Summer Solstice is this Saturday, June 20th, 2020!
I LOVE Summer Solstice and make a point to find a new way to celebrate every year. This year I’m making smudge bundles (also known as smudge sticks) with local herbs!
This is a simple, fun, and relaxing activity that can be done in a variety of areas. To me, the main point is to get outside in the sunshine and commune with the earth on this special day. As an added bonus, you get to collect some of Gaia’s seasonal gifts to make a beautiful piece that you can preserve as a form of medicine, natural decoration, use in ritual or to create sacred space, and/or burn as a smudge stick. They also make lovely gifts!
What’s Smudging?
Smudging (burning plants for their smoke) is a form of medicine as it helps to clear the energy of a space, invoke healing properties of plants, and invites the sacred into your space. I smudge before doing herbal preparations, during special celebrations, and when I feel like I just need to move/enhance the energy of my home or quickly support my mood and spirit. Been caught in a quarantine funk lately?— try smudging your home to shift your energy!
While there are plenty of herbs that have been used for centuries traditionally to smudge (perhaps the most common, sacred plant in my area being White Sage), you are welcome to play around with whatever plants speak to you! Use good judgement as there are a few poisonous plants out there whose smoke you wouldn’t want to inhale. If you want a place to start, here is a list of herbs commonly used in smudge sticks:
Sage (White Sage is most common— be responsible and know where you harvest from,— but also Black, Blue and Red), Mugwort, Rosemary, Lavender, Cedar, Rose, Eucalyptus, Pine, Juniper, Yerba Santa, Yarrow, Chamomile, and Palo Santo (be especially carefully with sustainable sourcing for this last one— it’s often harvested irresponsibly).
Resins of Frankincense, Myrrh, Amber, and Pine are also lovely to include in smudging, though these are likely ingredients you would want to source out.
How To Make Your Bundle
Head outside into the sunshine! Consider saying a few words out lout or silently to acknowledge the gift of Solstice and give thanks. Explore your own backyard, natural parks, local hiking areas, or just about any space outside. Follow your heart and collect a few plants for your bundle (you can use scissors to cut a few pieces of each plant). An important note here is to be mindful of how much you take (and where you take from). Don’t pick all the flowers in one area, or there will be none left for others to enjoy. This is actually a super important part of wildcrafting— many people are “wild-taking” in an irresponsible manner that ignores local indigenous peoples, depletes natural plant stands and can harm the plants’ families, even leading to wild plant endangerment. For this reason, I rarely wildcraft as an herbalist and instead grow my own and source from responsible gardeners. In the spirit of Mama Earth I encourage you to be mindful of how you gather your bundle. Try using plants solely from your own yard (or your neighbors’ yards with permission!). If you do want to collect plants from elsewhere, just stay present and use your head and your heart so you don’t overtake. Do your research ahead of time so you ensure you’re being a responsible plant ally.
If gathering plants in your area isn’t an option, you can do your “gathering” at your local farmers market! Look for fresh cut herbs or even live plants like rosemary, thyme, sage, or lavender. No backyard and no far mar nearby? You can even buy a few fresh herb sprigs from your local grocery store (hey— these were grown by the sun too!). Just set up a sweet spot somewhere outside (like laying down a blanket in the park) to open them up, smell them, give thanks, and tie up your bundle.
Drying Your Herbs
Herbs do need to be dry to burn properly, so you’ll want to wait a while before burning your bundle (if you choose to do this— you can also keep it as is!). Let herbs air dry by hanging up or resting in a well aerated space (like in a strainer basket in a dry garage) for a few days. You can speed up the process by using a dehydrator or resting on top of an oven. Play around and experiment with making your bundle and then letting it dry out, or drying herbs first and then bundling it (usually you can go ahead and bundle first, but particularly wet herbs do have the risk of molding if clumped together too tightly so just be mindful and keep an eye on it). When you’re ready to bundle, now or later, use a natural string, like hemp cord, to tie around and hold it all together. You can even get fancy and use a long orange peel, long weed, or other plant material!
Enjoy, Sweetheart!
Now that you have your beautiful bundle, put it somewhere special! Every time you see it (and especially when you smudge with it) you can be reminded of bright Summer Solstice energy and the many gifts of the earth. Even when times are tough, the abundance of the earth provides.
Sending you lots of sunshine love!