smudging

I personally smudge everything occasionally especially when there are issues at home, or even more so when there are nosy neighbors. I smudge the property to take away the negative vibes, or if someone is sick at home I also do it inside then.

Smudging it all about intention, cleansing, your rocks, the tarots, house ect.

Just my two cents.

Barbara

I smudge my decks between readings for clients. It's part of my heritage though, salt, sage, sweet grass and tobacco is an important cleansing right for me.

When I got into tarot 25 years ago nobody talked of smudging where I come from. I only worked out what it was (too embarrassed to ask) a couple of months ago from talk here at AT.

But it's an American Indian tradition isn't it? If I did it, it would be an adopted form of behaviour which doesn't come naturally to me at all and isn't really a part of where I came from. No disrespect at all but for me it would seem almost like an affectation.

Le Fanu said:

But it's an American Indian tradition isn't it? If I did it, it would be an adopted form of behaviour which doesn't come naturally to me at all and isn't really a part of where I came from. No disrespect at all but for me it would seem almost like an affectation.

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Yes, it is a Native American tradition, typically it's sage, sweet grass and tobacco. We pretty much smudge everything as well as before and at the end of any get together's, so for me it's natural and I wouldn't expect anyone not of my type of heritage to take up the practice just because.

Le Fanu said:

But it's an American Indian tradition isn't it? If I did it, it would be an adopted form of behaviour which doesn't come naturally to me at all and isn't really a part of where I came from. No disrespect at all but for me it would seem almost like an affectation.

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It is far from an affectation or merely an American Indian tradition. Sacred smoke is used to cleanse and as an offering in almost every corner of the world. Siberia and Mongolia often use Juniper, Middle and Far East use Sandalwood, Agarwood and a host of resins. Tobacco, Cedar and Copal are used across the North and South America continents. Pine, Cedar and Juniper is used in Northern Europe, Rosemary, Mugwort and Thyme in West and Central Europe. I could go on . . .

For example, when I was in Brazil, I would see "fumigating" of shops or houses, to cleanse the space. Of course the tradition of smoke and cleansing is - indeed - very old. I know this. But the word "smudging" and "smudge sticks" and the use of them in the context of tarot I'm sure is an American influence. Like dream catchers. What I was saying was that for me to do something which doesn't come naturally to the culture I grew up in (and honestly during the 70s and 80s in Europe nobody that I knew of spoke of smudging before reading) would be an affectation for me. Of course I'm not saying that smudging is an affectation.

I sometimes "refresh" a deck, by re-ordering it .. and i do this because i only have four decks, and every so often i will want to work from a deck that contains only MY energy .. especially if i haven't read for "myself" in awhile. If you can appreciate that i read for others using all four decks, but then every so often i will want to read for myself and so will reorder a deck to remove the energy of others. (Hmmn, if i wasn't so strapped for cash i would purchase a deck JUST for me .. not to mention, but i can also see having different decks for different people .. ie. everyone i read for would have their own deck, but alas i can't afford to work this way @ the moment).

& YES i get what you are saying about how decks can take on a life of their own, and how you can get really spot-on readings by USING them .. so why mess with a good thing? << which is why i don't "refresh" mine very often .. (indeed i will read for years with a deck), but every so often i will "feel" that the time is right to CHANGE the decks energy by "removing" the energy thats built-up, and so i systematically re-order it, and then i infuse the deck with my energy.

& Speaking of which, i just "refreshed" my deck earlier this week, and i posted the throw i did AFTER having done this in the "your readings" forum. Further to which, and for anyone whose interested in "re-ordering" a deck, if you check out the post "ALL four 4's" in this section, you will note where the first few paragraphs explain my METHOD of re-ordering a deck.

I was thinking of this earlier. I passed a shop in Galway, selling smudge sticks from America, coral and sage, juniper and cedar. It struck me as unusual that people would be willing to pay a considerate amount of money for a smudging stick (15 Euro each) and yet most would never know the spiritual presence, associations and nature of the herbs used.

Although I am sure they are effective I cant but honestly feel that such things are a weak replacement for the challenging and inviting practice of growing, attuning and gathering your own. Such things would become less about a simple tool and more about celebrating the experience and exchanging in heart felt will a deed for a deed.

I bless mine, only occasionally with Eimur, the ashes of a wood fire and rosemary. Personally the scent rekindles an almost primal awareness and connects me with the open fires of the ancestors. A communion with who I am and where I come from. It carries the intent well.

I have never cleansed or "smudged" my deck. I'm not opposed to doing so, I just have never felt the need. I suppose I may want to in the future if I begin reading for others but as of now I don't do it.

Your reasoning for not cleansing your deck is very interesting and actually makes sense to me. I had never thought of it that way but I would never want to erase all the positive energy and knowledge that the cards gain over time.

And as for putting the cards back in order, it sounds as a waste of time to me. I have very few OCD tendencies, though, and I don't mind things being messy and out of order.

Smudging a Deck

I recently smudged my deck. I took each card out and held it over the smoke and made the "infinity" symbol with them. Lately there has been a lot of bad stuff going on at home, and it seemed like every card I pulled was also giving me really negative readings. I just felt like it was time to cleanse things.

When I did so, it helped me develop a better bond with the deck since I was holding each card and spending time with it. I think the smudging was actually more for my own energy than the deck though. *shrug*