How to sell your home with a Sage Smudge Ceremony

 Right now, it’s pretty much a buyer’s market. If you have a home that you wish to sell, there are steps you can take to help attract a buyer. I can’t promise you that this will sell your home. But, it can’t hurt to try. If your house has been sitting on the market for awhile, you have nothing to lose.

 Mundane steps to be dealt with first to help sell your home

 First, you need a good qualified realtor… someone who is very familiar with the area and has experience selling homes. Make sure your realtor is dependable and has your best interest in mind. Remember…. They are to be representing you… not the buyer or themselves! Is your realtor listening to your questions and concerns? Do he or she understand what your needs and goals are? It doesn’t matter how nice your home is or how good of a price you have if your realtor isn’t doing his or her job.

 Second, clear out the clutter. Recycle or throw away junk. Give away or sell items that can be reused. I have found www.freecycle.org to be a very helpful resource for getting rid of stuff. You can also donate it to charity and write it off your taxes. Rent a storage unit for the things you want to keep. Remove all personal items like photos and artwork that might not appeal to the general public. Don’t feel bad about that… it’s your stuff going to your new home. Don’t let it stop your sale b/c someone just can’t imagine themselves making your home their own. Remove unnecessary furniture, kitchen appliances..etc… This includes books. Yes! Books I said! They make a room feel small and cluttered… pack them up and send them to the storage unit. Do not use the garage as a storage unit. If I’m looking at your home, I want to see that my car(s), tools, lawnmower etc…. will all fit in there. If I see your junk, then I’ll think your house is too small to suit my needs.

 Getting rid of these things does several things to your home:

  •  look bigger
  • look cleaner and more organized
  • more comfortable
  • more neutral so buyers can see their own possessions in the home
  • improves feng shui
  • makes it appeal to more people

 Negative energy tends to stagnate around clutter. Think of it like this. Imagine energy is air. Wherever air is likely to stagnate, so is energy. This is a bad thing when trying to sell your home because people feel this on a subconscious level. You want it to feel fresh, clean and inviting to those who enter.

 Once the clutter is cleared, give the house a very thorough cleaning. An unclean house means that you probably don’t do maintenance. That’s a red flag to buyers. If it’s too big of a task, hire a reputable person to do the job. Wash walls (or repaint), scrub carpeting, clean out cupboards and closets because buyers are going to look. You want it to look and smell CLEAN.

Spiritual steps to attracting a buyer for your home.

Once your home is decluttered, organized and cleaned, it’s time to move onto the spiritual part of things.

 Smudging is a traditional method used by indigenous people to clear away negative and residual energy. To “smudge” is to clean with smoke… a smoke bath. The smoke is generated by burning herbs believed to have spiritual properties the are desired. Sage is the most popular herb used in smudging. There are many varieties of sage. However, California white sage and desert sage are the most commonly used. It must be dried. If you have some that is not ground, you may be able to light it as it is. If it is powdered, then you will need charcoal tablets to burn it. However, the most common way to smudge with sage is with a smudge stick (also known as a smudge bundle or smudge wand) in which the sage has been cut and tied up into a little bundle. Sometimes, you will find sage sticks that are combined with other herbs such as lavender, cedar or sweetgrass. All will work just fine for the purpose of your smudge ceremony. If you are interested, these are the blends I carry on my website linked below.

  • Cedar is powerful protection and purification
  • Lavender is for love, peace and tranquility
  • Sweetgrass is to attract good spirits
  • Copal is a powerful resin for purification

 Supplies needed for the smudge ceremony:

 Sage smudge stick

Lighter (not matches)

Heatproof bowl (a big ash tray will work)

Sand (optional) – pour a ½” into the bottom of your bowl if it might get too hot. This will dissipate the heat.

Hand-held fan or feather (optional) – to fan the smoke around. You can also use your hand like I do.

 Important notes:

 Sage is difficult to keep lit. You may want to cut the bundle open and separate the sage into several smaller bundles (they tend to stick together naturally). The smaller bundle seem to burn better and give off more smoke (which is what we want).

