Black Sage | Small Smudge Stick
Clearing | Cleansing | Meditation | Protection | Shamanic Journeying | Dreams | Restful sleep
Traditionally used as a pain relief medicine by Native American Chumash people – the leaves and stems were brewed into a tea poultice then rubbed on affected area or tea bath to soak one’s feet in. Other tribes have medicinal uses for this native plant – often crushed into a paste, eaten raw or made into bath water to alleviate influenza, arthritis and rheumatism. Interestingly given correct climate conditions, that is enough rain in California – Black sage can produce nectar from the flowers which can be made into honey. It is often very dry in California so producing nectar is somewhat a rare event. Black sage is closely related to White and Blue sage – it has hairy leaves, dark green to black in colour and is highly aromatic with strong peppery and minty notes to it.
Used in ritual smudging it has healing, cleansing and clearing benefits and will have your environment feeling zen-like afterwards. This herb evokes a deep sense of restfulness, connection to one’s higher wisdom during meditation, assists with deep introspection particularly for shamanic journeying or visionary dreaming. You can just have it nearby without burning it, this also changes the frequency of the energy wherever you put it. One can feel Divinely guided and protected when using this herb. As with Blue Sage, this also sheds more than White Sage when burning, so be sure to have a sacred vessel underneath when wafting around.
