SMUDGING

Smudging is the burning of certain herbs to create a cleansing smoke. The smoke from smudging attaches itself to negative energy and as the smoke clears it takes the negative energy with it, releasing it into another space where it will be regenerated into positive energy.

Some of the common herbs of smudging are Sage, White Sage, cedar, Lavender, Sweet grass, and Mug wart Copal.

Mix together the plants you will be using, placing them in a shell or sturdy bowl, and light them. Some mixtures of herbs do not stay lit well. You may need to put a charcoal in the bowl first. Before lighting either the charcoal or herbs, make sure there is some soil or sand in the bottom of the bowl or shell. This will keep it from being too hot to hold.

When the herbs are lit, use a fan or feather to fan out the flame. Throughout the ceremony you will need to fan the herbs to keep them smouldering.

Once the herbs are smouldering, draw the smoke to your heart, then over your head, down your arms, and down the front of your body. Now move the smoke over the back of your body toward the ground. If you need special balancing or healing in some part of your body, you can emphasize by pulling the smoke to the area.

It is your responsibility to cleanse your own energy field. The plants help. They do not do it for you.

Next, offer smoke to the six directions: up to the Creator, down to the Earth, and then to the north, east, south and west, in that order.

After you have smudged yourself and offered the smudge, you can hold the bowl while others smudge themselves, or you may smudge them. They should draw the smoke to themselves, first to the heart, over the head, down the arms, down the chest, and down the back.

You may now walk around the area you will be using, wafting the smoke as you go. If you are inside, smudge around the walls of the room, paying particular attention to the corners.

Smudge any medicine tools you will be using during ceremonies.

CENTERING

There are many ways to centre yourself in a ceremony. Using one of them is critical because the more cantered you are, the more powerful the ceremony will be. Basically any cantering technique helps to bring all your energy together, allowing you to let go of the everyday world and thus enter the sacred space. Some of the ways we often use to centre energy is to drum, rattle, or chant.

DRUMMING

To begin drumming, you should quiet yourself and listen to your heartbeat.

Begin to drum your heartbeat on the drum.

As your heartbeat shifts, allow your drumming to change.

Do not try to change the drumbeat rapidly. A slow, repetitive beat is more effective.

If your drumming is accompanying a chant, listen to the chant first. Make the drum beat complement the chant, not compete with it. Under no circumstances should you drown out the chant with the drum.

At the end of a chant you should make several rapid beats, which serve the purpose of sending the song out to the Great Spirit and announcing the song is completed.