Smudging Sage and healing family trauma....

Lets be honest here, I'm a handmade herbalist, home brewed.

When I was first held a bag of 'Grandfather' Sage in my own two hands, Id like to say I knew before me was a being who could make shifts, but I'm also pigheaded, and I was abused as a child by my Grandfather, so well the name didn't really impress. Yet I'd heard he was a good space clearer, and well the feng shui at my place read congested n clogged, so I bought a small bag of loose leaves to burn as incense. Upon lighting the leaves the smoke curled into nooks n crannies, and indeed the feel was better. The translucent tendrils seemed to know just where to go as I walked through the rooms, and it wasn't necessarily towards the nearest open window, somewhat surprisingly.

Later I went to a two day workshop on skin care with local herbalist and generous teacher Sharn. We made a spritzer, my co-maker and I using some Grandfather Sage essential oil. A treat cos Sharn had some of the rather special oil (I know it can be considered blasphemy using essential oils, but the scent, earthy!). When I sprayed some of it for a friend who works shamanically with clients she asked if I could make her one, and i wondered, or rather half mused, if I could. Hhhmmm...

Time passed. I returned to Grandfather Sage for his assistance in clearing and began to dip my toe in with his reputation for making space sacred. It was a little strangely fit for such a woman centred woman, but I went with the flow.
I burned a few dried leaves before journeying, lighting a candle, and gathering objects close to my heart nearby, as I lay down to close my eyes.

I grew two plants, the resinous nature of the fresh leaves is amazing first hand, the silvery leaves almost sticky to the touch at times, potency apparent, growing in sand.

Now my Grandfather had a reputation too, in our family, that was apart from the witty mad science teacher who blew the end off his finger demonstrating jet propulsion, with a homemade rocket, to his students, but I didn't hear of that for some time. It was a story pieced together through self protective denial and shame within our family. Some years after I first spoke up about the feeling I had that he had abused both me, and his daughter.

This isn't easy for me to write about, but I do it to illustrate how deeply the healing powers of plants, especially in combination with other modalities, can touch.

Now it came to the point when i wished to contact the source of those bags I was purchasing in the shop. When I contacted him he was just 'happening' to be on his way to our area with his wares. Michael was a genuine plant dude and devoted to his ally. I decided to invest in some essential oil, hydrosol and a bigger bag of those dried leaves. I was brewing up an idea to make an infused oil to create a salve, portable sacred space maker.

Whilst working with the local Community Mental Health team, with my trusty pagan Case manager, I was being supported by Contemporary Shaman, Odette, to work with spirit in retrieving soul fragments, lost to my Grandfathers actions.
Work I couldn't have done alone. Safe friendship and mentoring allowed it to occur.
It was not easy, but in the end I saw him as a small boy, daggy pulled up socks, bowl haircut n all. Being hit by his very Victorian and strict mother and screaming 'nooooo!'.
In turn there was her tragedy of losing her parents at a young age.
Intergenerational trauma.

This journey shifted my feelings, towards the herb called Grandfather and all that the name had evoked.

When my dear Dad, was dying, this work enabled me to speak to him of his father, whom he knew he was going to meet, from a place of forgiveness rather than the rage that had previously existed within me towards my Grandfather (and indeed my family). My Dad deserved that peace of mind for his journey to the other side. The ease I was able to offer is a bittersweet memory.

Now times a little jumbled up in this at times loaded tale, the orders a bit disordered, but it builds the aspects up nevertheless. So you'll excuse my brain and hearts ways if they ramble.

We now move back to those bigger baggies of dried leaves and I indeed did infuse them in oil and make Smudging Sage Salve. Recently a dear sister put my quiet Salves on her face book page and I had a surge of visitors to my little medicine nook. In fact, I have more leaves I'm yet to infuse,so the journey with Grandfather Sage continues.

