Top Herbs and Resins for Smudging
Here's our guide to the top herbs and resins used in smudging. There are many wonderful herbs and resins out there but this is our pick-list of the ones found to be the most popular and powerful to use in sacred ceremony and smudging.
•White Sage- *saliva apiana*
A perennial plant with silvery whitish leaves that produce antimicrobial oils along with other medicinal constituents. It is considered one of the most powerful sacred smudging herbs in Native American cultures.
Scent: strong, pungent, lemony, and herbaceous.
Uses: spiritual cleansing, protection, and healing. It is highly purifying and fortifying.
Elemental association: Air
Planetary correspondence: Jupiter
Zodiac sign: Sagittarius
Gender aspect: Masculine
It can be purchased in wrapped bundles (also known as sticks or wands) or loose-leaf form.
•Desert sage- *artemisia tridentata* or *artemisia californica*
A silvery-grey evergreen shrub with many medicinal constituents. It's known to be anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.
Scent: camphorous and herbaceous. Considered the less pungent version of white sage.
Uses: spiritual cleansing, protection, and healing. It is also used for wealth and wisdom. Traditionally used in Native American cultures.
Elemental association: Air/ water
Planetary correspondence: Mercury/moon
Zodiac sign: Gemini/ cancer
Gender aspect: Feminine
It can be purchased in wrapped bundles or loose-leaf form.
•Cedar- *Cedrus spp*
Ancient evergreen conifer trees. Very prized, high-quality wood for woodworking. Regarded as one of the oldest living beings on Earth. Considered to be a sacred tree and a very powerful smudging plant.
Scent: clean, fresh and woodsy.
Uses: spiritual cleansing, healing, longevity, strong protection, and ancient wisdom. Traditionally used in Native American cultures. Norse cultures considered cedar the grandmother tree of life.
Elemental Association: Fire/ Earth
Planetary correspondence: Sun
Zodiac sign: Leo
Gender aspect: Masculine
It can be purchased in wrapped bundles of leaves and wood chunks, chips or shavings.
•Sweetgrass- "Holy grass" or "vanilla grass" *Hierochole odorata*
A long growing wild grass that produces a sweet attractive aroma.
Scent- sweet, pleasant, hay, vanilla.
Uses- spiritual cleansing, protection, harmony. Typically used after a clearing smudge to invite blessings, benevolent beings, to help friendship grow, and to encourage sweetness of life in all forms. Traditionally used in Native American cultures and is especially sacred to the Plains tribes.
Elemental Association: Water
Planetary correspondence: Moon/Venus
Zodiac sign: Libra
Gender aspect: Feminine
It can be purchased in wrapped bundles or long braids.
•Yerba Santa- "Holy herb" *Eriodictyon glutinosum* A perennial aromatic shrub. Known for its many medicinal properties.
Scent- sweet, pleasant.
Uses- spiritual cleansing, protection, healing, honoring ancestors and for enhancing psychic abilities.
Traditionally used by Spanish Monks and Native American cultures.
Elemental association: Air
Planetary correspondence: Mercury
Zodiac sign: Gemini
Gender aspect: Feminine
It can be purchased in wrapped bundles or loose-leaf form.
•Palo Santo- "Holy wood"- *Bursera graveolens*
The wood of a sweet-scented tropical tree that only grows in Ecuador, Peru and the Galapagos Islands. It is a very prized and sacred wood due to its rarity. It also contains many medicinal constituents.
Scent- smooth, woodsy, sweet and spicy.
Uses- spiritual cleansing and protection. It is also uplifting, calming and balancing.
Its use dates back to the Incas and is traditionally used in South American cultures and Catholic ceremonies.
Elemental association: Air
Planetary correspondence: Mercury
Zodiac sign: Gemini
Gender aspect: Masculine
It can be purchased in various sized sticks, cones, or loose chips.
•Rosemary- *Rosmarinus officinalus*
A woody evergreen perennial shrub. Generally recognized as a popular culinary herb.
Scent- strong, fresh, woodsy.
Uses- spiritual cleansing, protection, and healing. It is used for mental clarity and to enhance memory, thus helping in past life recall and dream -work. It also can be used for success. Considered to be a powerful cleansing herb since Old World times.
Elemental association: Fire
Planetary correspondence: Sun
Zodiac sign: Aries
Gender aspect: Masculine.
It can be purchased in wrapped herb bundles or loose dried leaves.
•Lavender- *Lavandula officinale*
A herbaceous perennial with bright purple spiking flower tops. Typically known as a popular cosmetics and culinary herb. It has a long reputation for being utilized therapeutically having many medicinal constituents.
Scent- strong, floral, sweet.
Uses- spiritual cleansing, protection, and healing. It can be used alone as a blessing herb or in a blend to bring in energies of peace, love clarity, insight, and sleep. Great for dream-work of any kind.
Elemental association: Air
Planetary correspondence: Mercury
Zodiac sign: Virgo
Gender aspect: Masculine
It can be purchased as flower tops wrapped in bundles or loose dried flower buds.
