Smudging: Self-Care Spring Cleaning
By Liz Kametz
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s we approach the spring season, we think of opening the windows to get fresh air, putting our winter clothes away, and doing a deep cleaning of our homes. Since the majority of us have been staying home far more than usual in the past year, the spring season can bring a chance to renew our spirits, both inside the home and out. Because we’ve been inside so much recently, it’s only natural to expect that on some days your home has been a place where arguments ensue, conflicts arise, and negative emotions run high. Our home can hold onto these negative energies without us even being aware. Have you ever noticed after a nice sunny day when you’ve been able to get outside, you may come home to a heaviness cast over you? This doesn’t happen all the time, but some people—especially the empaths out there—are very sensitive to the energies that surround us. One way to help shift toward the positive spring energy is to add smudging to your spring-cleaning regimen. Smudging is a ritual used to help remove the negative energies that may be trapped in the home, purifying and cleansing your space. Renewing the energy in your home is a great way to take care of yourself.
“Smudging is a ritual used to help remove the negative energies that may be trapped in the home, purifying and cleansing your space.” What You Need Be sure to gather all of your materials before you begin the smudging ritual. Sage smudge sticks are most commonly used but many other materials, or combinations of materials, can be used as well, including cedarwood, lavender, rosemary, sweet grass, and thyme. You should have a lighted candle handy to relight your smudge stick should that be necessary during the ritual; a glass, ceramic, or similar dish to hold beneath the smudge stick to catch any embers or ashes; and a bowl of sand to completely extinguish the smudge stick when you finish the ceremony. The Smudging Ceremony Remember that the purpose of smudging is to purify and renew your space, so before you begin and throughout the ritual, be sure to focus on what you want to accomplish. Starting at your front door, light your smudge stick with your candle and start slowly and deliberately moving clockwise around your home. The smoke should be allowed to reach small, less-accessible spaces such as closets, basements, and attics. Ascend or descend
stairs as you come across them and continue to move clockwise on that floor until you approach the stairs again. Then head back to the main floor and continue your clockwise path until you arrive at the front door where you started. Again, focus deliberately on your goal for your smudging ritual, imagine your space filled with light and emptied of negativity, and extinguish your smudge stick in your bowl of sand. As you clean your windows and open them up for the fresh spring air, I encourage you to smudge your house at the same time. It doesn’t take much, but it will help reset your home for the new joy spring can bring. Liz Kametz’s vision of Just Be came from her own lack of self-care and the recognition that the epidemic of chronic stress is real and needs to be addressed. justbethejourney.com liz-kametz.com info@justbethejourney.com. See ad on page 24.
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