Smudging & Smoke Cleansing: A Comparative Post

Okay, so I guess we need to talk about smudging vs smoke cleansing (which is not a wide-spread term, but it’s what I’m going to use to help differentiate between the two practices for this post). Now, there are a lot of similarities between traditional smudging and smoke cleansing. Both are methods of cleansing that utilize the smoke of sacred herbs and plants to cleanse and purify a person, place, or thing.  
Here’s a visual, but don’t worry, we’ll discuss below:

First, Smoke Cleansing:

• Like traditional smudging, this is the practice of cleansing somewhere, something, or someone with smoke. 
• Most commonly, white sage (or, as we call it sacred sage or ceremonial sage) is used in this practice, but other things can be substituted. There are many cultures who have practiced smoke cleansing, so you can find an herb or resin that’s applicable to any path. 
• Smoke cleansing is usually done in a circular, sunwise path. The direction in which you being may very depending in your path or tradition, but most books will tell you to begin in the east.
• Smoke is fanned into every corner and crevice of whatever you’re cleansing in order to remove spirits, negative energy, and evil. 
• Smoke cleansing may be accompanied by a chant or something similar. This can be personal or textbook and is generally said out loud. 
• Because this practice is passed down from book to person or from mentor to student, it remains relatively the same between most people who use it—tools, smokes, and chants, on the other hand, may vary. 
• Smoke cleansing is considered a very important practice because of the act of cleansing. 
• It can be use before, during, or after ritual or spellwork. 

Traditional Smudging:

• Traditional smudging is a pre-ceremony element used to cleanse and purify and area of ceremony as well as any of the people who are going to pass into the circle—dancers, veterans, storytellers, etc.
• Like a lot of our ceremonial practices, the concept of smudging is usually passed down through oral tradition and generally through a family line. There is not a lot of accurate representation of this practice in books; so, without oral tradition, the practice as Native Americans know it would cease to exist. 
• Some elements of smudging will differ from group to group. There is no one way for Native Americans to do things. Every tribe, clan, and family will have their own set of practices; and every person will have their own prayers.
• Tools for smudging are usually traditional—at least for ceremonial purpose. Though the actual practices vary, the tools are almost always familiar. 
• Smudging is accompanied by constant prayer (generally said in the heart) and uses specific movements when smudging your smudge fan, yourself, or someone else.
• The prayers that accompany this practice are not written down and are totally different from person to person. We are never taught how to pray. 
• Traditional smudging also utilizes white sage—however, it is usually incorporated into a blend. My family, for example, uses sage, tobacco, and cedar. 
• Unlike smoke cleansing, traditional smudging is not often used to get rid of spirits. In fact, because the practice has been used during the prayers of our race since the first people, it’s often thought of as a way to connect with the spirits of our ancestors. Sometimes, it’s taught that our prayers are carried along with their prayers.
• The smoke from smudging also serves to put a person into a community mindset. Because we have passed this tradition down from first people, the smell of the smoke evokes a feeling of being at home no matter where you are or who you’re with. It’s something that the entire community can share, whether they are related or not. 
• Smudging is considered sacred both because of spiritual practices and the connection to community and is often used as a way to honor ancestors while cleansing. 
• EDIT: I forgot to mention we also have specific ways of disposing of ashes. :O

One day, when I’m less afraid that everything I say will be taken by appropriators, I’ll write about these practices. One day…