Smudging: Purpose, History, and Religious Tradition

Smudging is a sacred ritual, predominantly practiced by Indigenous cultures, to achieve spiritual purification, cleansing, and blessing by burning medicinal herbs. While white sage and sweetgrass are traditional, many people also use rosemary , lavender, cedar, or other botanicals based on personal preference and spiritual resonance.

The smoke is used to:

• Clear negative energy from spaces, objects, and people
• Restore balance and harmony in oneself and one’s surroundings
• Connect with the spiritual world and carry prayers to the Creator
• Promote well-being, healing, and positive attitudes

Smudging acts as a method to remove stagnant or unwanted energies. It can be a form of prayer and a way to foster feelings of peace and hope.

Biblical Imagery: “Prayers Like Incense”

The statement “prayers of the saints" are like incense is a biblical metaphor that appears throughout Scripture, symbolizing the sacred nature of prayer as a fragrant offering to God.

• Psalm 141:2 — “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”
• Revelation 5:8 — Describes golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
• Revelation 8:3–4 — An angel offers incense with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense rises with the prayers to God.

✨ Symbolic Meaning

• Sweet Aroma In the Old Testament, incense was a costly, carefully prepared mixture burned as a pleasing offering to God. Comparing prayers to incense shows that sincere and devout prayers are received with delight—like a sweet aroma in the heavenly temple.
• Ascending to God The rising smoke of incense symbolizes prayers ascending to God's presence. This imagery affirms that God hears and values the prayers of His people—they are not lost or ignored, but rise directly to His throne.
• Reverence and Sacrifice Burning incense was a sacred ritual requiring reverence and sincerity. The metaphor suggests that prayer, too, should be offered with humility, devotion, and a heart aligned with God’s will.

Step gently into the smoke, not as one escaping, but as one arriving— into stillness, into clarity, into the sacred hush where heaven listens.

Let the fragrance rise like prayer, like memory, like mercy. Let it carry what you release and cradle what you keep.

This is not superstition. This is surrender. This is not rebellion. This is renewal.

If you feel the stirring, the ache to clear your space and soul, you are not alone. You are being invited— not into ritual for ritual’s sake, but into a dimension where healing breathes, and the Spirit speaks.