Smudging vs Smoke Cleansing- Are They The Same? Should You Smudge With White Sage?

What is Smudging?

Smudging is a traditional practice that involves burning herbs or other natural materials, such as sage or sweetgrass, to release fragrant smoke for spiritual and ceremonial purposes.

Smudging has a long history of use specifically with Indigenous cultures in North America, where it has been used for centuries in spiritual and ceremonial rituals.

In a typical smudging ceremony, a bundle of herbs is lit, and the smoke is waved around the person, object, or space being purified. The smoke is also sometimes directed over a person's body or through their aura.

 

What is Smoke Cleansing?

Smoke cleansing, on the other hand, refers to the broad practice of cleansing a person or area with smoke from various substances.

Smoking Ceremonies have been used by various cultures around the world including:

• Indigenous cultures in Australia, such as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, where smoking ceremonies are used for a variety of purposes. According to The Indigenous Knowledge Institute  “Smoking ceremonies are used for burial, celebration, healing and ‘clearance’ (cleansing), and are also a gesture of goodwill, bringing people together; performing the ceremony for another is a gift and a blessing⁷. Smoking ceremonies can also be a way of connecting with country by speaking to and acknowledging the ancestors or ‘Old People’.”

• Traditional Chinese culture, where burning incense has been a common practice for thousands of years, and is used in religious and spiritual rituals, as well as for its health and therapeutic benefits.
• Some African traditional beliefs and spiritual practices, where smoking is used in rituals and ceremonies to communicate with the spirits or the ancestors.
• Scottish rites known as saining, which according to this article from Wikipedia , "usually involve the use of water and smoke, accompanied by ritual gestures and spoken or sung poetry and prayers. Water that has been blessed in some fashion is sprinkled, or used for anointing. Fumigation is usually done with the smoke from large branches of burning juniper, either outdoors on a bonfire, or in a large vessel like a cauldron, resulting in massive amounts of smoke. "

There are many more instances where smoking ceremonies have been used for spiritual, religious or healing benefits all over the world. Smoking ceremonies are therefore not unique to specific cultures or religions, rather they are universal.

Are they the same?

Whilst the term smoke cleansing and smudging tend to be used interchangeably in modern times, the two practices are quite separate and should be respected as such.

Whilst anyone can perform a smoking ceremony with any substance that emits smoke, i.e. incense, bundles of herbs/leaves, etc, smudging is very closely tied to the spiritual and cultural practices of Indigenous cultures in North America.

With a little bit of “googling”, you can come up with a number of reasons as to why you should probably practice smoke cleansing over smudging if you are not of native American heritage.

Here is an excerpt from an article titled "Sephora’s “Starter Witch Kit” and Spiritual Theft", explaining just a few of the issues that Native American people have faced to keep their own spiritual practices alive.

The article states:

“That smudge stick represents the deep pain, sacrifice, resistance, and refusal of Native peoples. It represents a continuing legacy of marginalizing and punishing Native spirituality. So when our religious practices are mocked through these products, or folks are commodifying and making money off our ceremonies it’s not about who has the “right” to buy or sell. It’s about power.”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I do not necessarily agree with all of the article (however, if you have found this article, you might want to take some time to read the other article and make up your own opinion- it is quite an interesting and eye opening read, especially for a lilly white Australian!).

I do understand, however,  that there are many individuals who are profiting- either knowingly or unknowingly, off something that is not theirs to use. In the same way that museums turn a profit from showing stolen items from other cultures, large companies are profiting from a spiritual practice that is sacred and not meant for the majority. 

I am not saying that the opinions the author has on anyone else’s beliefs are necessarily valid, only that as far as smudging, especially when it comes to smudging with white sage goes, it is a spiritual and cultural practice that has always been used by one culture. A culture who, like the Australian Aboriginals in our country, have had a long history of oppression and are still fighting, in many cases, for their own rights.- see update below

 

I have an article on how to make rosemary smudge sticks, which is simply a form of rosemary smoke cleansing.There is something beautiful about making your own bundles of herbs to use for cleansing and I personally believe that, therein lies part of the power of smoke cleansing.

 

I encourage you, if you are looking for more information on whether or not to use sage smudging practices, to look at differing sources of information and consider the impact you are having on the traditional owners of such practices.

 Update to this post as at 15th March 2024.

After a lot of queries as to why we do not sell White Sage, and reading lots of articles from people whom I understand to be from the Native American culture who are not opposed to the use of White Sage by other individuals, I took it upon myself to write to First Nations communities in America for their feedback. My theory was that if it was something that their communities were actually opposed to, they would write back and confirm that they do in fact not want people using "white sage smudge sticks". I sent these emails on 5th March 2024 and as of this date, not one individual has even bothered replying to my email. This lack of communication has led me to believe that it is not actually as big an issue as some have led me to believe- especially in Australia & especially if the herbs are grown in Australia and used for the purpose of smoke cleansing. Therefore, coming soon,  we will be offering White Sage Smoke cleansing bundles- commonly known as smudge sticks for sale. These are grown and produced in Australia, thereby avoiding any issues with overharvesting of the sacred white sage.

This decision has not been made lightly, and we have endeavoured to look at all sides of the story to come up with the best decision for ourselves and hopefully our customers.

If you are looking for smudge sticks and smoke cleansing herbs, check out our collection here.