Why you shouldn't use these two terms interchangeably.

The first thing I would like to make clear is that taking cultural elements with deep meanings within a living culture, out of their intended context is cultural appropriation. Especially if the living culture has asked us not to appropriate them. It is a social and psychological construct and doing so out of "admiration" or because you "don't acknowledge skin color" isn't an excuse to reduce a cultures valued elements into accessories or misunderstood tools. I could make at least 10 examples of cultural appropriation without even pausing to think but unfortunately, it is so comon that it would be impossible to do so without offending a great deal of people using this app. I highly suggest everyone invest some time into researching this topic.

Secondly, you don't have to be white to appropriate a culture.

There is quite a bit of cultural appropriation going on in the pagan comunity surrounding this particular subject, and a few others. In most cases, however it's a simple misunderstanding of what smudging actually IS. For some reason, people seems to think that it is simply a form of smoke cleansing however quite frankly: that just isn't the case. Thankfully, I'm here to help explain!

Lets Start With Smoke Cleansing, this form of ritual has been called by many names and has been practiced throughout history. Infact sage alone is a common herb used for removing spirits, cleansing, healing and in preparation for ceremonies throughout history and all over the world. But its not the only herb used for such practices. You can use a lot of different herbs and other plants, and even blends of them to cleanse specific energies and appease certain spiritual entities.

Smoke Cleansing, or "Saging" tho visually similar to smudging, is instead the simple process of burning an herb, incense, wood (or anything safe to burn that has cleansing properties, honestly) and using the smoke to waft over and cleanse an area or item. You can use smoke cleansing on your ritual space, your altar, your dorm/bed room, your home, your crystals, your tools, yourself and anything else that might need a good cleansing. Smoke Cleansing is associated with the elements of both fire and especially air. There are many methods of smoke cleansing, such as burning stick, cone and powdered incense, sticks or bundles of wood and burning dried bowls, plates or bundles of herbs.

Herb bundles are similar to smudge sticks and often mislabeled as such but they're not the same thing. They're not made with the same ritual preparation as smudge sticks and don't deserve to share the name.

Smoke cleansing can be preformed in many ways by pretty much anyone, weather designed to mimic ancient practices or in ceremonies of your own imagining. It can be combined with incantations, chants, spells, invocations or in ritials dedicated to honoring your gods. Smoke Cleansing is easy to preform and easy to prepare. Many people (myself included) prefer to bless their herbs or incense prior to lighting them. I always dedicate mine to the Lord and Lady, asking that they allow me to channel their energies into my cleansing ceremonies.

Sage is a popularly preferred herb to use, and has potent properties for dispelling negativity.

(I will ask that anyone desiring to use sweet grass, please do your research first as it is in some areas considered endangered, regardless: always make sure your sorce is ethical and responsible. Sweet grass is sacred to many, but so are many other herbs and the irresponsible harvest of them could whipe them out entirely, I'm sure you dont want that on your conscious.)

Smudging

I was talking to my mother today and she recounted to me her memories of talking to her grandmother about smudging. From what she remembered, smudging is a sacred form of ritual preparation preformed by specific members of the tribe. It was a form of not just "cleansing" but a kind of offering or invocation of sorts (the details of which are considered legally bound and protected intellectual property that belongs to and on the reservations that practice it) that can't be preformed without drawing attention to yourself from the spiritual realm.

Apparently, her grandmother had a somewhat cautionary way of describing such ceremonies. They aren't something you generally preform without necessity. In her grandmother's time, Native rituals were actually scrutinized and feared outside of the reservation and thus their practice was kept secretive (and still is to this day) but that's not the only reason my mom thinks she was so persistent on the cautionary side of things. She remembers being told that smudging should never be preformed without experience or guidance from someone who had experience, since performing such sacred rituals incorrectly could anger the spirits and bring forth negative results.

From what she remembers ALL of the rituals my great grandmother described to my mom involved groups. Members of the tribe gathering together in elaborate and ancient rituals to bring forth specific blessings and entities or give thanks throughout the year... it makes it easy to romanticize such practices in your head but these specific rituals weren't designed to be romantic, they were about survival, culture and heritage.

We couldnt find much on the subject of actual smudging, but figured it better off that we headed the warnings that her grandmother passed down. Smudging is not only a sacred ritual, its one that involves many secrets that we're simply not party to. We wouldn't want to anger the spirits of her ancestors, or any of the gods that might take notice. Its not like my mother and I practice any Native American spiritualism or healing and neither of us have ever even been on a reservation. I dont have native blood and all her bloodline makes her eligible for besides heritage, pride and ancestry is not being able donate certian organs: her ovaries. Being away from the reservation means that we're not in any position to do anything but wonder about such practices her ancestors preformed and what relationships they had with their ancestors and the spirit realm. All we know is that they are still sacred and justly hidden.

[***If anyone living on a reservation or party to such ceremonies would like to correct or subtract from the above section of this blog, please feel free to send me a direct message or coment below, as my personal access to this information is (obviously) second hand and not necessarily up to date. I would prefer not to publicly share my grandmother's tribe or the reservation she lived on however, as she has passed and I do not have her or her family's (I'm a stepchild) permission to do so. Thank you.***]

I hope I've made my point clear enough but in conclusion: The terms "Smudging" and "Smoke Cleansing" can not be used interchangeably, because they represent two entirely different practices. Both of which are rich with history and mystery but one belongs to a culture that has fought hard to keep its ways both sacred and alive.

If you have any respect for Native traditions or the rituals you practice, don't use the term "smudging" to represent "smoke cleansing."

Thank you for reading.

Abundant Blessings - Mary :purple_heart: