartic about taking a physical action to rid yourself of mental baggage.