![]() There are two main reasons people smudge: for spiritual purification, and for health benefits. Today, smudging has become popular in the mainstream as well. The white sage of the American Southwest is a common, fragrant shrub that has been used for food and ritual practices by many Native American tribes for just as long. Sage has long been used as an herb in Mediterranean cuisine, used for medicinal purposes, or grown ornamentally. It can be found all over the world, from Salva officinalis, or garden sage, around the Mediterranean, to S alvia apiana, white sage or bee sage, a shrub native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Sage is of the genus Salvia, part of the Lamiaceae family that includes mint. ![]() Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/karandaev What Is Sage and Is It in the Bible? However, the intent behind the burning determines the acceptability of the practice. Like many such things, burning sage is not inherently good or bad, as it is neither good nor bad to burn any dried plant. Others still are in favor of some aspects of smudging, but not others. Others advocate the practice, sometimes pointing to the familiar ritual of the burning of incense in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Some Christians are vehemently against burning sage, citing biblical warnings against witchcraft. Some of these purposes are occult in nature, while others are for supposed healing properties.īut is this practice acceptable for Christians? Today, some controversy surrounds the subject of burning a particular kind of fragrant herb: sage.īurning sage, also known as smudging, is used for a variety of purposes. Creating fragrant smoke has been used for spiritual purposes, medicinal purposes, and just to make things smell good for millennia. The burning of organic material and incense has been practiced by people all over the world since ancient times.
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