Folk Craft - Smudge Sticks

Smudge Sticks

Most of us are familiar with smudge sticks, and you may even burn them in your own home rituals. While the most accessible smudge sticks often come from Native American traditions and are made from white sage, they can be crafted from a variety of other fragrant and magical herbs. When burned, smudge sticks cleanse and protect spaces, dispelling negative energies and inviting the positive spirits of the plants.

In Celtic tradition, this blessing or cleansing ritual is known as 'saining,' performed with either water or smoke, often accompanied by spoken or sung poetry and prayers. Smudge sticks would be made from our native wild plants such as mugwort, meadowsweet, verbena, lavender, and rosemary, which are their most potent at this time.

To craft your own smudge sticks, follow these simple steps:

• Gather your chosen herbs and hang them to dry for 24 hours in a warm, dry place, such as an airing cupboard, above an AGA, or outside on a sunny day.

• Arrange them into tight bundles, approximately 5 cm in diameter, forming a posy.

• Use embroidery thread or garden twine to secure the stems at one end, wrapping it a few times before tying off with a tight knot.

• You can secure the other end and the middle in the same way, or alternatively, wind the thread around the bundle in a spiral pattern to the top, then spiral back down to create a criss-cross pattern.

• Hang the bundles in a sunny window to dry for a few weeks until they are fully dried and ready to burn.