Introduction to Spiritual Smudging

Basic Course

Learn Spiritual Smudging

Spiritual smudging is one of the oldest forms of interacting with plants, smoke, scent, and spirit. In this workshop, you will gain your first experience with this ritual work – initially for your own practice.

This explicitly does not refer to the secular smoking used to preserve meat and fish, but rather the conscious work with smoke, plant spirits, plant devas, spaces, people, animals, and subtle planes. In smudging, the spirit of the plant is released from its body and set in motion through the smoke. Therefore, smudging is not merely a technique, but a relationship: We do not work with "material," but with beings and allies. Our intention sets the direction; the effect arises from the essence of the plant itself.

We smudge for clarification and protection, for blessing, praying and asking, for connection to other worlds and to ancestors, for healing, for divination, and for a pleasant fragrance. The sacred and the secular inevitably intertwine in this process.

Spiritual smudging begins not with recipes, but with perception and intention: What does this place need? Which plant calls to me? In practice, we will look at how a smudging ceremony is structured – with clear intention, mindful contact with the plant, safe handling of embers and smoke, and conscious completion. It is not about perfection, but about listening to the plants and entering into a respectful collaboration with them.

What you can take away for yourself:

• A first understanding of what distinguishes spiritual smudging from purely secular or decorative smudging.
• More confidence in the mindful handling of plants, smoke, intention, and ritual space.
• A practical framework with which you can develop your own smudging rituals for clarification, protection, blessings, connection, or transitions.
• A feeling for how to select plants not only by effect, but also by relationship, resonance, and coherence.
• First practical experience with how smoke, scent, intention, and plant spirit can interact.
• Space for questions, exchange, and shared evaluation.
• Suitable for beginners and those with some smudging experience.

When? September 12, 2026, from 3 PM to 6 PM (approx. 3 hours)

Where? Ritualmanufaktur Dreieinigkeit 0, 24589 Nortorf

Price: €30 (to be paid in cash on site)

By purchasing this ticket, you are bindingly registering for the event. Your spot will be firmly reserved for you. Payment will be made on site in cash.

Please note: As spaces are limited, your registration is binding. Should you be unable to attend, we kindly ask you to cancel in advance so that we can offer your place to someone else.

Should you have any questions about the course, please contact the course instructor Eric Urs Barth beforehand via email at urs@ahnenwege.de or via WhatsApp at 015773038363.