All I know is there's enough buzz to make me stop and look up for myself if I'm over-stepping or taking up space in someone else's culture.
Here's what I found out:
1. White Sage is an endangered species from being overharvested. There are claims that this statement is not true.
2. White sage shouldn't be used if you have not been initiated by someone who practices sage medicine.
3. There are certain protocols when using white sage. If you don't have a license to practice sage medicine or a member of the Midewiwin or any other healer society, put the sage down.
Alternatives to white sage:
Palo Santo (there are claims palo santo is an endangered species as well)
Somali frankincense and myrrh
Camphor
Dragons blood
Asafoetida
Copal
Pine
Benzoin
Tobacco
Cool water. It's the oldest element on this planet. You just have to give it something to do.
Water with eucalyptus.
Cinnamon
Rosemary
Lemongrass
Cedar
All great substitutes for North America
Burn what is traditionally burned in the area you live in.
If you have sage and no longer wish to use it you may bury it in the earth or commit it to a river.
Now if you think you have "Indian" in your family or someone in your lineage is indigenous of this land, that does not give you a free pass. If you really want to learn, get to diggin in your past.
"Having native ancestors and being an initiate of say, the Midewiwin aren't the same. Having an ancestral key isn't the same as an ancestral license, either. I have two Native great grandmothers. I stay in my own lane. Not my cultures, not my medicine." -Siete Saudades
What do you think about the use of white sage to cleanse your spaces from certain energies? Will you stop using or sage until you can't sage anymore?
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