Here is a question submitted to me by Amy:
She asks: “People talk about smudging (burning sage, incense, etc) to clear out areas where bad energy may reside. If I understand it correctly, I thought energy has no physical body or sense of smell/hearing/sight as we know it. So how/why would an energetic being be affected by a physical earth plant/item burning? Or is smudging not as effective as we think it is?”
What is smudging?
Smudging is a ritual done in an attempt to purify or heal a person’s soul or help them remove negative thoughts. It’s also used to clear a physical space of negative energy. And it’s also used in meditation to raise your vibration or go deeper into your connection with the other side.
What types of materials are used to smudge?
Typically, people will burn sage, incense, resins, and other materials. There are many different varieties of herbs people use.
Just like selecting herbs for tea to treat various symptoms you may have, you can select an incense “flavor” or other material that is specifically designed to help you achieve your smudging goals.
For example, a lot of people believe that burning sage in a haunted house can remove negative entities and send them back to the other side.
Who performs smudging rituals?
A smudging ritual can be performed by a healer, a psychic, a shaman, a medium, paranormal investigators, and those involved in alternative, natural medicine. Laymen can also perform their own smudging ritual without need of a professional.
Someone with experience in utilizing the herbs is going to be more effective than someone doing it for the first time, but literally anyone can sage their home or burn incense that makes them feel more calm or connected to themselves or the other side.
Does smudging work?
I’m going to have to say that it depends on your definition of “work.”
I personally do not believe that burning sage, for example, in a haunted location does diddly-squat to remove any entity. Like you suggested in your question, Amy, an energetic being is not affected by physical matter. They are probably sitting there going, “What’s that smell?” but I don’t believe that it compels them to crossover.
I have been a paranormal investigator for more than 15 years and in my experience, what causes an entity to leave a home is by pushing it off our plane, back through the door it came through, and locking the door behind it so it can’t come back.
And what helps a human spirit/ghost crossover is gently reminding it that it’s time to move into the light and reunite with their loved ones on the other side.
I don’t believe burning sage can clear a home.
I don’t believe smoke has magical properties. If you’re burning something that gets you high or involves a mind-altering substance then that’s just you having a nice trip. Happy journey to you.
If you’d like your guides advice on past trauma or how to heal, book a session with me today!
Is there any benefit to smudging?
With all that being said, there are benefits to smudging.
When used as a ritual to clear your mind and thoughts or to connect to yourself or your higher self, it can be extremely effective.
If smudging makes you feel safer in your home, do it. The act of altering your vibration to feel strong, brave and confident can have a really positive effect on your energy and on the energy of those who live in your home. If there is a negative entity in your home, boosting the vibration of the people who live in the home can drive a negative entity away.
If performing a smudging ritual helps you heal from trauma, do it. There is great power in rituals that cleanse us of past or current pain and that allow us to take the reins back on our lives.
Smudging is like a ritual prayer, an order you place with the universe to be healed, to feel different, and to take back your power. That is reason enough to experiment with smudging.
But the smoke itself will not heal you nor will it cleanse a home or drive a spirit away. It will, however, give you a tangible anchor to channel your strength and raise your vibration. In that, there is power indeed.
