Every bundle on our wall does something a little different. A label only fits a few words, so this is where we keep the rest: what each herb is traditionally associated with, when to reach for it, and how to use it well.
Start with what's going on in your life, find it in the list below, then read up on the bundles that match. Still not sure? Ask any of us in the shop. Basic guidance is always free.
Doing a full home reset? Pair your smoke cleanse with our New Year Home Cleansing Checklist + Simple Cord Cutting Ritual: smoke clears the air, and the checklist takes care of the doors, floors and altars.
New to all of this? Start with Beginner Witchcraft 101, then come back here to pick your herbs.
A note on words. You'll hear "smudging" used for any smoke cleansing, but smudging is a specific, closed ceremony of North American Indigenous nations, with its own prayers, sacred herbs and teachings passed down through elders. If you weren't taught it by that community, it isn't smudging. What we do with these herbs is smoke cleansing, also called saining in Celtic tradition. People have cleansed with smoke on every continent, so there's a tradition here for everyone.
Choose by situation
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Juniper, Cedar, Pine. Juniper for a full reset, cedar to bless and settle, pine for renewal.
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Eucalyptus, Rosemary. Eucalyptus lifts heavy energy; rosemary sweeps out what’s stuck.
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Rosemary, Eucalyptus. Both are traditionally tied to clarity, and rosemary to memory.
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Lavender, Blue Sage. Lavender quiets racing thoughts; blue sage is gentle and calming.
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Nag Champa Sage, Palo Santo, Blue Sage. Warm, soft smoke for creating sacred space.
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Reversible Sage, Dragon’s Blood Sage. Clear it out, send it back, seal the space. For an option without white sage, try Black Sage or Juniper.
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Black Sage, Cedar, Rosemary, Dragon’s Blood Sage. Black sage shields; cedar and rosemary guard the home.
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Cedar, Pine. Evergreens to steady and ground you.
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Black Sage. Traditionally tied to dreams, intuition and deep meditation.
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Palo Santo, Lavender, Juniper. Palo santo invites good energy in after a cleanse.
Choose by situation
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Eucalyptus: Smudge Stick 3-4" and Loose Leaves
Bright and invigorating. Eucalyptus is traditionally associated with purification and healing. Reach for it when a space feels heavy, after illness has passed through a home, or when your practice needs new life.
Cultural background: In Australia, First Peoples perform smoking ceremonies with dampened eucalyptus leaves to cleanse people, places and objects, and to open important gatherings. It's a living tradition, so we use eucalyptus with respect for it. (Victorian Government, Big Build)
Rosemary Smudge Stick 3-4"
A kitchen-witch staple. Rosemary is traditionally associated with cleansing, protection, memory and mental clarity. Good for study and workspaces, and a gentle everyday cleanse for any home.
Cultural background: Rosemary has been used since ancient Greece and Rome, where scholars wore garlands of it to aid their memory. In Europe it became a symbol of remembrance at funerals and of love and loyalty at weddings. (The Herb Society of America)
Pine Smudge Sage 4"
Fresh and evergreen. Pine is traditionally associated with renewal, strength, purification, protection and abundance. Reach for it at the turn of the year, when starting over, or when you need to feel steady and strong.
Cultural background: People have brought evergreens indoors around the winter solstice since before Christianity. Their unchanging green came to stand for the renewal of life and was believed to ward off dark spirits. (New Hampshire Public Radio, by writers from the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and NH Audubon)
Looking for white sage? We carry it, and it has its own page: White Sage: What to Know Before You Buy.
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Black Smudge Sage 4"
Also called dream weed or mugwort, black sage grows in the mountains of the West Coast. It's a defensive herb, traditionally used to repel strong negativity and shield a person or space. It also carries a second side: intuition, dreams and deep meditation. Reach for it when you need protection that lets you keep your inner sight open.
Cultural background: Mugwort has a long history in European folk tradition. It was gathered at Midsummer and worn as a protective charm, carried by travelers for safety, and tucked under pillows to encourage vivid dreams. (The Herb Society, UK)
Dragon's Blood Dipped Sage 4"
White sage dipped in dragon's blood resin, which is traditionally used in protection and love work and to amplify other ingredients. A strong choice for deep clearing, empowerment, and protecting love work.
Cultural background: "Dragon's blood" is a name shared by red resins from several unrelated plants, including the Daemonorops rattan palm and Dracaena trees. These resins have a long history in folk medicine and as a red colorant for varnishes. (University of Washington Botanic Gardens)
Please note: this bundle is white sage. Read our White Sage page before you choose. For protection without white sage, try Black Smudge Sage, Cedar or Juniper.
Reversible Sage 4", Protection & Power
A two-sided bundle: black on one end, purple on the other. Burn the black side first to clear out negative energy, then turn it and burn the purple side to call in protection and power. Reach for it when you believe something has been thrown your way and you want to send it back and seal the space behind it.
Please note: this bundle is white sage. Read our White Sage page before you choose. For reversal and protection work without white sage, try Black Smudge Sage or Juniper.
Cedar: Smudge Wands 4" and Loose Leaves & Clusters
Grounding and protective. Cedar is traditionally associated with purification, blessings, protection and connection to the earth. Reach for it when you feel scattered, or to bless and settle a home.
Cultural background: Cedar is central to Native cultures of the Pacific Northwest. Western redcedar has been called "the cornerstone of northwest coast Indian culture," and was used for houses, canoes, clothing, baskets and medicine. (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Plant Guide)
Juniper Smudge Sage 3"
Juniper is associated with deep cleansing, protection, renewal, home blessings, and a full energetic reset, a good choice for new beginnings and the turn of the seasons.