 Always work counterclockwise to banish the negative energy.

 Ready to smudge?

 This is the pattern that you would smudge a home for sale. It can also be applied to any building you wish to sell.

  • Go to the highest part of your house and start there.
  • If you have an attic in which you can walk around, start smudging to the right of the entrance. Work your way counterclockwise toward the left of the entrance.
  • If your attic is a crawl space, fan a lot of smoke into the attic so it can reach all the corners and around anything stored up there.
  1. Work your way down to the next floor, keeping with the counterclockwise pattern. If it is the 2nd or 3rd floor, start to the right of the staircase smudging each room in the clockwise manner. Do this till you end up to the left of the staircase.
  2. Smudge the staircase.
  3. Do each floor the same way till you reach the ground floor. Skip the ground floor for now if you have a basement. Smudge the basement. Spend a lot of time here because basements can be like a dead end for energy. It can sit there and collect. That’s why basements are so creepy.
  4. Move back to the ground floor. Start smudging from the right side of the door, again moving room to room in a counter clockwise pattern… smudging each room counter clockwise.
  5. Work your way out the front door.
  6. If you have a porch, patio, gazebo etc…. smudge them.
  7. If you have a garage, workshop or pool house, smudge them as well.
  8. You can smudge the entire property if you feel comfortable enough to do it in front of the neighbors.

The actual smudge ritual is quite easy. It is little more than a Native American ceremony with a twist to it. The important thing is NOT to over complicate things. You cannot do this wrong. It is what is in your heart and your desire that makes it work. The actual steps aren’t that important. It is all about your intentions.

 This is the ceremonial part:

  1. Light the sage. If it doesn’t go out on it’s own, carefully blow on it. The goal is to get it to smoke and smolder. You can relight it as needed… hence the reason for a lighter over matches.
  2. Place the smoking sage into the heatproof container.
  3. Use you hand, fan or feather to GENTLY move the smoke to the areas to be cleansed.
  • Pay attention to corners, under and around furniture, cluttered areas and areas where negative energy might be really bad (like the place where you pay bills). Smudge inside of cabinets, the stove and fridge if they are being sold too. Think like a little kid playing hide and go seek. Where could a small child hide? Smudge it!

4.      As you walk around each room, you may want to ask for God, the universe, source or spirit to attract a buyer to your home. The Lord’s prayer is also quite popular for this. You can get creative… kindly ask you guardian angels, spirit guides and passed loved ones to help you make a spiritual connection with the buyer for your home.

5.      Be careful as you walk so as not to trip and burn the flooring. Walk slowly… fanning the smoke gently. Relight as needed. Stop walking when you want to say your prayer. As you smudge, envision this smoke as your desire going out into the universe and making a connection with a family who is looking for “just the right home” which happens to be yours.

6.      Take great care not to burn yourself or get close to curtains, fabrics or anything flammable. Don’t leave the smudge burning if you are interrupted. Remove pets and small children who may get in the way.  Keep in mind that smudging might be an issue for folks with allergies or asthma. Only you can decide if you want to risk  smudging knowing how it might affect them.

7.      An important step in selling your home is to release it. Let your home know that it’s time for you to move on. The home has served you well and it’s time for a new family to come in. Envision your desire going out into the universe and connecting with the right buyer. Thank your home for the protection, comfort and shelter it has provided. Give the home your blessings and tell it “goodbye”.

8.      When you are done, thank you angels, guides, loved ones, god and anyone else you believe has helped you with your ceremony.

 9. It’s a good idea to open the wondows and ait the place out after the smudging. The smoke smells somewhat like marijuana smoke and you don’t want to turn buyers off as soon as they walk in the door. You may even want to use something like Febreeze to clear out the odor.  Buyers may think that you were smokers which can be a big turn off.

If you do not have a local store that carries sage smudge sticks, please consider purchasing from our website. You will find them at: http://www.alleghenycandles.com/sage-smudge-stick.html

I wish you blessings of good luck in the sale of your home AND in your new home!