This listing is for smoke cleansing bundles cedar bundle, mugwort bundle or a stick of palo santo. Through smoke cleansing, herbal bundles can be burned to create sacred space, cleanse space, and used in ceremony. All writeups are from Mountain Rose Herbs where I source my herbs to you.

Palo Santo

Palo Santo, literally meaning “holy wood” in Spanish, is a tree that is widely distributed throughout Central and South America. Palo Santo is used in South America in much the same way white sage is used in North America- to combat negative energy and to cleanse the space. Palo Santo is different than many of the other burnable herbs as it is fragrant in its raw form and does not necessarily need to be lit, though it usually is when being used for ceremonial purposes. Palo Santo is often used by Amazonian shamans in sacred plant spirit ceremonies; the rising smoke of the lit sticks is believed to enter the energy field of ritual participants to clear misfortune, negative thoughts, and to chase away evil spirits. Its use reportedly dates back to the Inca era.

Traditionally, only the fallen branches and twigs of the tree are harvested, and this practice is regulated by the government of Peru to ensure that the trees do not become overharvested. Unfortunately, as Palo Santo has become more popular, the illegal harvesting and cutting of trees has also greatly increased. Consequently, if you are purchasing wild-harvested Palo Santo, it is important to do so from an ethical wildcrafter. The Palo Santo offered by Mountain Rose Herbs comes from a 50 acre farm in Ecuador that contains both naturally occurring and replanted Palo Santo. They have replanted over 5000 Palo Santo trees on the land so far to ensure adequate supply for the future.

It is believed that a tree or fallen branches must lie dead for 4-10 years before the medicinal and mystical properties of the wood begin to come alive. It is also believed that the branches of the Palo Santo that are felled by lightning have the highest concentration of medicinal and mystical properties.$5/stick

Cedar

The cedar tree has been revered for its spiritual significance for thousands of years. Its wood was used for the doors of sacred temples and burned in cleansing ceremonies for purification. Cedar has a long history of use in indigenous sweat lodge ceremonies and the tree was thought to house important gods and to be an entrance to higher spiritual realms.

Cedar is first and foremost a medicine of protection. It is often used to cleanse a home when first moving in, inviting unwanted spirits to leave and protecting a person, place or object from unwanted influences. Cedar is often used in the sweat lodge ceremony. A few pinches are thrown on the red-hot rocks, immediately sparking into a yellow glow and releasing their aroma. The smoke of burning cedar is said to attract the good spirits and eliminate negative energies.

The cedar is also one of the four sacred plants of the indigenous American Medicine Wheel and represents the North. Bundles are about 4 inches long and 1 1/2 inches thick at the burning end. They are bundled with the stems together, providing a handle for easy use. $12/bundle

Mugwort

Mugwort is a common name for several species of aromatic plants in the genus Artemisia. In Europe, mugwort most often refers to the species Artemisia vulgaris, or common mugwort. Mugwort is also known as “dream weed” for its unique ability to stimulate dreams. It is renowned as a smudging herb for its subtle, sweet scent and dream-inducing qualities. It has a long history of use in the Pagan tradition and is still used in modern-day Pagan magical practices as incense.

Mugwort is in the Asteraceae plant family. It is a tall herbaceous perennial plant growing 3-4 ft tall, with a woody root. A number of species of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) feed on the leaves and flowers. Mugwort is native to temperate Europe, Asia, northern Africa and Alaska and is naturalized in North America, where some consider it an invasive weed. It is a very common plant growing on nitrogenous soils, like weedy and uncultivated areas, such as waste places and roadsides.

In some magical traditions, mugwort is associated with divination and dreaming. To bring about prophecy and divinatory success, make an incense of mugwort to burn at your workspace or around the area in which you are performing divination rituals. Mugwort was also used in Anglo-Saxon Britain to cure people who had fallen victim to “elf-shot,” which appears to be a catch-all term used to apply to people who had become sick at the hands of evil spiritual entities.

This is a large bundle, roughly 8-9 inches long and 1-2 inches thick., and is sold for $20.

You can also buy a kit with one White Sage Smudge Stick, one Palo Santo stick, an amethyst and a black tourmaline.