Sagebrush
artemesia tridentata
Artemisia
Wormwood Family

Is not the same as the European varieties
and is indigenous to the Americas.

There are two major genii and several varieties
of each genus of Sage that are used for smudging.

Salvia, or the herb sage used for cooking,
comes in two major varieties:
salvia officinalis, commonly known as Garden Sage,
and salvia apiana, commonly known as White Sage.

Salvia varieties have long been acknowledged as healing herbs,
reflected in the fact that its genus name comes
from the Latin root word salvare, which is the verb
"to heal" or "to save."

Artemisia is the genus commonly considered
"Sagebrush", and is more common in California.

There are two major varieties to the Artemisia genus:
artemisia californica or Common Sagebrush,
and artemisia vulgaris or Mugwort.
There are many other varieties of both Salvia and Artemisia,
and all are effective in smudging.

Sage is burned in smudging ceremonies to drive out evil spirits,
negative thoughts and feelings, and to keep
Gan'n (negative entities) way from areas
where ceremonials take place.

In the Plains Sweatlodge, the floor of the structure
is strewn with sage leaves for the participants to rub
on their bodies during the sweat.

Sage is used in keeping sacred objects
like pipes or Peyote wands safe from negative influence.

In the Sioux nation, the Sacred Pipe is kept
in a bundle with sage boughs.
I would think special crystals could
be so protected this way as well.


Native American Sacred Herbs
artemisia spinescens
artemisia tridentia


ACTIONS
MAGIC


salvia apiana
salvia officinalis
salvia sclarea
salvia verbenaca