•Rose- *Rosa spp*
Flowering perennial shrub or vine. A very recognizable classic blooming flower beloved by many. Flowers come in a variety of colors.
Scent- light, sweet, floral.
Uses: Usually as a companion ingredient in herbal blends to bring blessings of love, romance, good luck, friendship, and healing. It enhances magical workings of every kind. It also is used in attracting fairies. Red rose petals traditionally represent passionate love, pink for romantic love, yellow for friendship and white for healing and purity.
Roses have been traditionally associated with the Greek Goddess of Love, Aphrodite.
Elemental Association: Water
Planetary correspondence: Venus
Zodiac sign: Taurus
Gender aspect: feminine
It can be purchased as loose dried petals.
•Mugwort- *Artemisia vulgaris*
A perennial leafy herb. Used since Old World times for its many medicinal properties. It has anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties.
Scent- strong, pungent, herbaceous.
Uses: spiritual cleansing and protection, divination, lucid dreaming, opening psychic abilities and altered states. Typically used for dream-work especially before sleep. Traditionally used in Asian cultures.
Elemental association: Air
Planetary correspondence: Venus
Zodiac sign: Libra
Gender aspect: feminine
It can be purchased in wrapped bundles or loose-leaf form.
Top Resins:
Resins are the dried sap from trees that look like crystallized rocks. They are potent little pieces of the plant essence. Resins have been used medicinally and for smudging for centuries.
•Frankincense- *Boswellia carterii*
Comes from the hardy trees of the genus *Boswellia*. There are five specific species that true frankincense resin is extracted from. These make up the five quality grades. A very ancient, classic and popular resin. The resin has a long history of reputed potent medicinal qualities. Along with Myrrh, frankincense was known as the king's resins. It was valued as much as Gold!
Scent: woodsy, earthy, spicy and fruity.
Uses: Purification, healing, meditation, spiritual growth and wisdom.
Brings positive vibrations and cleanses negativity. Traditionally used in Catholic churches.
Elemental Association: Fire
Planetary correspondence: Sun
Zodiac sign: Leo
Gender aspect: Masculine
•Myrrh- *Commiphora myrrha*
Comes from the small thorny and flowering shrub of the genus *Commiphora*
A very ancient and popular resin. Just like Frankincense, Myrrh has a long history of reputed potent medicinal qualities. The two together have been used since the times before Jesus. Myrrh is the main base ingredient in the sacred anointing oil spoke about in the Bible.
Scent: Spicy, warm, rich and earthy.
Uses: Cleansing, protection, meditation. Also used for wisdom, healing, peace, and relaxation. Combined with other herbs or incense to increase potency. Traditionally combined with Frankincense.
Elemental Association: Earth
Planetary correspondence: Saturn/Moon
Zodiac sign: Capricorn/ Aquarius
Gender aspect: Feminine
•Copal- Comes from the copal tree *Protium copal* also *Shorea javanica*
Scent: Earthy, sweet and spicy.
Uses: Spiritual cleansing, purification, healing, and grounding.
It is available as different grades in black, golden or white copal. Black is a heavier earthy scent. Golden is the sweetest scented. White is sweet but very light and clean scented. Traditionally used in South American cultures dating back to Aztec and Mayan civilizations. Also used in many Native American cultures. Black copal is still commonly used in Dia de Los Muertos ceremonies.
Elemental Association: Fire
Planetary correspondence: Sun
Zodiac sign: Aries/Leo/Sagittarius
Gender aspect: Masculine
•Amber- A composite mix of various resins and plant ingredients that are prized secret family recipes from India and the Middle East. The blend typically uses benzoin and vanilla as the base. It is Not the same amber that is considered a gem from fossilized tree resin. This luxurious resin can come in honey amber, dark amber, or Egyptian amber. Traditionally referred to as "Ambrosia" because of its divine aroma.
Scent: sweet, spicy, rich and euphoric.
Uses: Healing, meditation, emotional balance, love. Also used as an aphrodisiac. Used combined with other herbs and resins to bring sweetness and harmony.
Elemental Association: Water
Planetary correspondence: Venus
Zodiac sign: Taurus
Gender aspect: Feminine
•Dragon's blood- *Daemonorops Draco* or *Dracaena draco*
A resin from the rattan palm tree. It is a dark red resin hence the name dragon's blood. Traditionally used for its medicinal qualities and as a natural ink, varnish, and dye.
Scent: Sweet, Spicy and Earthy.
Uses: Protection, energy, purification, exorcism, love, good luck. Used combined with other herbs and resins to increase potency. Thought to be a more powerful resin to choose for banishing, cleansing, and protection.
Elemental Association:Fire
Planetary correspondence: Mars
Zodiac: Aries
Gender aspect: Masculine
If you are new to creating sacred space with smudging and would like to know more about it, you can check out the blog that explains it all, Clearing Space - What is smudging and how to do it.
Happy Smudging!