How to Know if Smudging Worked: Discover 6 Crucial Elements

In many traditional cultures, smoke from certain herbs is believed to cleanse negative energies and create positive energy in the surroundings. 

In our modern lives, the need for energetic cleansing has increased, if not remained equally important as it was in the past. Practices like sage burning have deeper spiritual significance and are considered to be potent ways of holistic healing.

You might try a lot of things like yoga, exercise, and smudging, but what is the proof they helped you? In this article, we will answer your question of how to know if smudging worked in your favour, its process, advantages, and more!

1. What is Smudging?

Smudging is a spiritual practice of using smoke to energetically purify spaces or objects and usher in positive energy. 

Smudging ceremonies are also used to energetically heal sick people and animals. It is a powerful practice to connect with the universe and spirits for healing and guidance.

Fun fact: Smudging forms an essential part of spiritual practices in many indigenous traditions. For that purpose, traditional healers burn various plant materials like leaves and resins that are considered sacred, with healing and purifying properties.

Are you new to smudging and wondering whether it works like your friend had enthusiastically suggested? Or, are you unsure whether you need to smudge after all?

Read on to know when this practice can help!

2. When do you Need to Smudge?

Smudging is a versatile and powerful ritual that works at many levels, it purifies spaces and heals energetically. The reasons to smudge are:

2.1. Look for Cues Internally!

Have you felt unexplained heaviness in your energy lately? Or, in your home and surroundings? Are you experiencing discordance in relationships, with no apparent reasons? Are you still reliving your past traumas without any apparent triggers?

If you get an instinctual nod to any of these questions, there might be chances that you are energetically burdened, this is precisely where a mindfully done smudging can help. 

It can be very soothing when you are ill, or convalescing from prolonged illness. 

Tip: For smudging to be successful, we must practice mindfulness in our lives, without getting overwhelmed. 

2.2. Be Grounded for Spiritual Practices

Ideally, smudge yourself and cleanse your space before starting any spiritual ritual. Deep within you, it induces calmness and relaxation.

2.3. Refresh Spaces

When decluttering, this could be your go-to ritual for removing energy blockages from the nooks and crannies in your own home, office, etc. 

Consider a smudging ceremony before you are ready to enter into your new home, or before using any new electronic device. 

Reach out for a smudge stick if you feel negative vibes lingering after certain guests have left. Similarly, if you are recovering from an illness but are still feeling down with its remnants, light some sage!

2.4. Spiritual Boost: Quick Cleansing with Essential Oils and Smudging

Andrea Belzer, spiritual life coach & energy healer, offers practical advice on incorporating ancient practices like smudging into busy daily routines:

“Life is busy, but the nice thing about smudging is it doesn’t take long. It helps deepen our other spiritual practices, making it all more beneficial.

Because it clears our space and ourselves so we can connect to the spirit better, it makes practices such as meditation, journeying, and even journaling more beneficial.

One way that I adapt the process is to use essential oils instead of burning. While this doesn’t produce the smoke, which is a part of the clearing, you can still cleanse a space.

This makes it faster to start and safer if you live in a city, especially an apartment building! My favourite to use for daily cleansing (not deep cleaning) is Palo Santo.

I will set it up with my diffuser. While preparing, I will ask it to cleanse and clear the space. As that is going, I will start whatever spiritual practice I am doing at the moment. 

I also recommend to my clients to use this as part of their energy management, especially if they are empaths. Maintaining energy is critical to being able to function in our lives.

Not just physical energy but spiritual energy. Using smudging is a great way to keep our energy clear of other people’s energy. When we pair it with different grounding and cleansing tools, we can clear ourselves quicker.”

3. How to Know if Smudging Worked?

Remember I told you that to smudge like a pro, mindfulness and setting clear intentions are necessary? Well, this is precisely why. 

If you had been mindful, relaxed, and connected throughout the ritual through clear intentions, then you would intuitively know. Plus, there are physical signs too.

Generally, you would feel significantly lighter and your space would feel expansive! You would feel a sense of doneness, so to speak. 

3.1. Check the Smoke Stream

As you start to smudge, you may observe the smoke stream is wispy and appears as broken streaks. That could indicate the presence of heavy and negative energy. 

As you continue, the smoke streaks might become less defined and spread around like floating clouds. It is as if the smoke has more room to freely move, as the negative energy is getting cleared. 

3.2. Aroma Check

Also if the aroma of burnt herbs lingers long after the smudging ceremony, then it is a positive sign that it was successful.

3.3. Energetic Shifts

During and immediately after, a feeling of perceptible lightness in mood and relief from heavy emotions indicates you have burst the negative energy bubble! 

During the practice, you may feel some emotional highs or lows momentarily. That’s OK, it only indicates that the ritual has touched you deeply. Try some deep breathing which will ease it off.

