I can weigh in on the whole Zeartul/Bellyrub thing but I won't, I've done enough of that.

From the moment I got up this morning it was all about Zeartul and his shit, so no, I wont give him any more air time. Instead I decided today is the day I'm saging our haul from the gem show over the weekend.

The last few days has been pretty crappy.

I went to bed on Friday night praying for Terry and his Mum. I woke up early Saturday morning hoping to hear good things but instead received devastating news.

We had planned to go to an inspection that morning before we headed to the Gem Show at Windsor but after hearing the news, I cried and went back to sleep, as if my consciousness couldn't deal and I had to switch off. By the time I woke up it was too late to go to the inspection and we were late for the Gem Show. It was hard to muster up the joy that day.

Then I found out someone I love, respect and think the world of has been suffering from depression these last few months. Depression is a beast I am very familiar with, one I have battled with for a very long time, and it saddened me to hear a friend, sorry, Family was going through that inner torment.

I, on purpose didn't turn discord on until Sunday night. When I finally did, I was greeted with another death in the SteemPh Family.

Then yesterday morning, I hear from Mum telling me Dad is in hospital and he's bleeding from places that shouldn't be bleeding. He's still in hospital today and they are preparing for his procedure tomorrow.

So yeh, I am most definitely saging. I am saging the shit out of everything today.

What is Smudging?

(When I was prepping. Can you spot something not crystal related on the floor?!)

Smudging (also known as Saging) is an ancient method of cleansing a person or a space, dispelling negative energy, spiritually protecting yourself, your aura & your home using a simple ritual or ceremony. It is also sometimes used for healing.

Burning sage is one of the oldest and purest methods of cleansing a person, group of people or space. While Native American sage burning is the most commonly recognized form of it today, it has nevertheless been a shared practice in other cultures too.

Not only do other cultures have their own practices, they also have their own preferred herbs or resin, or for the people of the Amazon the Palo Santo (Sacred Wood) is their traditional choice for their burning ceremonies.

I prefer White Sage as it is easily accessible. I can also customise my ritual by selecting specific resins or herbs from my little box of goodies right here.

How does it work?

Smudging calls on the spirits of sacred plants to drive away negative energies and put you back into a state of balance, peace and harmony. It is the psychic equivalent of washing your hands before eating – and used as an essential preliminary to almost all Native American ceremonies.

And if you don't believe in that, this is what Science says about smudging.

"We have observed that 1h treatment of medicinal smoke emanated by burning wood and a mixture of odoriferous and medicinal herbs (havan sámagri=material used in oblation to fire all over India), on aerial bacterial population caused over 94% reduction of bacterial counts by 60 min and the ability of the smoke to purify or disinfect the air and to make the environment cleaner was maintained up to 24h in the closed room. Absence of pathogenic bacteria Corynebacterium urealyticum, Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens, Enterobacter aerogenes (Klebsiella mobilis), Kocuria rosea, Pseudomonas syringae pv. persicae, Staphylococcus lentus, and Xanthomonas campestris pv. tardicrescens in the open room even after 30 days is indicative of the bactericidal potential of the medicinal smoke treatment. We have demonstrated that using medicinal smoke it is possible to completely eliminate diverse plant and human pathogenic bacteria of the air within confined space."

This is what Science says in English.

When burned, sage and other herbs release negative ions, which research has linked to a more positive mood.

The aroma of sage, for example, increases the oxygen supply to the brain, producing a relaxation of muscle tension. In addition, the smoke from some herbs actually changes the molecular structure of air and energy, producing a cleansing effect. As the sense of smell is connected very powerfully to instinct and memory, the burning of smudge sticks has been found to be a very effective aromatherapy agent, especially when combating feelings of depression, anger, fear, frustration, resentment, and grief.

Why do I Smudge?

I smudge for heaps of reasons.

🌿 When I feel like the energy in the house is stale and by that I mean, when you walk around your house and you feel like you're wading through dense, but odourless pollution. I smudge.

🌿 When things are going wrong. I smudge.

🌿 When we get new crystals. I smudge to remove everyone else's energy from it.

🌿 When someone I don't like walks in to my house with their crappy energy. I smudge.

So today not only did I smudge our haul, I also smudged @SteemPh Discord, my Facebook and now my Steemit. I am on a dead set smudging frenzy today and getting rid of bad juju all around me.

How to Smudge : What you will need.

Before you can start, you will need 4 things.

A shell or a clay bowl - representing Water
Herbs or Resin - representing Earth
A feather or a fan - representing Air
A flame - representing Fire.

You may have noticed the elements theme going on here.

This is a central theme to many Native American rituals as they pay homage and honor the elements.

Are you ready to smudge it and smudge it good?

There are plenty of ways to go about this. If you google 'how to smudge' you are sure to find many different ways, depending on whose website you're at. You can turn this baby into a full blown ritual or you can keep it simple.

I like to keep things simple. The older I get the more I want things to be simple.

Take a deep breath and center yourself. Visualise and stretch your spine out straight as you breathe in and out. As you center yourself imagine that you are surrounded by white light driving darkness and negativity from you. So much so that when you look at your hands you see your fingers are made of light.
When you are centered, light your sage/herb/resin of choice, blow out the flame and place it in your shell/bowl. Make sure the windows and doors are closed.
Pick up your shell/bowl with one hand and the feather on the other and begin to slowly move around your house or the areas you want to smudge in a clock wise motion, making sure to use the feather to waft the smoke gently into the corners of the room, or specifically towards the items you want to smudge.
Once done open the windows and doors and air the house out.

Notes.

Many will say to sage yourself first. I should do this but I don't. I instead do the white light purification visualisation I described on step 1.

Depending on who you talk to they will tell you to do it with the windows open to provide an exit for the negative energy. Others will tell you to open the windows and doors AFTER you finished smudging. I am for the AFTER. Why? Because I want to make sure the room is filled with smoke and I have covered every inch of the house once I'm sure, I open all the doors and windows to let the energy out.

No matter what you make sure you let the energy out. There's no point in doing this if you don't let it out.

Photo's from today's smudging photo shoot.

(Our haul. Hubby's on the tray on the left and mine is the one on the right.)

(Newest additions to our specimen collection.)

(My haul of tumbled stones. Some of the very rare and hard to find.)

(This one in particular is a Brandberg crystal. I've been after this baby for 4 years and there they were just sitting there smiling at me. I have slept with one under my pillow every night since Saturday and have had the best sleep in forever.)