In the "All about Aya" post by ms_minx there is something about smudging the kitchen where you are going to cook Ayahuasca... not being a native english speaker I am not very sure what this means, but I think it has something to do with burning incense.

Can somebody please explain a little bit what should I do before cooking Aya to "clean the space" where I will prepare the drink and also the room where I am going to drink it.

I have received , along with the caapi and chacruna order , the following incense:

Frankincense 2 (boswelia carterii)
Copal (Dacryoides peruviana)
Cretan Sage (Salvia Apiana)
Palo Santo (Burserea Graveolens)

...and I have a store nearby, where I could possibly buy other fragrances/types (probably less exotic)of usual incense.


Thank you.

Smudging is the ceremonial use of sage,etc, to clear out negative /stale energies from a room. Sure, actually cleaning out a room may also be considered a kinds smudging, even better if sage, etc, is burnt after.

Have you ever noticed how it feels to have cleaned a room out?

Yes. I sure did. It feels special... there is a certain vibration to the space, when the work is finnished and everything is clean. I personally felt this many times....

So should I burn the Sage incense , before I start cooking ?

It's totally up to you. I think the MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do is brew with good intent in a positive mood. Maybe clean your place, get on top of chores, have a bath, start brewing when you feel great. Some would say these vibes get absorbed by the brew. Mapacho tobacco is used to blow smoke over brews and whisper intentions, etc.

However, it's really up 2 u! :-)

If I wait to brew "when I feel great" then I will never do it. I haven't felt great in years. I never feel even good, not great. I am always tired and depressed... That's what I hope from Aya....a little bit of change of perspective. But I understand what you mean, and I will proceeed with the best intentions I can.

I am right now starting to brew.

My advice then is to focus on making the brew well. Smudging rooms and stuff may be something you'll look into later. Try to make sure you take it when you're in a better mood, preferably with a sitter, and start small, working up. It's not something to rush into.

Hard exercise and clean diet should help you to feel good since the released endorphines are more of a real life grounded happy energy that's stronger than free floating anxieties.

The palo santos wood you have is ideal for smudging and some say has more influence on vibrational energy than sage. Although I have no idea how this could be measured or shown but I've heard it quite a few times from energy workers ext.

Even before I knew what smudging was I was doing it instinctively as a small child. I would walk around the house with the inscence my mother would light to every corner of every room. I could just feel the house felt more relaxed after I did this.

wouldn't worry about feeling your best or whatever, you are making medicine...
Don't worry about the feeling good part until after you take it


Oly is right. Palo santo is the best IMO....Sage is nice to though.

Organization of your surrounding setting mixed with a nostalgic incense of some sort does seem to make for a batter overall experience. Smudging can certainly help ground me when I'm in hairy waters. Overall it helps keep me in a positive space most times. It's all about what you bring to the table initially. It's going to work with what you give it.

Palo santo is commonly used in Peru, so is copal resin incense. Sage i think is used widely for general room clearings. The main thing is to get some feel of ceremony involved. Creating a clean space, setting good intentions, etc, is all part of the Aya thing. It's not too important to get it perfect the first time, and you'll learn as you go along what's really YOU, if you catch my drift.

I could go on for ages, but i believe creating a sacred space is as much for paying respect to the medicine as it is to yourself.

I prefer to use Mugwort, sage, lavander and cedar personally..becasue I can source them all locally. I can harvest them all wild except for sage which is like 3 hours inland from here..but it grows well here.

Palo santo is nice though..but mugwort has a very special vibration and is also used for cleaning cystal balls and scrying, dreaming etc..it is also psychoactive..and contains thujone like many other smudging herbs and has a long history of this use in europe. It also opens the third eye. It is a powerful dream herb as well.

Well said.

I prefer white sage, locally sourced, and palo santo. It's funny - these two seem to go hand-in-hand with the DMT experience -- even when meeting complete strangers.

I forgot to mention that prsonaly I noticed A huge difference in the "vibratory effectiveness"
or whatever you want to call it when I used white sage that I had actually physically picked myself out in the prarie area.

I think there is a special thing about picking the smudging stuff yourself as opposed to buying it...too bad I can't go get my own palo santo....

this is the first ive heard of palo santo, ill have to look into that. There is feild about 2 mintues away from where i work, sage grows like crazy there. So I alwasy have a plentiful supply of sage (as long as i remember to get a good amt before winter anyway). I alwasy go about picking it in a sacred way. I say thank you for every plant i take. I have wondered if there are any prayers or ceremonies or anythign traditionally used when picking sage?

anyway, i love to smudge and play my didgeridoo in the morning before work. the combination of the two makes me feel very zen.

3 more weeks And Ill be picking my own Palo Santo wood! Its funny how much I spend on this wood here in the states. In peru a kilo of sticks is about 2 dollars sometimes less.

On sage:
Both white sage and sagebrush are very popular for making smudge sticks.

Salvia apiana - White sage



Artemisia tridentata - Sagebrush



Both are used in the same manner, they cleanse space by absorbing negative vibrations. The purpose of these is banishing negative energies. After smudging a room with these it's a good idea to open all the doors and windows and let the smoke carry the negative vibrations away leaving the room purified.

On copal, palo santo, frankincense, myrrh, sweetgrass, and other popular incense:
These increase the vibration of a space and draw in positive energy. These are great for intention setting and burning as meditation aides. In contrast to sage, you want to let the smoke from these linger to infuse the space with their higher frequencies.

Sorry to resurrect this thread from the grave....

I have been getting into smudging recently and stumbled across this really neat study, which found that smudging eliminated over 94% of aerial pathogenic bacteria by 60 minutes in a closed room.

EWAO - Studies Reveal "Smudging" Eliminates Dangerous Bacteria in Air

Love to see science affirm what tradition has known experientially for hundreds/thousands of years.

Looks like I will have to start burning incense & smudging much more often than just a few times a year in preparation for aya experiences.

Ever since my last mushroom journey I've become much more interested in "cleansing the space" before tripping. I half jokingly invited all the entities into our space and while the result was not necessarily bad, it definitely gave me a lot to think about. My GF has always been interested in sage burning, I think perhaps it is about time that I took it as seriously as her. This subject is incredibly fascinating!