Smudge Wands

I usually create smudge wands for my own personal use every Winter. But this year I had a lot of extra beautifully dried plant materials leftover from our Summer and Autumn harvests, which had maintained their fragrance and color beautifully. I also had leftover blackberry honey mead from soaking the oranges for our Jade Forest Chai Tea, and so I soaked apples and orange slices, and dehydrated them for a few of the smudge wands. The wands do not contain white sage, but instead, Artemisia as a sustainable alternative. We grow more than a handful of varieties(7 different varieties), and I have chosen the varieties that burn best, releasing a fragrant smoke. Smudge wands contain the following core botanicals wildcrafted from our Forest; Cedar, Fir, and Juniper. The herbs and botanicals are grown organically in our garden, harvested in their prime, and properly dried and cured. The Blue Lotus Flowers are dried to perfection, retaining color and scent, by a mother and daughter duo in Thailand. The pink Peonies were gifted to me by my Mom, expertly dried, retaining scent, and a pretty peachy pink color. All other botanicals are from our garden. The whole plant is used, flowers, leaves, and stems. I've created a variety of combinations of herbs, flowers, and crystals, and the choices are as follows;
~Jade Forest-Purple Yarrow, Lavender Flowers, Black Honey Sage, Artemisia, Cedar, Fir, Juniper, Blackberry Honey Mead Soaked Oranges, adorned with Jade.
 
~Blue Moon over the Forest~Blue Lotus Flowers, Artemisia, Cedar, Fir, Juniper, adorned with Opalite glass moons and Lapis Lazuli.
 
~Jade Garden~Clary Sage, Garden Tobacco, Artemisia, Cedar, Juniper, Fir, adorned with Jade.
 
~Artemis~Silver Artemisia, Artemisia, Cedar, Fir, Juniper, adorned with Jade.
 
~Samhain Smoke~Blackberry Honey Mead Soaked Apples, Ceylon Cinnamon, Artemisia, Lavender, Black Honey Sage, Cedar, Fir Juniper, adorned with Jade.
 
~Ostara Wishes~Peonies, Artemisia, Cedar, Fir, Juniper, adorned with Rose Quartz.
 
~Jada Absintha~ Wormwood, Sweet Grass, Artemisia,Tansy, Dill, Fir, adorned with Jade.
 
~Forest Floor~Ghost Pipe Flowers, Artemisia, Labrador Tea, Lichen, Lavender, Fir, adorned with Black Obsidian.
 
~Forests Edge~Mugwort, Fir, Angelica, Wormwood, Yarrow, Labrador Tea, Tansy, adorned with Blue Lace Agate.
 
Smudge Wands have been used around the world by many cultures since ancient times. They are used to perfume the air like an incense, to clear negative energy to usher in positive frequencies and vibes, to prepare a magical working space/altar/circle, to clean the air (peer reviewed, scientific studies show smoke from these plant materials will destroy 94% of harmful microbes in the air), and some believe they can usher spirits to the light, or rid your home of negative spirits, ghosts and demons. The smudge wands I've created are of a considerable size, 2 inches wide and 8-10 inches long. Each wand can be used many times, or burned all at once. If you would like to burn the wand in it's entirety, it's best to do this outside or with plenty of ventilation (i.e. open windows).
 
I prefer to use my wands in a reserved manner. I like to light one end, move briskly from room to room, while setting my intentions of clearing stale energy, and inviting in positive energy and love, then stubbing it out once I've circled back to my starting point. This scents the air in my home, kills airborne bacteria and mold, and allows the perfect amount of smoke to fill the air. Each wand provides me with around 7 uses. I also enjoy using my smudge wand to clear the stale energy, and directly afterwards, I heat one of my natural incenses, or an incense wand, filling the air with beautiful, complex, natural fragrance, and ushering in love and positive energy. The light herbal smoke intermingles with the incense just for a moment, an exchange that balances the energies, sweeping out the stale vibes, and allowing love to bloom.
 
My smudge wands are wrapped with organic cord created from plant material. This type of cord is typically dipped in beeswax, and used as wick material on candles. It burns nicely, slowly, and has no scent. The cord itself is remarkably thin. I have used two types, one is a muddy cream color, as nature intended. The other is dyed with plant dyes, and is mottled green and purple between it's natural color. Both are created by small businesses in the United States.
 
To light your wand it is best to use a lighter. Torches provide too much flame, a match doesn't burn long enough and a candle isn't the safest option. Hold the tip of your wand in the flame of the lighter, moving the flame around the circumference of the wand tip until it's evenly lit and burning. If it catches, blow it out. If you'd like to burn just a portion, you can stub it out on an incense dish, or appropriate vessel. Before storing it away for the next use, you may find it best to snip a bit of the end off, where it is blackened. I have a designated tea cup saucer which I use to stub out my smudge wands. I also hold the same tea cup saucer underneath my wand as I walk about my home, to catch the few flakes of ash that may fall from the wand. You can store your wands in a jar, a paper bag, a ziploc bag, or display it on your altar. The tight bundle preserves the fragrance and herbs.
 
These wands are best used within a year, but will keep for many years if kept out of sunlight and humidity.