In addition to white sage, there are many sacred herbs that can be used for smudging and purification. Some of them have wonderfully light, sweet scents. So if white sage is not your preferred fragrance, or if you're looking to try something new, there are many choices.
Blue Sage
A fragrant perennial plant, also in the mint family with white sage. Its flowers are beloved by bees and butterflies. Its growing range covers most of the central US, from Pennsylvania to Utah.
The soft greyish green leaves are much smaller than white sage and grow in small clusters.
It is used to purify your home or personal energy, just like white sage. It is excellent at removing negativity. However it also has the benefit of being useful to draw prosperity and good fortune to yourself.
The scent is mild and gentle and rather sweet compared to white sage.
Desert Sage
Tiny clusters of greenish leaves with a soft, earthy aroma that is mellower than white sage.
This sage variety is traditionally used for protection and banishing.
When burned in the home, it is believed to help with headaches and to promote a deeper level of relaxation.
Yerba Santa
Yerba santa means holy herb. It is a beautiful flowering herb that has sticky, resinous leaves and many medicinal uses. Native people used it to make tea for respiratory illnesses, colds, and stomach aches. A poultice is used for treating wounds and poison ivy.
The scent of yerba santa is deliciously sweet and spicy, making it a perfect natural incense and smudge herb.
Burning it also helps open the crown chakra, increase spiritual awareness, and heal emotional wounds. While it does help protect your home from negative energy, it also works powerfully to help with inner healing, depression, and sadness.
Mugwort
Also called black sage or dream weed, mugwort is found along the mountains of the West Coast from California to Canada. It grows eagerly and quickly in neglected areas and is a strong magical herb.
It is renowned as a smudging herb for its subtle, sweet scent and dream-inducing qualities. It helps promote good sleep and vivid dreams to help work through subconscious blockages.
This sage is also used for magic purposes in ritual practices and for protection. For example, in China, bunches of mugwort are hung in the home to keep away evil spirits.
The smoke is also considered very healing for injuries and health problems, especially in regulating the female cycle.
Black Lavender
Black lavender is a common name for the herb in the mint family also called purple sage. Black lavender sage is an evergreen woody shrub that is adapted to arid climates. This species produces beautiful bluish purple flowers in late spring to early summer and is easy to grow.
It has a long history of numerous medicinal uses, as a cold remedy, for treating upset stomachs, and to alleviate headaches. It also makes an excellent incense fragrance by itself.
As a smudging herb, it can be used for all the same things as white sage, such as protection, banishing negativity, and removing evil spirits. Yet it also brings in a positive, loving energy.
Pinon Pine
The most amazing citrusy scent that is often burned simply to enjoy the fragrance. Not a sage, but actually in the pine family, the edible nuts are a food source for native peoples and animals.
Burning pinon pine wood and leaves has been used for millennia to fight off illnesses and evil influences. It makes an excellent smudging and blessing herb!
Also spelled as pinyon pine and piñon pine.