Cultural background: In the Scottish Highlands, juniper was burned for its smoke rather than its heat. At Hogmanay (New Year), households and livestock were blessed and protected with juniper smoke in a ritual called saining, and juniper was also burned during outbreaks of plague. (Trees for Life, Scotland)
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Lavender Smudge Stick 3-4"
Soft and soothing. Lavender is traditionally associated with peace, restful sleep, love and emotional healing, and with quieting racing or circular thoughts. Reach for it when you want to settle anxious energy rather than scrub a space clean, or to bless a bedroom.
Cultural background: The name comes from the Latin lavare, "to wash." Ancient peoples of the Middle East used lavender in baths and to freshen their homes, it was used to clean sickrooms in Greece and Rome, and medieval Christians hung crosses woven from it in doorways to ward off evil. (The Herb Society of America)
Blue Sage 4-5"
A gentler cousin of white sage. Blue sage is traditionally associated with cleansing, healing and blessing, with a softer, sweeter smoke. A good everyday choice for calm and for people new to smoke cleansing.
Cultural background: Desert purple sage (Salvia dorrii), one of the plants sold as blue sage, has been used for medicine and ceremony by tribes across the Great Basin and Southwest, including the Paiute, Shoshone, Washoe and Hopi. The Kawaiisu threw it into fire to keep away spirits and ghosts. (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Plant Guide)
Nag Champa Sage 4"
Blue sage scented with nag champa. It pairs blue sage's gentle cleansing with the warm, familiar scent of nag champa, traditionally associated with meditation, calm and sacred space. Reach for it before yoga, meditation or quiet ritual.
Cultural background: Nag champa is an incense style from India, named for the fragrant champa flower. Champaca is sacred to Hindus and Buddhists and is often planted on temple grounds (National Tropical Botanical Garden), and incense is part of Hindu ritual and home offerings (Encyclopaedia Britannica).
Palo Santo: Wood Cuttings and Black Copal Dipped Sticks 4"
The "holy wood." Palo santo is traditionally associated with clearing, blessing, and inviting good energy into a space after it's been cleansed. Our wood cuttings come in assorted sizes, from sticks to chips. The Black Copal dipped sticks add copal, a tree resin burned as ritual incense.
Cultural background: Palo santo (Bursera graveolens) grows in the dry tropical forests of Central and South America, and the Inca burned it in rituals to drive away evil spirits (Discover Magazine, 2024). Copal was a sacred offering for the ancient Maya: the Metropolitan Museum of Art holds a bowl of copal pellets and jade beads recovered from the Sacred Cenote (The Met).
Sacred Smoke Logs, 7 Herbs 4"
Seven herbs rolled and sun-dried into a small log, about an inch thick: lavender, rue, mint, blue sage, royal sage, white sage and black yerba santa. Together they're traditionally used to clear negative energy, restore balance and lift the spirit. The log burns slower and longer than a bundle, so reach for it for full-home cleanses or longer rituals.
Please note: these logs contain white sage. Read our White Sage page before you choose. For a full-home cleanse without white sage, try Cedar, Juniper or Pine.
How to smoke cleanse safely
Open a window or door. Smoke needs somewhere to go, and so does the energy you're clearing.
Light the tip, then blow it out. You want a steady smolder, not a flame.
Hold a fireproof dish underneath (ceramic, stone, cast iron, or a bowl of sand) to catch ash and embers, and keep a cup of water or sand nearby.
Move with intention. Walk the space, letting the smoke reach corners, doorways and windows. Move counterclockwise to clear energy out, then clockwise to bring blessings in. Give extra attention to thresholds, where unwanted energy was traditionally believed to enter: doors, windows, corners and the space around your bed. Say what you're clearing, out loud or in your head.
Put it out completely. Press the lit end into sand, soil or your dish until no smoke remains. Never leave a smoldering bundle unattended. Close with a few words of your own to seal the work. Many practitioners return the cooled ashes to the earth.
Burning loose herbs or resin? Light a charcoal disc in a fireproof dish filled with sand, wait until it glows and turns gray, then sprinkle a pinch of herbs on top. Add more as it burns down. Ask us for charcoal tablets if you need them.
Be kind to the lungs around you. Keep smoke away from pets (birds especially), babies, and anyone with asthma or breathing trouble. Resins make heavier smoke, so give them extra airflow, and never burn essential oils or plants you can't identify. If smoke isn't right for your space, Florida Water is a smoke-free way to cleanse: wipe it on doorways and altars, or ask us for other options.
Want to go deeper?
These guides cover the history and practice of smoke cleansing:
Smoke Cleansing Around the World (Mountain Rose Herbs): smoke traditions from many cultures, and why choosing herbs other than white sage matters.
Spring Cleaning: Aromatic Herbs for Smoke Cleansing (Northwest School of Aromatic Medicine): European traditions like juniper and mugwort, and how to make your own bundles from local plants.
All of our bundles are sold for magickal and curio use only.
Where our bundles come from?
We asked our supplier where our bundles come from. Here's what they told us:
Blue sage, black sage, cedar and dragon's blood sage: also farm-grown in Southern California with sustainable harvesting.
Palo santo: gathered in Peru only from naturally fallen branches and trees, under Peruvian environmental regulations.
White sage has its own page, covering where ours comes from and the $1 we donate to white sage conservation for every white sage sale: White Sage: What to Know Before You Buy.
Want to know where a specific bundle comes from? Just ask.