3.4. Benefits Linger on

Over the following days, you might notice enhanced emotional well-being and positive changes in your routine. Often, better concentration and mental clarity ensue.

Letting go of your control over things and situations that no longer serve you becomes easy. Likewise, those energetically heavy corners of the house begin to feel much more open and inviting. 

Feeling proactive and motivated towards a healthier lifestyle are sure pointers that the practice worked. Most likely, this could also manifest as sound sleep and waking up recharged. 

3.5. Positive Pets and Plants

Pets and houseplants are very sensitive to energetic shifts. Calmer pets and vibrant plants, especially when they were not before smudging, are a telltale sign of a successful ritual.

To truly reap its benefits, let’s get to know the process. 

4. Gather the Ingredients

To smudge spaces, people, or specific objects, you would need a few simple things. 

4.1. Herbs and Tools 

Most people smudge with sage. What else would you need? 

• Sage stick: A nicely bundled sage stick, or other preferred herb, more on which herb to choose below.
• Candles/Matches: Additionally, you would need a flame to light the herb. Matchsticks or candles are preferred over gas lighters. Keeping in tune with the ritual, opt for naturally sourced and minimally processed materials. 

Tip: If you are smudging a large space, have a fire source like a tealight candle in every room. It is common to need to re-light sage sticks. 

• Fireproof container: To hold the smudge sticks as you are burning sage, it also holds hot embers and ashes. Traditionally, abalone shells or large clam shells are used, which look beautiful by the way! Alternatively, use clay bowls. 

Tip: You may not have to use this bowl if you are only smudging yourself, or while sitting in a spot, as in for meditation etc. 

• Fanning tool: An optional item, but especially important if you are smudging a large space for example an office building. Ideally, use a feather as a fan. If not possible, use a small fan made from natural materials.

Cool fact: Native Americans use eagle feathers because of their spiritual powers. Also, they are large enough to waft the smoke. 

4.2. The Sage

Sage is the traditional smudging herb, particularly in the West. 

4.2.1. Types of Sage

Depending on the outcome you desire, there is a different sage stick you can choose! Here are some widely used sage varieties and their specific purposes.

• White sage: The most widely used sage. White sage is used to cleanse negative energy from spaces. Among indigenous peoples, it is often associated with matrilineage and inner strength.

• Desert sage: For inner strength. It is also used for blessing and healing space and people.

• Blue sage/ Black sage/ Lavender sage: Induces calm and serenity. Black sage and lavender sage deeply relax racy minds and are good herbs to burn before bedtime.
• Other herbs: There are quite a few options available other than white sage, for example, cedar and sweet grass are also used traditionally. Cedar is burned to promote harmony and balance. Smoke from sweet grass, known as the hair of Mother Earth among indigenous peoples, is believed to convey gratitude to benevolent spirits and ancestors, which in turn invoke their blessings.

4.2.2. Where to Purchase Sage?

The native Americans have been ritually burning sage in their communities. As non-indigenous people, we should smudge from a place of respect and gratitude for the indigenous communities and their traditions. 

As a means to have a powerful connection with the ritual and avoid cultural appropriation, buy sage from indigenous sellers. 

4.3. Alternatives to Burning Sage

If inhaling smoke bothers you, or if lighting fire is not allowed where you live, then there are few alternatives to sage burning. 

4.3.1. Mists and Sprays

The options include spraying mists made from sage or other botanical extracts and essential oils. Oils from mugwort, desert lavender, carrot seed, peppermint, or wormwood are widely used in traditional smudging. 

Buy sage extracts from indigenously owned companies and/or indigenously sourced ingredients to be safe.

4.3.2. Sound Cleansing

Alternatively, sound cleanse the space using singing bowls or gongs. In many cultures, energized crystals are also used to purify spaces. So why not give them a try?

5. The Smudging Process

The smudging practice in itself is very intuitive and simple. Gather the sage and tools, and mindfully set a date and time aside to smudge. 

5.1. Set Intentions

Set intentions at the outset. An intention can be as simple as being aware of what no longer serves you. Or, maybe you want to change your current circumstances for something better and brighter.

Be specific and be clear!

Tip: Staying spiritually aligned with the smudging ceremony through clear intention is the secret sauce of success! Also, that way you will be better able to assess whether the practice worked. 

5.2. Ignite the Sage

Light your smudge stick at the leafy end. When the leaves catch fire, extinguish the flame by cupping the abalone shell over it. Wait for the smoldering to begin which would take only a few seconds. 

Cool fact: Traditional cultures consider it disrespectful and inappropriate to blow on sage flames.

Now, place the smudge stick on that abalone shell/ clay bowl, you would carry this in one hand. If not using the bowl, hold the smudge stick carefully in one hand. Hold the fanning tool on the other hand. 

