Beneficial Blue

Lavender - The Cosmopolitan Herb

The three dozen or more species comprising Genus Lavandula - better known as Lavender - probably originated around the Mediterranean many thousands of years ago. However, appreciation of their numerous beneficial qualities soon brought these herbs into worldwide cultivation. While their common name was long believed to have derived from the Latin verb lavare, meaning to wash, it is now thought that their characteristic hue provided a more likely etymology via the Latin descriptive livere, that is, blueish. In any case, what The Bard famously noted of the rose’s archetypal scent certainly applies with equal or greater force to this gorgeously attractive and highly aromatic plant. And very soon, I am happy to announce, Lucky Six Farms will proudly offer Lavender as a principal component of select smudge wands.

Lavender - A Multistoried History

An entire volume could be penned documenting Lavender’s many and varied uses across the centuries. Its characteristically fragrant essential oil has long been a mainstay of classic perfumes, sachets, soaps, balms, and other popular products. In addition, it has been used to add color and a pleasantly light, sweet flavor to comestibles from cookies to cheese. During World War I, Lavender saw increasing employment in serious medicinal contexts. Tisanes and infusions were successful in providing relief from burns, wounds, and insect bites. From our point of view, however, Lavender’s most intriguing aspect lies in its well-documented ability to calm agitated minds and sooth jangled nerves. In particular, several modern clinical studies have shown it to act as a potent anxiolytic and promoter of sound, restful sleep.

Lavender - Smudge For A New Age

Wiccans, Neo-Pagans, and a range of New-Age spiritual seekers have found smudging with combination bundles of White Sage and Lavender to be powerfully conducive of deep meditative states. Such observations stand to reason, as White Sage is well-known for cleansing and purifying disruptive negative vibrations, and Lavender for supporting stable concentrative effort. Those who wish to observe the remarkable psychic effects of Lavender smudge for themselves can be assured that every component of our wands has been organically wild-crafted with the health of Mother Earth in mind.

By Alan Beck

 

The Holy Herb

Yerba Santa - Gift From The Earth

I’m pleased to announce that Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon californicum) will soon join Lucky Six Farms roster of elite aromatic products. Popular demand coupled with our perennial interest in making traditional gifts from our Mother Earth available worldwide have led us to introduce a number of new smudge bundled herbs. Foremost among these is the one most rapidly and enthusiastically embraced by clergy and soldiers of early Spanish missions. Calling this remarkable plant the Holy Herb, i.e. Yerba Santa, they quickly adopted long-standing Native American customs regarding its uses as a poultice, bronchial dilator, and stomachic. Its widespread ceremonial employment as a smudge, however, was largely ignored by European newcomers until twentieth century scholarship revived overdue respect for the profundity of indigenous wisdom. Yerba Santa is uniquely suited for generation of sacred smoke today just as it has been in ages past.

Yerba Santa - The Plant

Although Yerba Santa can be found growing naturally throughout much of the Western United States, it is most commonly encountered on high, moderately arid elevations of Southern California and Northern Mexico. Vigorous exemplars can reach up to four feet high. Stands in this sun-drenched Southwestern range are reputably the most potently aromatic; their showy, trumpet-shaped, light lavender flowers and elongated, sticky leaves make for ready identification, especially when prolific blooms appear with the approach of summer. Besides the familiar californicum, several other varieties, including the Hairy Yerba Santa (E. trichocalyx), the Thick Leaved (E. crassifolium), and the Lompoc (E. capitatum) are known.

Yerba Santa - Sacred Intermediary

We anticipate offering Yerba Santa as both stand-alone smudge bundles and in combination with other venerated herbs such as White Sage. Smoldered in this fashion, it has often been regarded as a powerful activator of the deep psyche and intermediary to beneficial spiritual powers. Thus, enhanced abilities like clairvoyance, predictive dreaming, and telepathy are supposedly promoted through the intelligent and prudent use of Yerba Santa smudge. A number of prominent Central American shamans and practitioners of folk magick have opined that Yerba Santa smoke makes the entire range of altar offerings more conspicuously attractive for noumenal intelligences. As with all our White Sage products, the Yerba Santa we will provide is always wild-crafted and organically cultivated for Earth-friendliness and optimal effect.


