The clouds of smoke are used to bathe away negative energies and to purify spaces, and people. The practice is often done to mark the beginning of ceremonies. Sage is not the only herb used in smudging ceremonies cedar, tobacco, yarrow and sweetgrass are used as well. Smudging, though, is most associated with northern Native American traditions. 4 Catholics are familiar with the scents of burning frankincense and myrrh in church, a practice that dates back to the Old Testament (Exodus 30:1-10). The tree is in the same family, Burseraceae, as the Boswellia sacra, that is the source of frankincense. 3 Palo Santo wood is still used by Amazonian tribes for healing and in shamanic rituals. The Celts had a practice of "saining" that involved sprinkling water from a river or a stream, combined with burning juniper to bless and protect, or consecrate a home or person. This practice that originated in antiquity, has since been practiced by many cultures. Those moments may have moved them into meditative states, bringing them closer to their own experience of holiness, or perhaps to an encounter with the Divine. It's easy to imagine that the health benefits of burning herbs could transition into a perceived spirituality, as people of old watched smoke wafting up from the fire, and breathed in the pungent, aromatic scents transforming their space, and possibly their senses in an intangible, ethereal way. Herbs with similar effects would certainly have been a benefit to life in a cave or other prehistoric shelter. 2Ĭitronella, sage and rosemary when burned, repel insects. White-faced capuchin monkeys have been documented grooming each other with leaves from the piper plant, which is an insect repellent, as well as possessing anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. We can speculate that early humanoids probably picked and saved aromatic stems and leaves for their scent or other properties.
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