5.3. Start Smudging

There are two modes of smudging: self-smudging and space smudging.

5.3.1. Self-Smudging

Whether you are smudging as a part of your spiritual practices, or to purify spaces, you must smudge yourself first. 

Simply move the smudge stick around from a safe distance from head to toe, allowing smoke to spread onto you and clear negative energy.

5.3.2. Smudging Space

Now, as planned, start from the front door and move along the smudging route slowly and mindfully. You would gently fan the smudge stick now and then to waft the smoke around.

Be especially mindful when smudging corners and dim spaces. Smudge for a little longer those rooms that feel comfortable to be in. 

Remember, and do not forget your intention! Stay grounded with the process both physically and spiritually.

5.4. Closing the Ritual

When you feel assured of completion and have covered all intended spaces, mindfully close the ceremony. 

If you were moving around while smudging, return to the front door. Say your intention once more with awareness and thankfulness, considering your wishes taken care of. 

Snuff the sage smudge stick safely onto the shell or clay bowl. Gather the ashes and spread them on the earth outside of your house. 

Express your heartfelt gratitude for the ritual, and those who have done it before you. Last, but never the least, thank the universe and guiding spirits for protecting and inspiring you.

Tip: Don’t forget the practicalities! Snuff any candles around the house, and put back all the tools in a designated place for next use. 

5.5. Respectful Cleansing: Blending Cultural Backgrounds in Spiritual Practices

Heather Carlucci, psychic medium and medical intuitive, shares the significance of smudging ceremonies, the choice of specific herbs, and the spiritual connections involved:

“As a psychic medium and medical intuitive, the subject of smudging comes up quite often. 

I am fervent about not culturally appropriating anything spiritual, so my practice of cleansing spaces comes from a combination of my backgrounds— Sicilian and Russian— as well as what I had been taught as a child by family members who also did metaphysical work.

When I cleanse spaces before starting my practice, I do clean the space. Dust contains hair and skin follicles that hold endless energy from generations, as well as from the present. I wipe down all slick surfaces with white vinegar. This includes counters, windows, mirrors, and floors.  

I burn a candle or something flammable yet contained. I express my intent. Much of this process comes from my older relatives being new immigrants in America and wanting to create a practice that didn’t draw attention to their psychic work.

I find my students and clients of all backgrounds appreciate this and incorporate their own cultures into the cleansing as I work.”

6. Tips for Powerful Smudging

Stay focused:

• Smudge in the quiet hours of the day, preferably early mornings and evenings. 
• Turn off all electronic devices and put cell phones on silent.

Plan:

• Have a smudge route planned around the house, complete with a starting point and exit. This will prevent haphazard smudging or missing any small space. 
• Start the smudging process at lower levels of the building/house like ground floors and basements and work your way up.

Stay safe:

• Wear breathable and comfortable clothing, but avoid flowing clothes. Secure hair to prevent fire hazards. 
• Keeping the weather in mind, open windows which will ensure better air and energy flow. 
• During smudging, keep pets and small children under others’ supervision to help maintain your focus and avoid any accidents. 

FAQs

1. How often should you smudge?

As often as you feel the need to cleanse and purify yourself and your space! There is no set rule. 

2. Can we include others in the smudging ceremony? 

If you are smudging your home, you may certainly include family and friends. However, the people involved must set good intentions themselves. If you are smudging yourself, maybe not as this is a very personal process. 

3. How may I enhance the effects of smudging?

Take time to set clear intentions before you smudge. Have deep gratitude for the process and outcomes. Choosing days like new moon and full moon days, lunar eclipses, and so on are traditionally considered to further energize your ritual.

4. What do I do afterward?

We have an excellent question. Let the following moments carry on the positive energy spread by the sage smoke. Have a few minutes to yourself in quietude and say some prayers. Or, light some aromatic candles or play relaxing music. 

5. Is there any particular direction I should move while smudging?

Not necessarily, unless you have a particular affinity to move in a certain direction. However, some indigenous traditions prefer to move counter-clockwise when they are trying to cleanse. 

6. Should I say prayers or chant as I smudge?

By all means, if you feel so. Chants, prayers, and affirmations are all welcome. The main objective is to have continued focus on your intention.

Closing Thoughts

Smudging is a spiritual ceremony that has been deeply held sacred by the indigenous communities.

The smoke from burning medicinal plant materials is known for cleansing and purifying effects. No wonder, its popularity is ever soaring worldwide. 

When you are practicing smudging, it is only fair to wonder if the ritual worked, hopefully, this article helped smoothen your process. So, smudge the negative energies away, confidently!

Last Updated on February 11, 2024 by Gourvi Gupta