Most people are familiar with smudging – that is, cleansing a room or object by wafting the smoke of an smoldering herb around it. This traditional purification method has been used in different cultures around the world for thousands of years.

While many herbs work well for cleansing, some are more commonly favored for smudging, especially white sage, sweetgrass, and lavender.

The process of smudging is pretty simple. You can find a quick How To Smudge article in the RavensWell learning section. Here are a few more tips that most people forget:

Don’t Forget to Smudge:

The corners of the room: Energy can get trapped in corners, bouncing back and forth between the walls. Get a step ladder if you need to and smudge all of those corners!

Reflective surfaces: Doorways to the spirit world, reflective surfaces include things like mirrors, windows, computer monitors, TV screens, picture frame glass, and glass tabletops. Smudge all reflective surfaces regularly. Some witches even cover up the mirrors and TV screens in their bedrooms when they sleep, as this is when they’re most vulnerable to these kinds of influences.

Electrical outlets: Often overlooked, electrical outlets are direct energy routes into your home! Smudge them well and consider buying plug covers for outlets not in use.

Smudge to cleanse, THEN PROTECT. Once you’ve gotten rid of bad vibes and lingering spirits, do something to keep them from coming back! Sprinkle blessed salt across all your homes thresholds (doors and windows), burn protection incense and herbs, or bury a witches bottle near your front door. Whatever you do, every cleansing should be followed by some form of protection magic, or at least a home blessing.

You can find a good selection of quality smudge sticks at RavensWell’s Wiccan & Pagan Supplies here.