MAKING A SACRED SMUDGE BOWL Native American shamans do not always use smudge sticks: equally common is a loose smudge mixture, which is placed in a bowl or shell and lit. This is easy to make and especially useful if you do not have access to fresh herbs. It also has the advantage that, as you become more experienced and intuitive, you can alter your mixture to fit each individual ritual. YOU WILL NEED: your choice of dried herbs and resins; a shell or bowl; self-igniting charcoal blocks; candle and matches, feather, sea salt. INSTRUCTIONS:
Sit down with all your ingredients. Light your candle and center yourself. Ask the spirits of the plants you are using to give you their help. Take a bowl or large shell - it needs to be able to withstand the heat of the burning charcoal. Ensure it is clean and cleansed by washing it in water to which you have added a little sea salt. A basic smudge mix would include a tablespoon of crumbled sage (either sagebrush or culinary sage) plus a teaspoon each of cedar bark and lavender. Mix the herbs together. See below for other ideas. Place a charcoal block in your container and light it. Wait until the charcoal stops sparking and has turned white-grey. Add a few pinches of your smudge mixture. It will readily smoke. Use your smudge bowl in exactly the same way as you would your smudge stick - hold up the bowl and use a feather to direct smoke towards you, someone else or out into the area in which you are working. You will need to add more smudge from time to time. |
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