I performed a shamanic smudging ceremony in my house tonight, in preparation for the full moon. Tonights/tomorrow’s full moon is in scorpio which brings the souls darker elements to the surface to be faced, transmuted or released. Primal feelings, taboo subjects and suppressed emotions may come to the surface, by releasing them we can transform and become empowered. This can help us to relate to others more easily. Although the work has to be done internally, there are some external sources that can help us through this process, such as smudging.
Smoke has always been used as a tool in ceremonies by Shamans and Native Americans for cleansing and purifying. It’s a great way to clear out negative energies and by burning certain herbs we can negatively ionize our air with the smoke. In this instance I’m going to talk about using smoke from a smudging stick.
Negative Ionization.
When an atom or molecule has an equal number of protons and electrons, it is balanced or neutral. If an electron is lost the atom becomes positively charged. If an electron is gained, it becomes negatively charged.
Molecules that are negatively charged are very good for the environment. They are the ions that we find more of in sparsely populated areas, out in nature. This is one of the reasons why being out in nature can act as an antidepressant and lift the mood, why walking through a forest can be so refreshing and uplifting. Because there are so many negative ions in the air.
As you can probably gather from this, in overpopulated areas such as cities where there are fewer negative ions and possibly more positive ions, this can contribute to a more negative feeling and a depressive mood.
With smudging we are clearing away the positive ions (that affect us negatively and depress our mood). By smudging we actually change the ions from positive to negative. So we are literally changing the energy of the air around us from energy that depresses us or can hold negative vibrations or feelings, into air that makes us feel refreshed, positive, uplifting and can actually act as a scientifically proven antidepressant.
Might I also add that allergens are held in air that contains lots of positive ions. So by smudging and changing the air we can clear away allergens from our homes. So this is especially good for anybody who gets very congested or suffers with sinus problems like me.
Preparation.
To smudge your house all you need is a smudging stick, a bowl for the embers to drop into and a lighter. You can buy smudging sticks online or in most holistic/health store and they are made of dried herbs, usually sage or cedar. I personally would recommend a stick made from white sage & lavender combined.
It isn’t necessary to have any music on whilst smudging however i always like to play solfeggio frequencies especially designed and tuned to expel negative energies, cleanse and heal. Frequencies best suited to this kind of work are between 417hz & 528hz.
Smudging.
Begin by closing all of the windows in the house. Light the end of your smudging stick and hold it upside down to let the flames go through and catch inside before gently blowing it out so it is just left smoking. Make sure you hold your smudging stick over a bowl or plate at all times as hot embers will fall off. Start from the back of the house and work your way forward so that you end up near the front door last. I like to do this downstairs first of all and then upstairs next, however either way is fine.
Start by going into the corner of the room and holding the smudging stick up towards the corner and gently wafting it if necessary, let the smoke fill up that corner/area of the room. Slowly walk around the room in a clockwise direction letting the smoke fill up the corners, let it drift over anything you pass or anything that you want to be cleansed. It is always good to visualise the negative energy being burned away or consumed by the smoke and to set intentions and a clear purpose for this cleanse. For example whilst smudging you can be thinking in your head i want to expel any negative or unwanted energies and vibrations, i want to raise the vibration of this home, i want to cleanse this space, i want to get rid of anything that does not serve the people who live here.
After going around the full room and in all of the corners you need to seal it. If there are any vents or windows in the room go around them in a clockwise direction with the smudging stick and set an intention by just saying in your head as you do it that you want to seal the window/vent to stop any negative energies or vibrations from entering. Leave the doorway leading out of the room until last. Before leaving the room go around the door on the inside using the same intention to seal it from negative energies entering. Make sure when you leave the room you close the door behind you and then seal the door again from the outside.
Continue with this full process throughout the full downstairs and then the full upstairs of the house and once you are finished you will end up at the front door. Now starting from the bottom of the front door and working your way upwards waft the smoke and smudging stick in a sweeping/pushing motion and imagine yourself pushing any negative energies you have collected out of the front door. Make sure to seal the front door when you are finished.
Happy full moon, Love and Light x
