DIY Sage Cleansing Prayer
For thousands of years, burning sage—also known as "smudging"—has been used to help clear negative or stagnant energy. Because a person’s energy can stick around well after they’ve gone, it’s best to smudge yourself after you’ve been in contact with someone else’s vibes. Energy can stick around for a long time. Smudging and saying a sage cleansing prayer (or setting your intention, if you’re not comfortable with that word) is a beautiful way to welcome a fresh start.
Here are some instances where you may want to sage yourself or your environment:
After a breakup
After resigning from a job
Before a vacation
After having a party or being around a lot of personalities
When bringing home an antique or previously-owned item
When you feel stagnant, sad, or frustrated
When entering a new work environment
Keep in mind that sage removes all energies, positive or negative, so saying a sage cleansing prayer is important (also would recommend following it up with palo santo). A sage cleansing prayer sets the tone during your smudging ritual—it can be short or elaborate, prose or rhyming, spontaneous or memorized. The purpose is to replace the energy you are clearing out with a high-vibration, positive intention.
Formal sage cleansing prayer
Cleanse this space, remove the past,
I’ve found my happiness at last.
Fill this space with joy and love,
Send your blessings from above.
DIY sage cleansing prayer
Remember, your cleansing doesn’t need to sound formal or perfectly memorized. This is a personal ritual, and what matters most is the intention you bring to it and the energy you carry while doing it. Your words don’t have to be poetic or complex to be powerful.
You might choose to speak a simple phrase like, “I release all negative energy and fill this space with love,” and truly feel it as you say it. Or your version might look completely different. You could play music that lifts your mood, like dancing around your room to Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next” after a breakup while holding a smudge stick, letting movement and emotion help clear what needs to go.
Cleansing can be quiet and meditative, or expressive and cathartic. It can be whispered, spoken aloud, sung, or even felt without words at all. There is no single right way to do it.
Let your inner guidance lead the process. Trust what feels natural, what feels releasing, what feels like you. That authenticity is what makes the ritual meaningful, because you are not just going through the motions, you are actively shifting your space and your energy with intention.
Still not sure how to do a sage cleansing? Check out this blog post on how to smudge.
