City Smudge

Power In A Name

I really appreciate the power wielded by creative language. A tired, ostensibly exhausted idea can readily assume vibrant new life when couched in novel phraseology. For example, Alfred Wegener’s academic observations regarding the strangely precise fit of distant coastlines were dismissed as crackpot geological minutiae until the catchy moniker of continental drift began to pry open hitherto sealed provinces of ivory-towered minds. Similarly, few venues for mass entertainment were considered duller and more passe than puppetry until the genius of Jim Henson created Muppets and birthed a wildly popular reinvigoration of the art. The fact is that we usually tend to think in words, so an original verbal approach can open remarkable vistas of understanding. Thus, the power inherent in a name should never be undervalued.

Power To Aware Urbanites

What does my concern with denominative power have to do with Lucky Six Farms White Sage products? As it happens, quite a lot! Recently, a customer noted that she was fond of designating our hydrosol simply as City Smudge, because it consistently produced the same intensely purifying effect as a smudge stick but within a typically streamlined urban environment. Indeed, ubiquitous smoke detectors and high-keyed spaces so typical of today’s condos and apartments often partner poorly with the characteristically thick fumes generated by smudge sticks and cones. Consideration for others, including the elderly and infirm, who may reside in close proximity also demands an alternative to traditional forms of White Sage ritual. However, hydrosol may be productively used for identical ends in the very same urban environments. City Smudge is a perfect description of hydrosol in such contexts.

Creative Power Knows No Bounds

Although our products - certified organic White Sage essential oil, hydrosol, smudge sticks, cones, and whole leaves are wild-crafted according to the most venerable traditional principles of Earth-centered cultivation, their usefulness is not confined to familiar processes and places. We believe respect for the past never precludes a wholehearted embrace of present realities. In this way, the love and compassion we bring to our work can infuse every condition where wise and aware customers find and emphasize the best humanity has to offer.

By Alan Beck

The Truth About Anointing

The Universal Role of Essential Oils

 For thousands of years, essential oils have played crucial roles in rituals conducted worldwide for both material and spiritual elevation. Societies East and West have viewed the process of anointing or unction as forging definitive passage between mundane and celestial realms. I could cite countless examples: the Bible makes more than 180 references to essential oils, always carrying emphasis on the intrinsically precious character of such substances. The term “Christ” itself is usually translated as “the anointed one.” No European monarch would think of being crowned without undergoing visible anointing into a state of acknowledged sovereignty via essential oil.

Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain societies regard unction in a similar light. Specifically, the practice of abhisheka, the exact equivalent of anointing, has traditionally solidified the notion of transcendent empowerment. In many Asian esoteric sects, essential oil is believed to convey the very essence of initiatory power from teacher to student. Thus, the nucleus of all such rituals must include first blessing and then touching sacred oil. Newly elevated rulers and high officials also receive full cultural sanction only through formal unction.

The Special Quality of Essential Oils

When a belief retains currency through an incredibly diverse array of peoples and thought patterns, I believe more than mere coincidence is at work. This is certainly the case with ideas surrounding - and actively promulgating - the anointing process. In addition, we find each type of essential oil consistently associated with particular permissions and powers: each embodied the concentrated essence of certain energies. For example, at Lucky Six Farms we are intimately familiar with the profoundly purifying and cleansing properties of White Sage, properties that have been venerated and utilized by indigenous Tribes for longer than anyone can remember.

Our Commitment to Lucky Six Farms White Sage Essential Oil,

Although our White Sage essential oil has a wide variety of uses, from aromatherapy diffusion to dilution for liniments and salves, we never lose sight of its fundamentally sacred character. This is why we insist on growing every plant organically with love and respect for the remarkable energy channeled through it. Those who try our White Sage essential oil are therefore taking part in a universal earth-centered tradition whose meaning is as vital today as it was at the dawn of history.

By Alan Beck

 

A Gentler Approach

Understanding Power

The signal characteristic of power, in whatever guise or form it may appear, is the ready acknowledgment of its presence. Powerful people, groups, and agents are almost always surrounded by protective barriers or insulating forces. From childhood, we learn it is dangerous to approach sources of power too closely. Burned fingers or reputations often result from reckless disregard of these caveats. Let's face it, Lucky Six Farms White Sage essential oil and smudging products are incredibly powerful purifying agents. As with all potent instruments of change, prudence must be employed whenever and wherever they are employed. Unless specific, expert advice is being closely followed, essential oils must be always be well-diluted and should not be used daily for protracted periods. Similarly, the thick, intense smoke generated by smudging bundles and cones is a power that must be respected, especially in confined areas where ventilation is poor.

Diminished Power, Increased Utility

There is a way, however, to frequently enjoy the cleansing, energizing effects of authentic White Sage with minimal concern. Lucky Six Farms hydrosol provides the perfect vehicle for gentler, yet highly effective, purification of people, places, and objects. Hydrosol is a safe alternative for areas where the very young, aged, and those with compromised immune systems are present. It may be used directly as a room spray, facial mist, and body toner.

Hydrosol Power

It is important to remember that the pure, genuine White Sage hydrosol we offer is not the same as cheap imitations now being sold under the same rubric. Real hydrosol is the product of a specialized and complex distillation process and contains an array of delicate plant components not found in the corresponding essential oil. There is no short-cut to the production of fine hydrosol, just as there are no cut-rate, industrial routes to the prayerful dedication that has made all of Lucky Six Farms White Sage products valued worldwide.

By Alan Beck

 

Spiritual Chemistry

Mundane And Supramundane Power

Can we truly understand the power of a sacred plant? Engineers and scientists strive to get a handle on the notion of power through clearly delineated quantitative measures such as watts and joules. But there is a deep intuitive understanding that real power exists in realms transcending the material. Currently, Lucky Six Farms devotes 100% of its organic wild-crafting and processing efforts to a single plant species, the White Sage (Salvia apiana), which is indigenous only to high-desert regions of southern California and northern Mexico. We do this so we can focus our efforts on upholding the spiritual power of this extraordinary plant.

Power Comes From Concerted Effort

We want our work to be straightforward and unmitigated by superfluous concerns. While we may, in the future, consider cultivation of other similarly beneficial, traditionally sacred vegetation, we make no apologies for the long-standing, singular focus that has established our reputation. The reason? We believe it is far more important to accomplish one task perfectly than several marginally. Because White Sage products have occupied the center of our working lives for decades, we have learned a great deal about not only its spiritual characteristics but its biochemical ones as well. For example, our White Sage contains liberal quantities of unusual pentacyclic triterpenes, fascinating, highly bioactive agents that have only recently garnered scientific attention for their immune-boosting power.

Perceiving White Sage Power

Of course, Lucky Six Farms makes no medically-related claims of any kind for our lines of organic, ultra-pure White Sage essential oils, hydrosols, smudge wands and cones, or whole leaves. But it is interesting to note that all indigenous tribes of the American Southwest have viewed this plant as intrinsically wholesome, healthful, and profoundly purifying. Our customers also share this perception. I personally believe a golden kernel of truth informs such strong, traditional perspectives.

By Alan Beck