Harvested from the coastal mountains of California, White Sage is sacred to many and has been used medicinally and for ceremonial purposes in ancient practices. Sage is used for purification, healing, calming, and is often burned as a smudge stick or in smudge pots to cleanse a space of any negative energies that may be present.

This power is said to be released from the plant by the burning of the leaves.

Apply flame to the sage stick until the smoke rises clearly, then wait until the flame dies down so it smolders, do not shake out the flame but let it subside naturally. Carry the stick in your dominate hand and move to the main door in the room (if there is more than one door, choose the one closest to you).

Trace around the door in a clockwise motion following the outline of the molding around the door. Then proceed around the room toward your right (clockwise), stopping at each window to trace around it, and each door to do the same. As you approach pieces of furniture, move the stick above and below them, keeping the shell or dish underneath the stick to catch any ash that might fall onto your furniture.

Make sure to open the windows to allow for negative energy to exit as you move throughout the home.

As you move around the room, you may state aloud that you wish the room cleared of negativity, that you wish peace and joy to enter, and visualize the smoke carrying out the negative energy from the windows of your home. Ask that you be cleansed and cleared of any attachments or energetic thought forms that no longer serve you, while you undertake this cleansing process.

Then extinguish your stick. Sage sticks can be saved for future use.

Grinding a stick out is the preferred method for extinguishing it, but sometimes it is difficult to put out a stick. Indications that your sage stick may still be burning are that you can still see a smoldering flame inside or that smoke is still rising from the smudge stick.

Alternatively, you can extinguish your stick by putting the burning end of the smudge stick into a cup of sand or salt. As a last resort, you could douse the burning end in water although this is considered inappropriate. It is best to extinguish your smudge stick using a compatible element like Earth.

As you proceed from room to room, the sage stick may not give off as much readable smoke as you move through the house. It is considered acceptable to relight the stick as you go. Sage sticks can be lit using a match, lighter, or candle.

When saging an entire house you can begin the ceremony at your altar. If you don’t have an altar, begin in the Kitchen (the power center of the house) or basement. Move through each room as described above and then move to the next room as you would naturally, following the wall to the door and then through the door and so on.

When you come to closets it is perfectly alright to just briefly wave the stick inside the closet, or you might end up with clothes that smell very much like sage. Bathrooms should be done carefully as they are both wealth and health centers of the house. Garages are optional, if you have an attached garage you can sage it as you go through the house.

Move through the house until you return to the room where you started. It is important that you end where you started even though it may mean moving through some rooms twice. Extinguish the stick in the room where you began.

Objects can be saged to clear the energy that may have been picked up either by someone touching that object or by virtue of where the object has been. If you buy a crystal in a store, the crystal most likely has the energy of that store. Saging brings the energy to a neutral state at which time you can put your own energy into it.

Objects that are usually saged are spiritual or ritual items. Tarot cards, Crystals, sacred objects, and statues are all considered spiritual items. It can also be a good idea to sage objects that are considered normal household items, which you wish to use as ‘ritual items’. This might include candles and candle holders, tables, mirrors, utensils, glasses and bowls.

To sage an object, pass the object through the smoke several times. Most objects are easily cleared. When you touch the object, it will feel like yours, it will feel light and familiar. However, objects received from negative people, or ones you have which remind of old, adversarial relationships may not clear easily, and when you touch the object your thoughts will still turn to that person or situation. In severe cases, negative energy enters the house and your life through a mental doorway created by that object. In this instance it is better to remove the item from your home.

A person may wish to be saged when they come into close contact with someone or something they believe is negative. A person who has witnessed a crime or an act of violence may want to be saged. In this vast world we live in, we can sometimes come into contact with people that we just don’t feel good about. It can be they are on a very different path than ourselves. People have a right to be on whatever path they choose, and you have the right to not agree with that path, and to cleanse your auric field after contact with them.

To sage a person, light the stick and, holding it about 6 inches away from the body, start at the back of their head and wave the stick back and forth as you move slowly down the back of their body. Do not hold the stick over their head. As you move the stick down, they may feel a tingly sensation or a quick shiver. This cleanses the auric field. Move to the front and start saging about six inches from the top of the forehead and move down the body again. Have them hold each arm out horizontally and move the stick under each arm and out to their fingertips. Then hold the sage stick behind them once again about midway up their back and still 6 inches away from them. If the smoke rises up, they are clear. If it does not, repeat the process a second time.

You would sage yourself for any of the same reasons that you would do it to another person. Light the stick and, keeping it well away from your body, move the stick in small circles in front of you. Begin at your head and move down the front of your body. Extend each arm and move the stick under the arm slowly, letting the smoke rise up and touch your arm. To do your back, move the stick so smoke is rising in front of you and then step through the smoke. Now, by intention, you are clearing the energy behind you. Step through the smoke several times to completely clear your back.

Saging is the act of clearing and releasing negative energy. It is best done when the Moon is new, full, or in between new + full moons (aka waning).

It is a good idea to sage before you settle into a new space. It is also appropriate to sage spiritual objects that you bring into your home such as crystals, wands, statues or pictures.

Depending on how often you use your crystals, you should apply a cleansing ritual that feels best to you. Crystals work best if charged once a month, or during new + full moons.

Saging can also be done in the Spring as part of the re-opening of the home to the world. After the Spring cleaning when the windows again are open to the warm breezes, a good house sage session can clear the home for new energy.