We carry white sage, but it lives on our bottom shelf, and we'll always show you the alternatives first. This page explains why, where ours comes from, and what we do to help protect it, so you can make your own choice.
Our position. We know some of you will choose white sage, and that's your call to make. We'd rather you buy it from someone who tells you the truth about it, and helps protect it, than from someone who doesn't. So we're honest about where ours comes from, we donate $1 to white sage conservation for every bundle that contains it and every sale of loose leaves, and we'll always show you the alternatives first.
Why white sage is different
It's sacred. White sage is sacred to Indigenous communities in California, and it's central to smudging, a closed ceremony of North American Indigenous nations. Native Americans could not legally practice ceremonies like smudging in the U.S. until 1978.
It's at risk. White sage is on the United Plant Savers "At-Risk" list. As smoke cleansing grew popular, wild white sage was overharvested to meet demand.
Much of it is poached. Crews strip wild sage from preserves in Southern California and Baja California, often pulling plants out by the roots. Labels like "sustainably harvested" are hard to verify, so where the sage was grown matters.
The white sage we carry
White sage is traditionally associated with clearing negativity, creating sacred space, wisdom and healing. These products are white sage or contain it:
White Sage Handrolled Bundles 4"
White Sage Torch Style 4"
White Sage Loose Leaves
Dragon's Blood Dipped Sage 4"
Reversible Sage 4", Protection & Power
Sacred Smoke Logs, 7 Herbs 4"
What each one is used for is in our Smoke Cleansing Guide.
Where ours comes from
Knowing where our herbs come from matters to us. Our suppliers confirm that all of our white sage, dragon's blood dipped bundles included, is grown on private farms in Southern California and harvested with care, never gathered from the wild. Shopping somewhere else? Ask where their sage comes from. A good seller will be glad to tell you.
Our pledge
For every bundle containing white sage we sell, including Dragon's Blood Dipped Sage, Reversible Sage and our Sacred Smoke Logs, and for every sale of loose white sage leaves, we donate $1 to conservation efforts that protect wild white sage from poaching and help replant it.
Swap Your Sage
Every job white sage does, another herb on our wall can do too:
A full reset or fresh start- Try Juniper, Cedar, Pine
Clearing a heavy room- Try Eucalyptus, Rosemary
Protection- Try Black Sage, Cedar, Juniper
Sending energy back- Try Black Sage, Juniper
Gentle everyday cleansing- Try Blue Sage, Rosemary
Blessing after a cleanse- Palo Santo, Lavender
The Smoke Cleansing Guide covers each one in full.
How to buy responsibly
From the California Native Plant Society's Flora white sage issue (Spring 2022):
Buy white sage "only from reputable growers, regenerative farms, and native plant nurseries," and boycott "all products made from wild gathered (poached) sage." (Editors Deborah Small and Rose Ramirez)
Ask the seller: "Do you know where that comes from?" (Teresa Romero, Santa Ynez Chumash Tribal Nursery)
"Farming is the way to go." (Ellen Woodward-Taylor, SageWinds Farm)
Better still, grow your own and go "from smudging to seeding." (CNPS, on the film Saging the World)
Read more
We want you to make an informed choice. These cover the white sage trade in general, not any one supplier:
Flora, Spring 2022: White Sage (California Native Plant Society): a full issue guest-edited by Chumash/Yaqui ethnobotanist Rose Ramirez, covering poaching, Indigenous-led protection and replanting, and how to buy responsibly.
The white sage black market is contributing to the native plant's decimation in Southern California (ABC7 Los Angeles, 2022): how poaching crews strip wild sage, and what the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians says about it.
Here's how you can help stop the poaching of white sage in Southern California (ABC7 Los Angeles, 2022): what buyers can do.
That Sage Smudge Stick Probably Came From Stolen Plants (EcoWatch, 2021): why labels like "sustainably harvested" are hard to verify, and what California law allows.
AB 1041, white sage protection bill (CalMatters Digital Democracy): a 2023 California bill to add penalties for poaching and selling white sage, which did not pass.
All of our bundles are sold for magickal and curio use only.
