Our ritual begins with clearing or “smudging”— you might be wondering, What is clearing? How does it work? What can I clear? Why is clearing important? What can I use to clear?

I’m here to answer all of those questions for you!

Clearing is essentially energetic washing. Each person, place and object, has the ability to emit and hold energy. We are all energetic beings and according to physics and the first law of thermodynamics, energy cannot be created or destroyed, energy can only be transferred or changed from one form to another. Everything is made of atoms and atoms contain energy. Have you ever walked into a room and thought, oh man, that person is in a bad mood I'm going to avoid them (without even speaking to them)….or maybe you have walked into a place and thought, ghee this is a really peaceful place— without even knowing it, your energetic body is responding to energy. Places, people and things all hold and emit energy and you are assessing and responding to it— all the time.

The act of clearing transforms energy within a space, and the process of clearing helps you to start fresh. Think about this, when you move into a new house or apartment, a bit of energy from each person who has spent time in that space remains there. This is why many new homeowners say, “it took awhile for the place to feel like it was mine” and that is because it takes time to fill the space with predominately their own energy. Clearing helps displace all of the inharmonious (negative), stagnant, or “not your own” energy and ushers it out.

Now you might be asking, why do we clear crystals before wearing them? Is it totally necessary? And the answer is yes! And for the same reason why you might decide to clear your space. Everyone who held that crystal before you, has put their energy into it. The miner, the person cutting/polishing it, stone setter, designer, packaging person etc. all of these people have placed their energy into the stone and it will hold that energy until you clear it. Once the stone is cleared, you can start fresh energetically. This is especially important when using the crystal along with intentions, which is major component of our ritual. And overall if working with crystal, using them along with an intention makes them much more powerful. This process makes sure all of the energy is being dedicated and directed to YOU and your specific intention and manifestation.

So how do we clear? There are several ways that one could clear (smudge) an object, person or space, keeping in mind, intention is always key.

Here are a few of my favorite ways to clear:

Palo Santo
Palo Santo is wood from a sacred tree which grows in parts of South America. It has been used for centuries by shamans and healers during rituals, prayer and ceremonies. Palo Santo traces back to the Incan Empire, where it had an important place in medicine. It’s believed to have healing properties that relieve stress, anxiety, and promote relaxation. It has an uplifting and positive effect on the user, and differs from other smudging agents because it clears away the negative while promoting positivity and energy elevation. Palo Santo helps to strengthen the connection with ones guides while also grounding and focusing the user.

The tree is protected and can only be harvested from fallen and dead trees. There is also an aging process involved which happens before harvesting. Normally the fallen tree ages three to five years, and often up to 10 years. It’s important to source palo santo that has been sustainably sourced (ours is).

We use Palo Santo in all of our ritual kits because we feel it is the most powerful way to clear energy while also raising your personal vibration. Palo santo is especially powerful for programing crystals and setting intentions.

You can use Palo Santo to clear yourself, the space you are in and objects of any sort. Palo Santo can be used during meditation and in certain places it is used as an insect repellent — not only displacing negative energy, but bugs as well!

When buying Palo Santo is it important to make sure it is sustainably sourced. Ours is. 

White Sage
White sage is a flowering perennial native to the Southwestern United States. It grows on sunny, dry slopes and exists in a relatively small area. Sage is considered sacred by Native Americans and has been used for hundreds of years during rituals and ceremonies. The smoke from white sage clears by attaching itself to the negative energy and ushering it out of a space. As the smoke spreads, it dissipates and transforms any existing energy, leaving a blank state.

Sage is one of the best ways to clear spaces. While there are many types of smudging sticks, I prefer white sage, as it is in the most pure and sacred form.

Energy Work/Reiki
Reiki is a powerful way to clear energy. Reiki is an ancient Japanese form of energy healing used for stress reduction, relaxation and promotes healing. In Reiki “Rei” translates to “universe” or “life force,” and “ki” translates to the physical energy of the body (also known as qi); put together, Reiki translates to “universal life force energy.” This form of energy work can be done by a trained reiki professional who has the ability to channel and direct universal life force energy to a person, place or object, releasing energy and even promote healing. While Reiki is a wonderful way to clear, you must be trained or book a session with someone who is in order to benefit from the results.

If you have any questions or want to know more, contact me!!

With gratitude,
Jacqueline