Smudging Another Person: Smudge them as if you were smudging yourself, fanning the smoke swirls all over their body. It is appropriate to smudge guests as they enter the space at a ritual, ceremony or special event. If you are smudging a group, smudge yourself first. Offer smoke to the seven cardinal directions (east, south, west, north and up, down and center). Most people don’t realize it, but you can eat white sage as you would common sage. Medicinal Qualities White sage grows naturally in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico and is particularly found along the coast of Southern California and in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. Though not the only sage native to North America, white sage is by far the one most frequently used and sold by the wellness industry. It’s also a sacred herb to several Indigenous communities, including the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Navajo. The Chumash people, for instance, who are native to central and southern coastal regions of California, use white sage in healing sessions to purify the central nervous system. When it’s not in bloom, the sun-loving shrub can reach three to four feet in height. While in bloom during spring and summer, it can grow up to 10 feet tall with a spread of up to six feet.

Now, of course, all of these people in their many and varied locations throughout the state usually just call it white sage, or sometimes California white sage. Keep in mind: Burning sage is a sacred religious practice in some Native American cultures. Treat the ritual with respect. Also, keep in mind that white prairie sage is endangered, so be sure to only buy yours from an ethical source. When you first work with any plant for sacred reasons, it's important to say a blessing and introduce yourself to the plant. Salvia apiana, the Californian white sage, bee sage, or sacred sage is an evergreen perennial shrub that is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, found mainly in the coastal sage scrub habitat of Southern California and Baja California, on the western edges of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. [1] Description [ edit ]

Smith Dispatch Helmet

If you have less-than-ideal conditions, you’ll want to do something similar. Or you can plan on bringing your plant indoors during the winter. Growing Zones If you’re looking to create a chaparral or coastal sage scrub garden, consider using S. apiana as your staple plant. Plus, it’s a must-have for birding enthusiasts who want to create a wildlife habitat garden. The leaves were used as a spice in cooking, but also offered medicinal value both as a poultice or a tincture as well. Roots were also used medicinally, and were believed to help strengthen women recovering from childbirth. There are a variety of sages including pineapple sage, blue sage, and scarlet sage. There’s even a variety called Death Valley Sage ( Salvia funereal). These shrubs are often kept in the medicinal plant section of a nursery that doesn’t specialize in native plants, due to their medicinal properties.

For the first year after you’ve started a new sage plant or transplanted a young plant in, water it once per week. You do not need more than 1/2″ to 1″ of water per week. Gradually reduce the watering over time as the plant’s root system becomes established. Begin by filling small pots or a seed tray with well-draining seed-starting soil. Place your seeds on top of the soil, gently cover, and pat them in. A: White sage leaves and stems turn red, purple, or mauve as a result of drought stress. This actually is not a problem for the plant, as it will continue to survive even if the lower leaves and stems are starting to redden. It can actually be quite beautiful! Be sure that when you are harvesting your sage, you select a day when it has not been raining, and that you harvest at mid-day or in the early afternoon when all morning dew has already evaporated. This ensures that your leaves will be dry at the time of harvest, reducing the likelihood of mildew forming on them later. A sense of joy and accomplishment comes with cultivating a plant from a seedling to a fully mature shrub.After 4-6 weeks, gently tug on the cutting to see if there’s any resistance. If there is, it has formed roots. Remove rooted plants from the heating mat, as the warmth is no longer required. Keep your plants in partial shade for a few more weeks, then carefully transplant them into a pot of well-draining, sandy garden soil or cactus blend. White Sage ( Salvia apiana) is a plant native to high desert ecosystems and grows prevalently in California and in the Mountain West.

The past few years have certainly left many folks with the desire to rid their homes of negative energy. Smudging, also known as saging, has become a trendy wellness practice that folks use to cleanse their spaces — be it a bedroom, an entire home, or even a car. But if you tend to poke around smoke cleansing social media circles, you've probably heard people ask (and might be wondering yourself): Is burning sage and smudging cultural appropriation? Set an Intention. Using the smoke of the White Sage to cleanse and protect, set the intention for what you'd like to see released with the Sage.Tribal people would harvest the seeds of the white sage by cutting off the dried seed pods and putting them into a pottery container, then tightly closing or covering the top. They would then shake the pot to cause the seeds to break free of their pods. Once this was done, they could pour the seed and pod mixture onto a piece of cloth or leather, remove larger bits of pod, and lightly blow the chaff away. To prevent this from happening, it’s essential to take preventive measures. When watering the plant, ensure water doesn’t get on the crown. Sage tea is often drunk in conjunction with other therapies to soothe joint pain, colds, sprains, and kidney and liver troubles. Start seeds inside about eight weeks before the last frost. Plant them about 1/4 inch deep in a light seedling mixture. Put two or three seeds in each pot.

It's in those quiet moments of reconnection that we believe lies the power to live a calm and more mindful life. One where your days are filled with more harmony than hustle and where making time for yourself becomes a natural part of your day. Together with our mindfully created collection of natural aromatherapy products, we want to help you to rediscover those moments of pause in your day. Traditionally, white sage leaves were chewed by Californian tribes to freshen the breath and to stave off thirst on hot days before other modern methods were available. This might have been due to the high eucalyptol content in the leaves, which leaves a refreshing, almost minty coolness in the mouth after chewing.If you plan to sow your seeds in pots or trays, you can start them outdoors in fall or spring in full sun. We begin a smudging ceremony by expressing our intention for the ritual and sharing our gratitude to white sage for helping us on our journey. Consider growing white sage in an area of the garden where it will not encroach on other plants. Or you can plant it in a raised bed or a pot sunk into the ground. Remove the bottom from the pot so that the taproot can get to the subsoil.