One of my fondest memories is of visiting a good friend in NE Iowa close to the Minnesota border. We spent the perfect summer day playing with kittens and enjoying the fire.
Every time her dad added a log to the fire he would let us know the type of tree it was from. He would talk about where he found the tree and why it became firewood. He was a master woodworker so there were also stories about the furniture he made from some of the trees.
The moment burns so bright in my mind. Each log had its own unique, sweet, magical aroma. Oak, Applewood and Maple are some I remember.
Smoke can be used to cleanse our indoor air and clear out stagnant energy, super helpful year round. Here is a study that shows how smoke removes pathogens from the air. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17913417/
Sage smudge sticks might be the best known smoke cleanser. White sage is only native to a small part of California and sacred to the Cahuilla, Chumash, Kumeyaay and Mauna tribes, who utilized it for medicinal purposes and ceremonial rituals. Considering smoke has been used throughout history all over the world for medicinal and cleansing purposes, we can consider using many different plants and explore what feels right in our own personal practices. No matter what your cultural background is, you can probably find information about what plants were significant in that culture’s history. Most of those practices world wide included burning loose herbs and resins as opposed to a bundle of sage. Bundled sage or “smudge sticks”are specific to those Native American indigenous rituals of California tribes.
I’m including lists for herbs and woods that are grown easily in Iowa and most of the United States and ways you can burn them in your space. If I’ve missed anything please leave it in the comments!
Aromatic Herbs:
Sage
Rosemary
Lavender
Mugwort
Thyme
Lemon Balm
Mint
Valerian
Comfrey
Rose
Thyme
Rosemary
Lavender
Mugwort
Chamomile
Garden Sage
Aromatic Woods:
Hard woods like Maple and Oak
Fruit woods like Apple
Evergreen conifer woods like Cedar
Juniper berries
Just be sure the wood your burning isn’t actually poison ivy or poison oak which are toxic when burned.
Aromatic Resins:
Some resins are produced through the bark of a tree, flowers of an herb or buds of a shrub. Some are produced when an injury occurs to a plant, acting as a bandage to a wound.
Resins can also be present on toxic woods so please take care.
Burning Methods
When burning bundled herbs, hold something like a bowl underneath to catch falling embers.
When burning loose herbs put salt in a bowl with the herbs on top and light with a match.
Burn loose herbs and resins on a charcoal disk.
Happy smoke cleansing!
M