Healing with White Sage

     
                                                                By Monica Maghiar
                                           

         
       White sage is one of the most sacred plants to Native Americans. For centuries, it has been used in folk medicine as well as in religious and healing rituals. Today, white sage is used by people that are interested in natural remedies, alternative medicine practitioners, artisans for: soaps, candles and lotions making and everybody else that wishes to cleanse homes and people of bad energy or influences. The native belief is that all ceremonies, tribal or private, must be entered into with a good heart so that we can pray, sing, walk, dance and live in a clean, sacred, honest  manner.


   Physical Healing - Feel Your Roots

   Make a tea using dry white sage whole leaves. Add to a cup of hot water and let it sit for at least four minutes. This tea can be used to treat stomach troubles, arthritis and headaches. It has also shown to lessen the painful effects of heavy menstruation, but should not be used by pregnant or nursing mothers as it can also decrease lactation production.

   Add a couple of dry or fresh leaves to a bottle of water. Use purified, filtered or mineral water for better results. Close the bottle and let it sit so the healing properties of the sage mix in with the water. This can be used as a day-to-day drink or given to those who are recuperating from an illness as a tonic. Adding lemon and xylitol makes it very refreshing.

  Put a dry or fresh leaf in between your teeth and cheek and let it soak to soothe a sore throat. Make sure you use organically grown sage. Don't swallow the leaf. Instead, replace it with a new one when it feels like there's no flavor or juice left. Leaves are also good to chew on when one fights heatstroke.
   Mash fresh or dry leaves and mix them with water to create a paste. Wrap it using a cheesecloth and use it as a poultice over sore muscles, skin eruptions and rashes. You can also use it on the forehead to lower fevers, or on the lower stomach to relieve menstrual cramps. Leave the poultice in place until it has dried or cooled, or until the symptoms have subsided. Reapply the poultice as necessary, using a fresh cloth and fresh herbal preparation every time.

   Crush and add dry or fresh leaves to boiling water. Remove from the source of heat and let it steep for at least one hour for use as a soaples shampoo, dye and hair straightener.


    Spiritual Healing - Tread lightly

   White sage has been used by the Native Americans for thousands of years in order to primarily heal the spirit, which they believe in turn aids to the body’s ability to function properly.
   Use a white sage smudge cone or smudge wand and fire to burn the end so it starts smoking. Walk from room to room, making sure the smoke reaches every corner. Use a cleansing prayer or make up one yourself. Think about asking the bad energy to leave the area and ask for protection and peace to come over it. When cleansing a room, light a smudge cone and leave it in a corner to burn off.
Keep the room closed so the smoke doesn't wander out, but make sure the wand or cone is placed on a heart burner or clay surface to prevent fires and to protect your furniture and upholstery. White sage has a pleasant sweet aroma, so you won't need to air the room afterwards. The smoke attaches itself to negative energy. As the smoke clears it takes the negative energy with it, releasing it to regenerate into something more positive. Tests have also shown that the smoke of burning sage literally changes the ionization polarity of the air.
   Smudging is very effective when you've been feeling depressed, angry, resentful or unwell or after you have had an argument with someone. When this is the case, your entire energy field will require cleansing. At times it will be possible for you to perform this ritual for yourself, with the use of a lit white sage smudge wand. At other times you may detect the need for some assistance, both in terms of spiritual intuition and because it can be tricky to sweep the smoke over the entire outline of your body, front and back, head to toe. In a sympathetically conducted ritual, your helper will gather the smoke with their hand and draw it into the perimeter of your body. Special attention will be given to areas of stress and unbalance so that cleansing and protection can be experienced.

   Use the plant to the highest of your abilities, showing with all your power, gratitude and respect for the benefits that you receive. Try to apply the same attitude in relationship with yourself, others and the world.

   Follow your bliss!

  All the wonderful products that you might need to create the suggested herbal experiences can be found at our online store at http://luckysixfarms.com