One way that spiritual and energy workers purify themselves and clear negative energy from a treatment room or sacred space is by smudging with natural herbs. Here, you’ll learn about using essential oils for clearing energy – natural aromatic oils extracted from these same plants.
Using Essential Oils for Clearing Energy
Native Americans and Tibetan Buddhists are well-known for this practice. Each has been using the smoke from local herbs, shrubs, and trees for hundreds of years. Natural essential oils extracted from these same plants and others are more subtle and equally vibrational. The wide range of available essential oils offers a wider range of healing properties.
Native American Smudge Plants
Native Americans typically use dried herbs such as white sage (Salvia apiana), sagebrush (Artemisia californica), and sweetgrass (Hierochloe odorata), which are bunched up and tied tightly together into wands or sticks, i.e., smudge sticks. These are lit, the flame extinguished and the resulting smoldering stick is passed over people and objects and/or throughout the healing space as the smoke purifies and clears negative energies.
Diffuser Oils as an Alternative Method of Smudging
Unfortunately, some people have allergies to smoke so smudging between healing sessions or in spaces that others use can be problematic. Still clearing is an integral part of a healing practice. An alternative to smoke smudging is subtle aromatherapy or diffusing just a few drops of an all-natural essential oil blend in the healing space. The scent does not have to be strong to be effective. It’s easy to create a healing ambiance that is not overpowering to clients and others.
Essential Oils for Clearing Energy
Some of our favorite essential oils to include in diffuser oils for smudging (i.e., for diffusing and purifying) are white sage, juniper berry (Juniperus communis), and cedarwood (Cedrus altantica). At times we add additional essential oils to the diffuser blend in order to expand the intentions. For example, lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) protects against physical and energetic harm, and fragonia (Agonis fragrans), an Australian plant, releases deep-seated blockages.
Additional Essentials for Special Intentions
You can use subtle aromatherapy and essential oils in other smudging ceremonies as well. For example, smudging ceremonies on the new moon. Guided by new moon energy, these ceremonies tend to be about new beginnings.
Those on the full moon stress the release of old patterns and letting go. In this case, add some essential oils that provide support to the process of letting go. Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus), and frankincense (Boswellia cateri) will all assist with one form of release or another. Respectfully, they release ties from the past, fears, dysfunctional attachments, etc.
For more information on smudging or clearing energy, see:
- For more information on smudging, 20 plants and essential oils that can reinforce or broaden your intentions, and other methods of smudging, see my Starchaser eBook, Clearing Energy With Smudging,
- Additional blog posts on smudging and clearing:
- Join one of my virtual and in-person personal growth, natural healing, and wellness workshops, in particular:
- Smudging For Creating A Clear and Protected Space and
- Essential Oils for Energy Clearing And Spiritual Healing.
- Check my Eventbrite page for scheduled events
