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This article is specifically about white sage. If you are looking for general sage, click here.
BOTANICAL BREAKDOWN
BOTANICAL NAME - Salvia apiana
AKA - California sage, bee sage, sacred sage
PARTS USED - Leaves, stems
BOTANICAL PROPERTIES OF WHITE SAGE
White sage is an aromatic evergreen can be found in the Southwestern US and Northwestern Mexico, in costal scrub and desert habitats, growing up to 5ft tall and 4ft wide. The botanical family salvia, comes from the latin salvus, which refers to health, prosperity, safety, and healing - an apt name for such a powerful herb. Apiana refers to how attractive its flowers are to a variety of bees. The plant thrives in sunny, dry conditions and sandy, well draining soil. The furry leaves release a pungent aroma when their oil glands are damaged, giving us the classic sage smell.
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES OF WHITE SAGE
| This article is not medical advice, it is just a description of how this herb has been used and is for informational purposes only. Many herbs may have adverse or even dangerous effects when misused. |
Indigenous communities traditionally used white sage in phytotherapy - a practice that involves using herbs for spiritual healing, intended to be used alongside physical methods. In this context, it has been used as an apotropaic herb - used to cleanse the spirit, bless, and restore balance. Outside of its spiritual properties, in Indigenous traditional medicine it has been used as an analgesic (painkiller), and for its calming properties. Other reported uses of the herb include reducing secretions of all forms (from sweating to sinus to lactation), inducing vomiting, acting as an antiseptic, managing coughs, managing menstrual problems, treating eye issues, headache relief, and more.
MAGICK & MYTHOS
ELEMENT - Air
PLANET - Jupiter
MOON PHASE - New
TAROT - N/A
CHAKRA - Crown
DEITIES & ENTITIES - Apollo, Asclepius, Astraea, Artemis, Brigid, Diana, Eir, Februus, Ganga, Heka, Hekate, Kebechet, Kusu, Lakshmi, Raphael, Shiva, Tara, Tutelary deities
THE COMPLICATED STORY OF WHITE SAGE:
White sage is an herb that has gained increased scrutiny in new age and spiritual practices for non-Indigenous communities lately. Below, we’ll take a look at white that is, and go over ethical options for practitioners. There are many types of sage, but this article is specifically looking at white sage, which is native to the southwestern United States, not common sage, salvia officinalis, which grows far more readily in other climates.So what’s the reason for this controversy over the herb? For millennia, Indigenous, First Nation, Inuit, and Métis communities have used sage native to the regions in which they live. It is an herb widely considered to have expansive spiritual and medicinal properties. White sage has been, and continues to be, used by Indigenous communities of the southwestern US, particularly in California. The popularization of white sage has led to overharvesting my commercial sellers, stripping and destroying sites that have long been used by Indigenous peoples. While it is not yet endangered, this appropriation and overharvesting undoubtedly calls into question its current and future availability to the peoples who have been using it for many thousands of years.
SMUDGING: THE TRUTH:
In short, smudging refers to a specific Indigenous ceremony, but the term has been appropriated by neopagan, occult, and new age communities. Burning sage to purify a place or person or thing is not smudging - it is simply purifying. Indigenous peoples have long held the power of sage in ritual and ceremony, and it is understandable that in turn, other spiritual communities have adopted this magickally powerful herb, however, any earth worship or spiritual practice based in compassion and empathy should prioritize sustainability and recognize the damage being done to Indigenous people and communities through this appropriation.All that said, you do not need to stop using sage in your practice, you do not need to stop burning sage - neither of these are, in and of themselves, problematic. There are two steps necessary to incorporate sage into your practice in a way that is not appropriative or damaging:
- Replace the term “smudging” with “purifying”, “burning sage”, or some other descriptor, as it is inaccurate and appropriative to use the term if you are not taking part in the specific Indigenous ceremony that “smudging” actually refers to.
- Thoughtfully source your white sage, or replace it with other, less at-risk plants. The white sage we sell is organically farmed, not wild harvested, and does not impact the foraged white sage available for Indigenous communities. Our goal in selling white sage, instead of simply offering other variations, is to reduce the overharvesting of the wild growth so it may be left to the Indigenous communities that have respectfully and sustainably harvested it for countless generations.
MAGICKAL USES OF SAGE
Sage is very versatile in its use, and is widely believed to be particularly powerful as a protective agent. This makes it excellent for any apotropaic magick (protection, warding, cleansing, etc). It is also a fantastic amplifier for most types of magick, enhancing the power of the spell and ingredients being used.
A few ways to use Sage in spellwork:
- Carry sage in a sachet to promote wisdom, manifest fortune, and for protection, and keep it on one’s person to guard against the evil eye.
- Burn sage to drive away negative intention, energies, and impurities from a place, person, or object.
- Add sage to a spell as an amplifier for the other herbs and items being used.
- Write a wish on a leaf of sage to manifest it. In Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, Scott Cunningham suggests hiding it beneath your pillow for three nights to make your wish come true. He advises that if you dream of what you desire, your wish will manifest, and if you do not dream of it, you must bury the sage in the ground so that you do not come to harm.
There is also a superstition that one should not plant sage in one’s own garden, and that someone else (a stranger, some say), should plant it for you.
Organic, sustainably grown white sage is available in our store right here. It is farmed, not foraged, to protect wild white sage used by Indigenous communities. Pre-mixed spell ingredients that include NAME are available in our store:
CLEANSE - to purify negative energies from yourself or your target
DREAM - to overcome obstacles and achieve goals
OVERCOME - to empower dream magicks, divination, and lucid dreaming