Pagans and Native Americans practice smudging to purify a room with the smoke of sage and other herbs to clear out negative energy.
Actually, smudging has been around for thousands of years, maybe pre-dating the Native American culture.
The act of burning herbs happened in Egypt in 1530 B.C.E and in Israel in the fifth century B.C.E in ceremonies.
Now scientific evidence validates the ancient knowledge about the effect of ethnopharmacological aspects of natural products’ smoke for therapy and health care on airborne bacterial composition and dynamics.
Researchers discovered the burning of wood and herbs over a one-hour period in a closed room resulted in a 94 percent reduction in airborne bacteria.
Pathogenic bacteria were found to be absent in an open room after 30 days following the smudging.
Smudging also works as a defense against depression, resentment, anger, fear and grief.
So, while we live in a world of skepticism, science shows that ancient cultures understood nature well enough to know that smudging is much more than superstition.
Smudging does more than cleanse the surrounding air of harmful bacteria and negativity.
Smudging is a great way of clearing crystals and stones of unwanted energy.
Lght your smudging materials and fan them gently to smolder and give off smoke. Now pass your stone several times through the smoke of burning cedar, sage, sweetgrass, or incense.
When you are finished, take a moment to thank the crystals.
