Why Sage Cleansing is Controversial
White Sage & Juniper smudging tools by White Magick Alchemy
When I started exploring my spirituality and learning new practices, smoke smudging was one that I was immediately drawn to. I am the type of person to find immense peace and satisfaction from deep-cleaning my room after weeks of mess and inaction, so I fell in love with the ritual. For those unfamiliar, smudging is a cleansing ceremony believed to help purify a place or soul. Traditionally, it comprises of four elements:
A container representing water (often a shell)
Four sacred plants, representing the earth (cedar, sage, sweetgrass, tobacco)
Flames representing fire
Smoke representing air
The cleansing power of smoke smudging, which centres on the burning of herbs and the spreading of the smoke around a place or person, lies in the ashes. These are believed to absorb all negative energy while the smoke clears the space.
Smudging is a beautiful, calm, and meditative activity, and one that I take great pleasure in to this day. When I searched ‘smudging for beginners,’ I was bombarded with adverts and retailers offering ‘smudge packs,’ and, not knowing that there was much more to learn about the topic, I went ahead and bought a pack of White Sage smudging sticks from an online retailer. I’ve always been someone who loves to share and discuss spirituality, so after a few weeks of working smudging into my weekly routine, I decided to post about it on my Instagram. Within minutes, I already had a message from someone telling me that I ‘shouldn’t’ use White Sage as a smudging tool. I asked them to elaborate, and as they did, more replies came. Most people linked me to articles, with some taking the time to explain it themselves. Everyone was very informative, and I went back to my story to explain to my followers what I’d just learnt.
In hindsight, it’s a positive experience, and I’m grateful that the people who reached out to me did so in a calm and informative way, but I find myself embarrassed that anyone even had to tell me to do my research. Before taking up any activity, it’s important to read and educate yourself about it, let alone when that activity is tied directly to religion and spirituality. It was short-sighted and ignorant of me, and I know that in the years since, I have become a lot better at looking past the glossy cover of trends to understand the origins and, in this case, the tragedy behind it. So, here are the reasons why White Sage smudging should be almost entirely avoided.
To put it simply, it hasn’t even been fifty years since an Indigenous person living in America could be arrested for smoke smudging. Native religious practices were illegal in the United States until 1978, and it was not uncommon for people to go to jail, or lose their lives, simply for performing the religious rituals that long predated the colonisation of the States. It goes without saying that this is yet another example of a native culture being oppressed by white colonisers. Once you’re aware of it, it becomes a lot easier to understand why contemporary Native people might not feel great seeing Urban Outfitters sell White Sage smudge kits online (though this product seems to have now been removed from their store).
Furthermore, White Sage is being over-harvested from the places it naturally grows. The majority of White Sage, which is sold commercially, is harvested from North America. The Native communities who use the plant for religious practices are no longer able to access White Sage because of its rising popularity in popular culture. As ‘being’ spiritual becomes trendier and trendier, more money can be made off of things like ‘Beginner Witch kits’ and ‘Starter Smudging sets.’ Instead of children being taught by their parents and grandparents how to care for and harvest White Sage responsibly, the roots of the plant are being pulled out of the ground by people wanting to sell it on for huge profit, leaving the usual fields of White Sage completely barren and stripped of any future growth. Furthermore, the trade of Sage is not regulated, so illegally harvested and smuggled Sage can end up all over the world, while the people selling it don’t even know where it truly came from.
This obviously creates huge environmental issues, as ecosystems are disrupted and destroyed, as well as being another form of cultural appropriation. Still, this commercialisation of White Sage actually goes against the entire spirit of smudging anyway. Among the native community, the White Sage plants are treated with respect and positive energy so that no negative energy is being absorbed by the plant and released during the burning of it. It is also believed that Sage inherits some of the energy of every person who handles it, so Sage that is being sold by huge companies will have many different hands touching and interfering with it before it even gets to the customer.
So: what can be done to combat these complex issues around White Sage? There are many other options when it comes to smudging- some don’t even involve burning anything!
The most obvious answer is to grow it yourself! Unfortunately, I have looked into it and don’t think I’ll be able to, as White Sage is a desert plant, and I live in the rainy English countryside. However, the benefits to this are amazing, as you can smudge with a plant that you have tended to and grown with your own hands, meaning you are using the purest herbs in your smudging ritual.
Incense is a mess-free and easy alternative to White Sage. The many different incense varieties mean you can choose based on your personal preference, which adds another level of intimacy to the practice. Incense is also designed to create a lot of smoke, so it is the perfect tool for waving around your bedroom after a particularly stressful day.
Herbs like rosemary, lavender, and cinnamon are also great for burning. Not only do they smell great, but they each have their own benefits and properties. For example, smudging with lavender would be a great choice to relieve anxiety and stress, while cinnamon is inspiring and motivating. At the moment, popping to a farmer’s market isn’t always possible, but I guarantee you’ll feel much better while smudging if you know that the herbs you’re using have come from an independent farm rather than a huge corporation!
Candles can also be an amazing alternative for smoke smudging. Not only are they un-intimidating and cheap, but you probably have a candle in your house already! The same principle applies: the candle’s light and the flame is the energy that clears the negative spirits, while the melting wax acts as an absorbent for them. Obviously, it goes without saying that carrying an open flame through your house needs to be done with great care!
Going further into the realm of non-smoke smudging tools, salt lamps are hugely popular for their cleansing properties! Rather than being moved around the different room areas, a salt lamp can be switched on to encourage positive energy and bring calming energy. These are also very popular at the moment, so I encourage you to shop small wherever possible.
The final alternative I have found is the only one I haven’t yet tried- sound cleansing. This works on the principle of using vibrations and sounds to clear negative energies from your body and your room. Sound cleansing can be done with a traditional singing bowl or other instruments, but there are also many online resources and videos of sound baths for particular uses.
In conclusion, there are many, many options available for anyone who has been using Sage and would like to be more sustainable and ethical in their spiritual practices! If you end up growing your own Sage, make sure to channel even more love and hope into the soil from the entire Unpublished Zine team!