There’s an innate connection within us that links smoke with spirituality. In Native American tradition, smoke is viewed as connecting with higher realms, inviting good spirits, and dispelling negative or stagnant ones. One of the most commonly used smoke-purification rituals by northern tribes is smudging. This practice, or some variation of it, is embraced by nearly every native culture in the western hemisphere that we’ve encountered.

When we witness a similar method used by different tribes across continents, it suggests that it holds tangible physical and spiritual benefits.

The burning of herbs is a common practice in North American traditions. Sometimes, only one specific herb is burned, while other times, a carefully prepared mixture of up to 30 different plants is created. These mixtures are chosen for specific outcomes or to treat a particular illness.

Some of the most common herbs used for smudging in North American traditions are white sage, sweet grass, tobacco, and cedar. Unsurprisingly, these are also four of the most sacred plants in this part of the world.

Here are the steps for performing a smudging practice with loose herbs, along with a Native prayer:

A word to the wise: holding pure and focused intention while you perform smudging is essential. Before you begin any purification ritual like this, ensure you are fully present.

1) You will need a clay bowl or abalone shell, a few leaves of your dried herb(or a blend), a flame, and an open hand or feather.

2) Gently separate any stems or buds from the leaves of your dried herbs (only the leaves or blades are used in this process). Then, place the leaves into your smudging vessel, a clay bowl or sea shell.

3) If you are inside, open the windows in your space, allowing air to flow in.

4) Using a match or lighter, ignite the herbs and let them flame for 20 to 30 seconds before sweeping your hand above them to extinguish any fire. (I’ve been taught that using the breath to blow out the fire is improper.) Tendrils of smoke should be steadily rising from the smoldering herbs now.

5) Smudging oneself before moving on to others and the surrounding space is customary. Using a cupped hand, draw the smoke around you. Starting from the top, bring the smoke over and around your head, down your torso, and to your feet. Make sure to pay attention to your breathing while doing this. Slow and relaxed.

6) Once you are finished with yourself, use your feather or hand to waft the smoke gently into the corners of the room and over any plants or pieces of furniture. My friend Santiago once advised that we must be present with the smoke and carefully watch how it behaves and flows around specific people and objects. When fully aware, we’ll notice that it moves differently as it touches certain things. There is information there.

7) Once you have finished smudging, tradition tells us that the ashes of the spent herb should be brought outside and returned to the soil. Call it superstition if you’d like, but many tribes believe the charred residue carries its energy and must be returned to the earth.

A Native Prayer you may want to use while smudging:

Creator, Great Mystery
Source of all-knowing and comfort,
Cleanse this space of all negativity.
Open our pathways to peace and understanding.
Love and light fill each of us and our sacred space.
Our work here shall be beautiful and meaningful.
Banish all energies that would mean us harm.
Our eternal gratitude.

– The Medicine Wheel Garden, E. Barrie Kavasch