Each month, the week of the Full Moon is the busiest time of the month here at Sacred Land Sage- in the “formulary department”. Department meaning my kitchen- haha! For me, it’s a time of pure creative joy and is highly satisfying (next to having fingers in garden dirt of course). Full moon formulating means that my kitchen becomes an apothecary, filled with bottles and plants to be infused and tinctured. This is my time to gather up plant medicines saved from special harvests (like last summer’s, or the first of spring), and begin the process to make tinctures, simmers, oils, and infusions- all timed with the expanding, augmenting, growing cycle of the moon’s fullness. This is just the first step; tinctures take between 1-5 months to infuse, depending on what is being made. 
Abundant Correspondences
I was taught that the sun has already fully filled the Sage plants throughout their growing cycles, abundantly with light and the beauty of the 5-Elements (Earth/Air/Fire/Water/Space), and that they really don’t need much from us to continue on their journey as Sacred Medicine for humans. This speaks to many subjects. But for my work in formulating smudge blends, it means I only need to stay out of the way, to offer purely (smudge myself, bottles, and tools), timed with waxing moon cycles with the belief that doing so deepens and preserve the natural balance, literally. Of course there are limitless ways to honor the cycles of solar, lunar, earth, and elemental correspondences- I focus on just a few when I formulate my blends and oils. This helps me combine favorite teachings I’ve had along the way, while honoring the cycles of the earth, planets, and stars and all that is happening all around us. Oh, and I do add crystal elixirs to my blends for more mineral blessings. (Big thanks and shout out to Tana for teaching me to tincture, among many other things in her year-long Crystal Certification class at Elemental Healing Arts and Training . Another class is about to start soon.
Energetically Neutral
My aim in offering smudge sprays and tinctures this way- with lunar, solar, and planetary timing- is not only to augment the sage plants with a little extra cosmic and stellar goodness, but to pass on products that are (to me), truly elementally balanced and
concentrated with natural blessings–but NOT by my own energies. This last part is very important to me. I was taught that harvesting and formulating by seasons foremost, honors the purity of the Plant Spirits as they grow. Sacred plants are naturally empowered when collected traditionally, passing them on in this way means they will be ready for all of us in our time of ceremony, regardless of whether we will be asking to be purified, blessed, protected, or to honor a particular rite like a birth, a marriage, or other ceremony. There are dozens of kinds of ceremonies, and hundreds of energies you might want your smudge ceremony to conduct and honor; it would not make sense for me to consecrate your sacred tools in only one way.
Different shops offer different things of course. I notice many shop owners sell tools that they advertise as blessed, pre-consecrated, and infused with blessings according to a certain belief system and energy (i.e. banishing), in ways that mirror certain beliefs. As one friend explained to me, he wants to gain that shop owner’s energies and/or the energies of that faith or belief system. I understand. I’ve been reflecting on this concept with friends and teachers lately, and realize that while it is definitely one way to offer sacred products (pre-consecrated), it isn’t mine.
Since the start of Sacred Land Sage, I have made it a point to offer sustainably-harvested, naturally rich, and energetically neutral products. This means that when you get a Sacred Land Sage product- it will be ready for YOU to infuse with Your own blessings, prayers, invocations, and wishes when you get them– all for your own personal ceremony. I do this because this is what I want for myself. This need for “pure”, rich, but energetically “non-programmed” (neutral) products- was a huge reason for my starting Sacred Land Sage. That, and wanting to find sacred tools as close to nature and harvest time as possible- without any particular belief system programmed into them before they reached my altar. So, I intend to continue creating and offering in this way. I am curious though; does this make sense to others? I’d love to know in comments here if energetically neutral products means anything to you. I suppose, deep down, I trust that everyone is on their own Sacred Journey, driven and guided already; my job is as a naturalist, simply to provide sage collected traditionally, and sacred tools for your enjoyment, and personal ritual, self-healing, and programming. I would love to know: does this resonate with you?
Of course- if I am asked to consecrate something energetically for someone, I do in my practice as a subtle energy practitioner and ritualist- as my teachers do for me, and as I teach others to do for themselves. I look to the moon’s planetary phase, watch the skies, and ask The Divine to help my client achieve peace, health, balance, and your greatest good to the best you can manifest, all sealed with a prayer-filled smudge to the 5 Directions/Elements. As always, my primary goal is to provide tools that help others help themselves.
Know that no matter what stellar correspondences or blessings anyone infuses your sacred tools with, it is really YOUR prayers, calling forth YOUR Guides/Creator, with YOUR words, by YOUR breath- that ultimately empowers your earth-blessed smudges and sacred tools, drawing the attention of your Spirit Guides to fulfill your intentions in your ritual. Always!
Enjoy this Full Super March Moon! Current correspondences with this Super Moon, the second in March (in Libra), is astrologers say, about achieving balance. While some say it is related to work (via Aries) I feel it is a wider balance that runs across all areas of our lives, and so set your intentions for this kind of equilibrium. Enjoy bathing in this special spring moon and its moonlight My Friends! My Smudge Sprays will be soaking up blessing thru next week. After which you can find them either in Sacred Land Sage webstore or on Etsy store.
And thank you for following this blog.
Sacred Land Sage 
Whenever I’m buying crystals online, if the description says anything along the lines of the seller having Reiki blessed or programmed or cleared the crystal in any way – I keep looking. I deeply respect their right to offer their products in a way that resonates with their perspective of the world. However, and I really like the use of the word “neutral” here, I’m not looking for a stone which has been blessed or cleared or infused – that’s my job as the caretaker of the crystal.
Then again, I also don’t hold a perspective that I need to protect myself from energy – so at the end of the day it really doesn’t matter what anyone has done with the crystal prior to its arrival here in my home, because once the crystal or ritual tool is in corner of the universe, it becomes what it needs to become for me regardless.
In my practice and in my teaching, it’s very important to me that we empower ourselves and each other. When a person comes to me asking that I create a protection for them or that I bless them or that I do a ritual to help them be abundant – we talk together about how they can do that for themselves and what might be stopping them in this moment from doing just that. Because the intention is so much more powerful from the one who needs/wants it badly. That’s potent energy right there. I can certainly support that intention from the sidelines and often do. But the heavy-hitter in the match is always the one desiring.
Sometimes we need help and that’s when the pre-blessed/named/protected/infused tools can be helpful, certainly. But my desire is to be more and more in command of my energy and the direction it takes. The only way to do that is to practice calling it forth, seeing it, and working with it – from within.
Great post! Lots of food for thought.
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