Smudging is a fabulous way of sanctifying your home, clearing away negativity and bad energy, and blessing your space setting the tone for a harmonious environment. The following ritual described is based on the Native American smudging ritual which traditionally uses sage, cedar or sweetgrass; however, any number of herbs, resins and incenses can be used to smudge your home and environment.
Cedar is good for driving out negativity, sweetgrass is good for blessing, fumitory herb is good for blessing, camphor is good for purification, pine and copal resins are good particularly if someone is ill or illness in general (especially respiratory).
To smudge your home, business, or other environment, light whatever incense, herb, or resin you are using and start at the center of the home…that place which you consider is the heart of the home. Offer the incense to the seven sacred directions, East-West-North-South, then Father Sky and Mother Earth (5th and 6th directions) and then yourself (7th sacred direction). Then, go to each corner of each room and working clockwise and from the bottom up, asperge the area, the the center again top to bottom. Also smudge the windows and lastly the doorway as you leave the room and enter another. After all rooms are smudged in this manner, smudge each person and animal in the home. For a person start at the head and move downward to the feet and have the person stand with their arms to their sides palms outward, do the front and the back of the person. With animals just be sure to blow some of the smoke over them. The final thing is to go outside of the home and working in a clockwise direction smudge around the perimeter. While you are doing this process, you should be praying any prayer of your choice that is consistent with your need.
