What white sage is
White sage is Salvia apiana, a silver-leaved shrub of the coastal hills of southern California and Baja California. Its leaves are dried and bound into bundles, which give a clean, resinous, slightly sharp smoke.
A practice to borrow with care
For many Native American nations, burning sage is a sacred ceremony with its own rules and words. Most people who light a bundle at home today do something simpler: they mark a fresh start in a room. It helps to call it that, and to buy sage that is cultivated rather than picked from the wild, where the plant has become scarce.
Lighting and moving the smoke
Light the tip, let the flame take for a few seconds and blow it out. The leaves will glow and smoke. Hold the bowl beneath, because a bundle drops small embers, and walk slowly through the room, letting the smoke drift into corners and doorways. If it goes out, light it again.
Putting it out
Press the glowing tip firmly into sand or soil and turn it until no smoke rises. Leave it in the bowl to cool before you put it away. The same bundle can be used many times.
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