By Alan Beck

Smudge Symphonies

White Sage - Smudge Melody

Sensitive, intelligent use of White Sage may be fruitfully compared to making beautiful music. Lucky Six Farms, which for decades has served as preeminent supplier of pure, certified organic White Sage products - essential oil, hydrosol, smudge bundles, cones, and whole leaves - knows the analogy is not nearly as far-fetched as it might first appear. In ages past, alchemists stressed that their operations, both material and spiritual, were more art than science, more akin to living performances of instrumental harmony than mechanical duplications of cut-and-dried formulae. The act of smudging, too, partakes of this rhapsodic character. As we have emphasized previously, White Sage embodies an empowered, vibrant plant spirit who should only be called upon when time and circumstances are right. White Sage’s melody is uniquely penetrating and clarifying.

White Sage - Smudge Harmony

Although White Sage products are traditionally employed alone in the context of purificatory rites undertaken prior to religious or juridical ceremonies, they have often been combined with a stellium of other herbs for synergistic effect. An excellent example of such aromatic harmony can be found in the smudge combination of White Sage and Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon sp.). When smoldered as a single bundle in appropriate proportions and situations, the pair are reputed to enhance psychic powers, especially insights generated as the result of focused divination. This complementary duo of well-known, sacred U.S. Western coastal plant spirits has become increasingly popular in recent years throughout Wiccan and alternative spiritual communities. It is a fantastic example of how our burgeoning noumenal awareness has given rise to novel creative understanding.

White Sage - Smudge Counterpoint

In music theory, counterpoint has always been regarded as the most sophisticated form of integrative harmony. Certainly, this is also the case with the intimate smudge combination of White Sage and Cedar (Thuja occidentalis). The latter, normally used by many North American Tribes to assist contact with benevolent ancestor spirits and banish malevolent influences, is traditionally conjoined with White Sage for very special occasions, when unusually intense purification must be reliably called forth. Nor does this exhaust fruitful aromatic combinations wherein White Sage plays a key role. By carefully researching how White Sage has been linked to other herbs, it is possible to uncover much interesting, hitherto obscure, knowledge.

By Alan Beck

Smudge Is Not Incense!

Intellectual Bad Breath

We at Lucky Six Farms like to characterize popular confusion of incense with smudge as intellectual bad breath. Why? Because this foolish conflation seriously offends both the academically well-informed and the spiritually aware. I’ll focus on the former group first. Incense and smudge have explicitly divergent definitions. Incense is any material burned to fill the immediate environment with a putatively pleasant scent. Smudge is a sacred plant smoldered or otherwise employed for ritual purification. The difference is immediately apparent. There is virtually no conceptual overlap at all between the two substances.  And for those who stubbornly refuse to acknowledge or respect this fact, their mental situation is as appalling as terminal halitosis. Like its physical counterpart, intellectual bad breath is socially repellent.

Spiritual Bad Breath

For those accustomed to appropriate employment of ceremonial smudging, mistaking incense for smudge is tantamount to interpreting wrong-doing as virtue. Although miscellaneous incenses and perfumes have long played public relations roles for various organized faiths, such fragrances usually performed those duties more to overwhelm the smell of large crowds than to directly enhance connections with the Divine. In addition, substances traditionally utilized as smudge are also linked to manifested respect for the sacred in numerous other ways. For example, many Native American Tribes wrap or cushion the Holy Pipe with White Sage leaves. Salvia apiana leaves are also worn by Sun Dance participants and carried on journeys as a link to benevolent, protective spirit influence. For the indigenous wise men and women  of America, substituting some nominally nice-smelling material for White Sage in such contexts would be ludicrous and possibly dangerous.

