Good Afternoon,
I wanted to send you an additional discussion this week, as I have been asked may times lately about clearing with sage.
Fist and foremost, one needs to use the proper sage. Not every sage will cleanse an area of stagnant or negative energies. The picture above is of desert sage also known as sage brush. This is the sage reputed to have energy clearing properties and should be used to smudge a home or business, even people can be smudged.
My research over the years has led me to many places, the places of magickal origins, rather than just the say so of this person or that. For even the most sincere individual can perpetrate misinformation if they do not check out the origins first. My research led me to understand that desert sage is the sage of legend that will remove and clear out harmful, negative energies. This comes from the Native American tradition of burning the prairies and after scorching them, new growth, flowers and plants would grow and bloom.
But, back in the early 1970's a book was written in which the author mentioned the clearing qualities of sage and he referred to it as 'white sage'. Unfortunately, he did not go into detail and many people, especially on the East coast, mistook what he said and thought it referred to the white garden sage or clary sage we grown in New England. That was not what he was talking about.
So, over time, many, many people started to grow garden sage and bundle it up and sell it. It is very inexpensive and makes a person a good profit, if only it worked that way. Burning clary sage can be used for love spells and to communicate with spirits that have passed over, but it does not clear an area of negative, unwanted energy. Many who have tried this, using the simple garden sage have been disappointed and have felt it was just a hoax. It is not. One simply must use the right ingredients.
This next photo is a picture of desert sage bundles. Look at them closely:
You will see they have thin, needle like strands. Next is a picture of a bundle of garden or clary sage:
You see how this bundle has wide leaves? This is a bundle made from common garden sage or clary sage. It will not work at clearing an area. The plant this sage comes from looks like this:
A completely different plant from sage brush or desert sage. It has it's uses, to be sure. It simply does not work as those who sell it and perpetrate the myth wants you to believe it does. It is important to know your supplies, ingredients and tools when working in the magickal realm. This is also why I caution my students against getting too much information from unproven, unreliable websites. You can get good information from reliable sources online, you simply need to do research before buying into everything you read.
Also, in addition, the price of the garden sage bundles and the desert sage bundles vary greatly, with the desert sage being more pricey. This is because it does not grow in this part of the country and it needs to be harvested at the right time of the year. Common garden sage can be grown indoors or out and is cheap and available year round. But that doesn't make it work! There is a financial obligation to working your magick and if you try to scrimp and always buy the cheapest, your magick will come out that way also. There is no reason to go broke practicing magick, but realize some supplies and ingredients cost more because of their rarity or the method in how they are developed.
Essential oils are a good example. You can find aromatherapy, blended oils online, cheap, cheap. But that doesn't make them essential and they will not work the same. And no, you cannot manufacture your own essential oils. Simply because you need a distillery to do so, and in many cases hundreds of pounds of flower petals to make a significant amount of oil. Our houses are not big enough for this process. So it may indeed cost from $10 to $20 for a dram or two of essential oil, but the good news is, it never goes bad or rancid and you normally need only a few drops for a spell or potion. I hope this discussion clear up some misconceptions concerning using sage to smudge and cleanse.
Peace and Happiness!
© 2010-2016 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.
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