The gifts of Grandfather Sage are metaphorical, but also, I believe, real.
As both a smudge and in salve form.
He has bufferrd sensitivity to the overwhelming stimulus that can result from trips into town, or other busy places. Practically, creating the touch of being watched over by a wise Elder.
He has allowed me to clear built up stagnant energy from my aura and HQ repeatedly as I worked with my healing journey, sacred tools and activities. That included assisting lost spirits or beings to let go and move on from my aura. Also as an ally in cutting energetic chords that bind, which no longer served, or needed a clean break to begin fresh. He has carried both my prayers to Spirit, and my desires for setting intentions, on the breeze....

Nowadays, I have a plant Grandfather, who has walked beside me. Just as my paternal Grandfather would have, could he have wholly been the man I believe he wanted to be, had it not been for the effects of the war he served in.....

Resources and Links:
Sharn at Byron Botanicals http://byronbotanicals.com.au/
Michael at Australian Alpine 'Grandfather' White Sage
http://sagedreaming.com.au/
Odette at Contemporary Shaman https://www.contemporaryshaman.net/
Vicki at Sacred Skins and Medicine Things https://www.facebook.com/Vicki-Liddell-Sacred-Skins-and-Medicine-Things-190659384298635/ 

Opalplantways Smudging Sage Salve 12/13/2016

Smudging, a related kindred to incense burning, is a tradition with many indigenous tribes, where the leaves and branchs of a dried plant are held in sacred intention. Several plants are burnt for their scented smoke, the one which I have worked with mostly is Salvia apiana, otherwise known as 'Grandfather Sage', traditionally from Turtle Island (North America). Grandfather Sage is renound as a clearer of peoples auras, spaces n circles, sacred tools and to delineate a shift from ordinary reality into the realms of spirit or trance.

Generally I light him up, using matches from a box drawn with Reiki symbols from my lovely cousin for the element of Fire. The leaves themselves bring in the Earth, while an Abalone shell gifted me by a dear sister, represents Water. I use my Eagle feather fan, made from feathers my brother gathered from an Eagle killed on a Central Australian highway eating roadkill, to encourage and direct the smoke, whilst symbolising Air. Thus the Four elements, and loved ones, are with me as I go. The smoke becomes the Fifth element of spirit.

Grandfather Sage has supported me with healing of the male lineage of our family, particularly going back to my paternal Grandfather who was both a Veteran of World War Two and a family man. Aspects at odds with each other in some moments of his life. He was at heart, I believe, a loving and kind man, but also a pretty damaged one. Grandfather Sage has helped me to see this, whilst walking beside me in ways he wasn't able, and allowing forgiveness to grow.

Last year I infused a batch of Grandfather Sages dried leaves into Virgin Sweet Almond oil with the intention of making a salve that could be carried easily, and invoke all his benefits by annointing oneself at various points on the body, like the third eye, heart and wrists, mmm. The oil came out a dream and the salve was successful. Now I aint no marketing wizz, mostly its gone to family and friends and that's just perfect, but this year I thought to offer some for sale, or trade.

They are in metal cannisters with screwtop lids and I have them in both 60ml and 15ml sizes. The 60 ml ones have a few specs of more solid wax in them, a la handemade, and so they are reduced to $AU20 each, the handy sized 15ml ones are $AU15. Postage is roughly $8.50 in Australia, less for a single 15ml, but being similar for several salves, which could then be packaged together.

These babies will last you a fair whack of time as you need only a small amount, the 60mls a year or more mayhaps, and to be honest the bits are so small they will melt betwixt your fingers as you apply it but there you go, quality control etc. Both contain the Grandfather Sage oil that infused for well over 8 weeks and beeswax, that's it, so keeping em in the fridge is best, but they will survive out of one. I tested one out of the fridge for 6 months and it lasted fine, but for best quality refridgerate. Its not great for salves to melt and resolidify repeatedly.

An important word of advice, they look like lip balm but are not to be used as it, due to some of the ingredients within the leaves not being good taken internally.

If you're interested leave a comment and we'll take it from there eh.

Resources: Australian Alpine "Grandfather" White Sage Dreaming: http://sagedreaming.com.au/