White Sage Fights Ordinary Bad Breath

Interestingly, keeping a small White Sage leaf in the mouth is reputed to keep the physical breath fresh even as it energizes the mind while calming the body. White Sage leaves were often used in this way to provide extra energy during periods of protracted exertion or minimal food intake. Any way you look at it, then, smudge is most certainly not incense: the two are not even close in character or purpose. We are proud to provide certified organic White Sage products - essential oil, hydrosol, smudge bundles, cones, and whole leaves - to those who are knowledgeable about what they are, what they do, and why they are universally regarded as sacred. White Sage is smudge and should always be treated appropriately.

By Alan Beck

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

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

 

Living Space

Ways To Cleanse Negativity

The verb cleanse tends to be associated with material spaces. We recognize that clean interiors tend to be healthier for our bodies and minds than dirty ones. Few would think of eating, entertaining, or simply spending much time in rooms that are never cleaned. Yet how many of us reason the same way about psychic spaces, that is, rooms we regularly use for meditation or prayer? Saints, sages, and enlightened teachers from time immemorial have recognized that rites can only be effective if held in areas that have first been deliberately cleansed of accumulated negative vibrations. While there are, of course, a variety of ways to achieve such a thorough cleanse of psychic space, one of the quickest and easiest methods is readily available today.

Cleanse With White Sage

White Sage has been successfully employed for millennia by Native American healers seeking fast yet effective purification of areas set aside for deep contemplation or focused ritual. Virtually each and every ceremony, from shamanic interventions to sweat lodges, is preceded by formal smudging with bundles of White Sage. Today, this procedure is no longer confined to First Nation communities: now, an immense variety of disparate traditions have realized the power of White Sage to rapidly dispel undesirable psychic residua. Unfortunately, however, a little knowledge can prove dangerous. Unscrupulous vendors have taken advantage of the sacred plant's reputation to push cheap but impure - and thus ineffective - White Sage aromatics into the worldwide marketplace.

Purity Assures A Cleanse Extraordinaire

Lucky Six Farms, which leases its fields from Madre Grande Monastery, has, from the first, dedicated all its energies to remedying the situation. We supply only authentic White Sage products to those who appreciate the effort involved in pursuing spiritual paths. Our essential oils, hydrosols, whole leaves, smudge cones, and bundles are wild-crafted and certified organic. They have been specifically formulated and approved for traditional ceremonial use. We believe the integrity we bring to our products helps make the world a better place, and we feel privileged to offer the fruits of our love and labor directly to you.

By Alan Beck

The Fragrance of Solomon's Temple

Scented Sacred Grounds

Perhaps nothing would seem further from our modern concerns - or those of Lucky Six Farms - than the ancient sacred precincts of Solomon's Temple. Reputedly built by spirit forces at Solomon's command and serving its community for over four centuries, this legendary structure was finally destroyed by the Babylonians sometime in the fifth century BCE. One can only imagine the atmosphere of intoxicating sights, sounds, and heavily scented chambers encountered by worshipers so long ago. Yet, at least a few of its secrets still live to empower many today. Let me explain...

Scented Secrets

Some time ago, a band of those dedicated to preserving indigenous ancient traditions in a variety of contemporary contexts approached one of the scholar-abbots of Madre Grande Monastery for help. Although their request appeared simple, it was, in fact, biochemically quite challenging. They needed the full, concentrated purity of traditional White Sage smudging to be made safely available for healing ceremonies in small rooms and apartments. They came to the abbot because of his reputation for research and mastery of esoteric and obscure knowledge, especially that of legendary scented compounds. They knew he had spent decades studying how the undiluted, unmodified qualities of essential oils had been preserved and promulgated in the Temple grounds by Solomon's priests.

Scented Purity

The petitioning band was also savvy about the commercial incense industry; they understood that ordinary White Sage incense cones are stamped out from cheap sawdust and charcoal then dipped briefly in essential oil. Thus, these common cones carried a host of mitigating and even polluting aromas that would negate critical rites of purification. After a bit of analysis, thought, and experimentation, the abbot finally arrived at the perfect solution - and those who had sought his aid were delighted with his result. That remarkably scented, proprietary product is available today as Lucky Six Farms White Sage Smudge Cones. Experience testifies that the venerable aura of Solomon's Temple permeates and empowers each and every one!


By Alan Beck