A regular part of my practice includes smoke cleansing or smudging. I was taught this practice by a Peruvian native and shaman. When I purchase smudge bundles I always purchase them from native sources and have tried several times to make my own with wobbly results. An acquaintance shared her method with me, using baking parchment.
This afternoon I harvested about half of my flowering lemon balm plant to make smudge bundles. Lemon balm is a fantastic herb for so many things and the aroma of it is simply magnificent. Using lemon balm in smudges helps to improve emotional balance, it is calming, it can help partners deepen their bonds to one another, helps us clear negativity, and so much more.
Once I brought the lemon balm inside I started trimming it down into pieces that would allow me to make the bundles. After I had a nice stash of cut herbs, I started cutting twine and baking parchment. I ended up with enough lemon balm today to make 13 bundles…an auspicious start.
I layered the lemon balm with special notes in the center with a sprinkling of sakura petals (innocence, joy, delight, living in the moment) and a few grains of resin. After they were topped off with more lemon balm to complete the wrap, I rolled them up in the parchment adn tied it shut with lavender twine.
Now the bundles are set to dry out and then will be finished with the twine and stored for use and gifting. We’ll see how they come out!