Day 727 (Tidbits)

The post for Day 727 on the 800 DAYS blog is a Christmas Eve post!

Blake brings good wishes to readers in light of the holiday season and the special eve of the 24th, and the obvious celebratory day immediately following - and he also offers some wordplay.

Anagrams "Star" "Music/Magic" are detailed for your enjoyment and consideration...

Then a smudging ritual is offered.

Now, if you're not Pagan and have never done smudging, I recommend that you at least TRY IT. It's not going to make your God(s) of choice go away or anything and will probably be quite "grounding" for you. Many Christians also smudge, so no worries there...

Blake gives a nice run down on what smudging materials are common, their purpose and use. Personally, I almost always have sweetgrass and sage in my home, ready to smudge with. I don't often have cedar but, on occassion, a native elder will give me a gift of cedar for smudging. I still smoke, so I often also add loose tobacco in my smudge and speak to the Creator, apologizing for still abusing the sacred tobacco - so I offer some tobacco back to Creator, all my relations, the elements, earth, etc.

Blake also has some tidbits on a very useful plant that many people already use and have in their homes - the Aloe Vera plant. *Note: Aloe is not for smudging. Sweetgrass, Cedar and Sage are for smudging - also, Tobacco... but don't try to smudge with Aloe!

Other smudging materials:

Lavender: name may be derived from the Latin "lavare" (to wash) or "livendula" (bluish). A Christian legend has it that baby Jesus was laid upon a bush of lavender and his body was bathed in the fragrance, taking on the smell of the lavendar. From this, some Christians believe lavendar to be a substance with properties of protection against evil. Smudge from this substance works best with a charcoal burner.

Frankincense: obvious reference to frankincense and myrrh in Scriptures and, consequently, in some common and popular Christmas carols.

There are certainly more materials widely used for smudging. I just remembered that Lavender, Frankincense and Myrrh have definite Christian as well as Pagan uses and respect from many different religious denominations, so I thought I'd mention these.

Also used for smudging: Copal (tree sap, primarily in Mexico, citrus-like scent - a lot like Frankincense), Myrrh is a tree resin, Mullien/Yerba del lobo - often mixed in smudge bundles and primarily used in smoking blends for sacred pipe ceremonies, Red Willow Bark - smudge less often, used for pipe ceremonies more often, Pine, Juniper, and mugwort are also common.

Last but not least...

There are some awesome video/audio offerings on the Day 727 post! (I'll get those also placed on the Vid/Audio tab location here soon).

The Day 727 post on The 800 Days blog is associated with Yuletide Eve, Christmas Eve, sacred smudging and Friday December 24 2010.