White Sage (Salvia apiana)
Price range: $5.45 through $46.15
The pale cleansing sage of California · Available in 3 sizes
Dried white sage leaf, the resinous sage of the Californian coast, burned and steeped to cleanse rooms, tools and people.
Quick Uses
- Cleansing smoke: burn a few leaves on charcoal or in a fireproof dish and carry the smoke through a room to clear it.
- Consecration: pass new tools, cards or stones through the smoke before first use.
- Cleansing wash: steep the leaves and wipe altars, doorframes and windowsills with the cooled water.
How to Use It
Witchcraft & Folk Magick
- Cleansing smoke: burn a few leaves on charcoal or in a fireproof dish and carry the smoke through a room to clear it.
- Tool consecration: pass new tools, cards or stones through the smoke before first use.
- Cleansing wash: steep the leaves and use the cooled water to wipe down altars, doorframes and windowsills.
A Simple Working
- Open a door or window in the room you want to clear.
- Light two or three white sage leaves in a fireproof dish.
- Walk the room clockwise, letting the smoke reach the corners.
- Name what you are clearing out as you go.
- Finish at the open door or window.
- Light a white candle and leave it to burn while the air settles.
Pairs Well With
- Cedar, for a protective cleansing smoke.
- Sea salt, for a cleansing wash.
- Lavender, to soften the smoke and bring peace.
- A white chime candle, to close a cleansing.
What You Receive
Dried white sage leaf, available in 1 oz, 2 oz and 1 lb.
Origin & Lore
Salvia apiana is a shrub native to the dry coastal hills of southern California and Baja California. The Cahuilla, Chumash and other peoples of the region used its leaves and seeds as food and medicine, and burned the leaves in ceremony. Its use as a cleansing smoke spread widely in the twentieth century.
Rub a white sage leaf between your fingers and it leaves behind a sticky, resinous oil; that is the scent that rises when it burns.
White sage is a ceremonial plant of the Indigenous peoples of southern California, and today many of them harvest and tend it as part of their cultural practice. Its wider use as a smudge across North America and Europe is a modern development.
Did You Know?
Its species name, apiana, means “of bees”. Bees flock to its flowers, and California beekeepers have long prized white sage honey.
| Weight | N/A |
|---|---|
| Size | 1 oz, 2 oz, 1 lb |
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