By Ernst: What is Smudging? Smudging is cleaning with smoke or discharging energetically. Energetic cleaning comes from the Native Americans – the Indians. Sometimes people ask me what they can do to feel better about themselves and protect themselves. Often, they don’t feel quite right in their home either, something is not right, but they can’t quite put their finger on it. The energy doesn’t feel good. Then you can go smudge. Clean your environment but also yourself energetically.
How do you know when smudging can help you and what, who and how you can clean?
There are many emotions that we encounter on a daily basis. We often take these external stimuli with us as an energetic load. All these different energies and emotions affect our energy field. This is what I call the pollution of energy and can stick around in a space and around us. Because these energies stay in a space or stick to yourself you can feel restless and not feel good about yourself. There is also often an inexplicable anxiety. When you no longer feel at home in your own house it can very well help to smudge.
How to perform a smudging ceremony?
You need different things to start smudging such as white sage leaves or you can use shreds of palo santo (wood) sticks, but also cedar, juniper and sweet grass. All these herbs have a strong cleansing effect.
You can burn this in an abalone shell. Put a layer of sand in the shell, this ensures that the heat dissipates. Light the herbs with a match and then blow out the flames so that the herbs smolder. You can also buy special coals for this, on which you place the herbs to burn. You keep the herbs smoldering by gently waving over them with a talking stick, smudge fan or feather, which you can also use to spread the smoke. This ensures a better spread of the smoke and a feather is closer to the creator.
Prepare yourself calmly. This can be done, for example, by putting on soothing music. Make sure that you can do the smudging with peace and attention.
Then go around all corners of your house with the smoking herbs in the shell and the smudge fan and spread the smoke with it. During the ceremony it is important to keep windows and doors closed. After your house has been cleaned, you should open all the windows and doors against each other, so that the negative energies can go out and the clean energy can enter. Ventilation is very important.
After that you can also energetically cleanse yourself. Do this with the smudge fan and gently wave the smoke along all parts of your body. Bring the smoke with the feathers in the direction of your heart, head, down your arms and don’t forget the back of your body.
The Abalone shell
The Abalone is a mollusk in a shell and has been harvested and eaten for centuries. It is a medium to very large edible sea snail in a shell, living mainly on kelp and brown algae. The animal grows slowly and can become very old. The shell is very similar to a large oyster shell and you can buy the abalone shell in natural stores, spiritual stores or possibly via the internet.
This animal is not only used for the meat, which is nowadays seen as a delicacy, but also for the shell, which is processed into a beautiful mother of pearl jewelry. It is therefore through this jewelry that the abalone shell is known to most people. Not everyone is aware of its magical and powerful properties.
The power of Mother of Pearl
The reflection of the mother of pearl is said to ward off the evil eye. Mother of pearl would have a protective effect against negative energies and also ward off evil forces. Mother of pearl ensures a balanced relationship with oneself and others.
Wearing the mother of pearl provides deep inner peace, balances the chakras, soothes sadness and relieves fears. Mother of pearl has an inspiring effect, is good for intuition, ensures psychological development and brings new insights.
In a cleansing ritual, the abalone shell is usually used to unite the five elements. The shell has tiny holes that provide the necessary air-supply. It’s a very strong shell.
Water: abalone shell
Earth: herbs
Air: smoke
Fire: candle, match
Ether: ethereal effect
The Talking Stick, Smudge fan
The Fan is made from molting feathers of the birds. This is necessary because the birds are protected and the Indians respect all living things and nature.
Which animals are made into a fan and what do those animals stand for?
The Golden Eagle; this bird represents protection and attracting success. Also, for gaining wisdom and removing negative influences. Nice to clean your aura or the aura of others, but also objects or your environment from bad or negative energy.
The Raccoon stands for detoxifying the body and on a spiritual level, the raccoon helps you to break through old thinking patterns and release emotions. It is extremely suitable for healing and cleansing. The raccoon helps in physical healing, from him we receive cheerfulness, daring, intelligence, cunning and tenacity and also the purification.
The Eagle gives strength, enlightenment, freedom, an eye for detail and is groundbreaking. Because the eagle is a very powerful animal, it can incite you to great things. He challenges you to look for boundaries and perhaps even push them. He encourages you to focus more on the Source (The Universe, God, Allah, Light, etc.). It may be that a higher task awaits you in the service of humanity. This animal also points out the strength to believe in yourself and stand up for yourself. Defend your own path. It could even be that the eagle will help you track down demonic forces and will fight against them to destroy them. The eagle represents wisdom of creation, light and a higher destiny. His powerful wings will take you where you have never dared to dream. It will give you new insights and perspectives. This will allow you to act quickly and purposefully. Live and find your destiny, that is the message of the eagle.
The most important thing about smudging is that you follow your intuition. If you feel that a certain place needs extra attention, take the time to do this and give those places in your house or body the extra smoke. While cleaning, keep asking for help with cleaning. And thank the invisible forces for their help.
Smudging is a ceremony that must be performed with care. After all, you enter into a relationship with the invisible forces of the herbs and plants you use and other spirits. There should be respect and reverence.
It is highly recommended that you know what you are doing prior to the ceremony, that you have collected extensive information and a description of the correct actions. Smudging can help you to cleanse yourself energetically, but in many cases, it is your own responsibility to cleanse your own energy field.
If you do want to clean and you don’t dare to do it yourself, you can always approach a reputable medium who cleans houses and ask him or her to do this for you.
Love and Light,
Ernst
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