March is the perfect month for Cleansing the inner and outer temple! I’m excited to share my favorite cleansing ritual: Smudge Ceremony.
Now is the time to begin our transition from the darkness of winter to the light of spring. We will celebrate daylight savings time this Sunday March, 8th, the Full Moon on Monday March 9th.
And the Spring Equinox on March 19th, the sacred juncture of the year where we celebrate the halfway point between darkness and light. It’s such a beautiful time to be alive, to experience the days growing longer and the sun shining warmer.
Just as the dormant buds are preparing to bloom, so is the inner connection to abundance and bliss.
The Equinox is the perfect time to cleanse or nourish your body with simple foods, to clean and purify your home with love and attention and to invoke ritual and practice to honor the radiant light in all of her inner and outer forms
Spring is coming; she will carry you on her back from that place of darkness to light. Each time we move through this cycle, we grow closer to our spiritual awakening. Trust in the process. Allow it to unfold and be present in each and every moment.
I’d like to share with you one of my favorite Spring Cleaning rituals:
Create a Smudging Ceremony
When should you smudge?
Well you can do it almost anytime I like to do it every morning as part of my morning practice.
It’s great to do it at times of change. When things are shifting and when you need a new perspective.
It’s also powerful to do the ceremony when you are ready to release and let go of negative energy.
Traditionally it’s done at the junctures of the new and full moon as well as Solstice and Equinox periods.
I like to work with Sage Bundles, Palo Santo Wood and Copal Resin in my daily ceremony.
These sacred items have been used in the native tradition to cleanse and to clear energy since ancient times.
Sage is a wild herb that offers clarity, vision, strength and wisdom.
Sage is used traditionally in Native North American, First Nations and Indigenous cultures to represent the life force and heal the maternal lineage of women.
Palo Santo is a mystical tree that grows on the coast of South America and it means “Holy Wood” in Spanish. Its scent is known to raise the vibration in preparation for meditation and creative endeavors and ceremony.
Copal is a natural tree resin and comes from the Buresa tree family in Southern Mexico. Since ancient times, Copal incense has been considered sacred to the Mayan and Aztec people. Using copal to smudge before meditation and ceremony can assist in strengthening peace of mind while removing energy blockages from the body.
You will need:
1. A bundle of Sage –
Or
2. Palo Santo Sticks
Or
3. Copal Resin
3. Small clay or abalone bowl.
4. Wooden matches
5 Feather or your hand to wave smoke
- Before you begin if you are inside be sure to open a window.
To begin your ceremony:
1. Sit at your altar in a comfortable seat. Take some deep breaths and settle into your body connecting to the earth below.
2. Start to develop an intention for your ceremony. What do you wish to cleanse or purge from yourself and your sacred space? What do you want to bring in ?
You can write your intention in your journal or just contemplate it in your mind.
If you want to keep it general you can just focus on releasing negative energy and stagnation and opening to clearing light energy.
3. Begin by placing the sage, copal or Palo Santo in the smudging bowl.
4. Light the herbs, wood, resin with the wooden matches for 20 seconds or until it catches fire.
5. Ask the herbs for permission to cleanse yourself and your space.
6. Wave the feather or your hand until the flame goes out and smoke swirls.
Sometimes you need to blow on the fire to get it to catch.
7. Take the time to witness the smoke purifying and rising, allow the smell of the herbs and incense to bring you into a place of pure presence.
8. As you call forth your prayers, visions, or intentions stay curious, open and full of heart as you engage in your smudging ceremony.
9. Smudge yourself first. Waving the smoke over your face with eyes closed, over your heart and limbs, over the crown and under your feet.
10. Then smudge your altar.
11. Re-ignite your herbs if they go out and begin smudging your space.
Walk through your space and wave the smoke into every corner of each room. Envision the space being purified as fresh clear energy moves in.
- Again, make sure there is an open window in each room for the negative energy and the smoke to escape.
12.. Once you are finished take the ashes from the herbs and empty them back to the earth.
13. If you would like you can say a prayer or a mantra while you smudge.
You can make up your own or use a simple traditional prayer such as:
I clear all negative energy from my sacred space. I open to infinite possibility and love. I seal this home in love and light.
14, Once you have completed the smudging sit down at your altar take a big breath in and a big breath out . Thank the herbs for clearing your space.
Sit back and enjoy your new bright energy in your home and smile !
I hope you enjoy your smudging ceremony as much as I do !
With pure love,
Lauren
