Lovin' >> Smudgin'

Did you know that once you go over the Cascades, that Washington gets pretty desert-y? Me neither. Well, I didn't know until a couple of years ago when we were on a roadtrip and drove through eastern Oregon, which is similar. Andy is on spring break from teaching, and since we rarely have two days off in a row together during the school year, we took advantage for a quick overnight trip. Originally we were going to head to the Olympic Peninsula, but Andy said he wanted to see the sun. Fair enough, since I've seen plenty of it recently. :)

A part of my heart is always in the desert, so I was happy to be there. The wild sage is one of my favorite parts. Sage has been used by Native Americans for hundreds if not thousands of years for it's spiritual purifying and cleansing properties. Medicinally, it is antibacterial and antiseptic, and has uses ranging from headaches to heartburn to depression to menopause.

I only discovered smudging last year, so I have only smudged spaces* a few times, but it is really a beautiful ritual. I love the idea of clearing out a space of the old "juju," to make way for the new. Whether it's purely symbolic, or all those medicinal properties are just the surface of more powerful spiritual cleansing powers, I have no idea. It doesn't really matter either way, really.

I've never made my own sage bundles before, but I collected some and am giving it a whirl. They're hanging to dry right now, so hopefully soon I'll be able to use them to clear out some of the stale winter energy hanging around.

Have you ever smudged a space before?

shanti >> sondra

*if you're not familiar with it, it's basically waving the smoke of the smoldering sage bundle into all the nooks and crannies of a space, while either thinking or saying aloud your intentions "I am cleansing this space of the old, to welcome the new," or something like that.

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