Years ago, when friends of mine were moving into their new home in one of our city’s older neighborhoods, the guy across the street came over and offered to “smudge” their house. None of us had any idea what he was talking about, so he explained. Dried, bundled sage is burned like incense in order to clear energy and basically re-set the vibe of whatever the smoke covers. You can sage your home, your stuff, yourself – whatever. My friends are open-minded, and since this nice new neighbor was offering to do something kinda cool, they welcomed him to smudge their home.

I was fascinated with the concept and followed him around the house as he fanned the smoke with a large feather and said to me, “Send positive energy into the space. Thank those who came before and gently send them on their way.”

The hippie in me was born that day.

I use sage in my home regularly, followed by incense because I read somewhere that sage is Yang and incense is Yin, and you gotsta keep your energy balanced, yo. My daughter calls it my “voodoo” and laughs at me because I’ve accidentally burned holes in sheets (use a container for the ash, y’all), and I’m convinced one smudging session released a spirit that was living in my house. She can laugh; I don’t mind. It brings me comfort, and my house smells pretty good most of the time – if you like a sage/nag champa blend.

It’s rituals like this – simple and fragrant – combined with all the good juju I can summon that help keep the positive vibes flowing in my home. I am becoming (hopefully) a wise old woman with long silver hair and crazy stories who tries her best to keep her energy high and her vibration positive.

 You can find me here, voodoo swirling in smoky plumes around me, with my tarot and runes most Friday mornings.