Recipe
Cedar (thuja) smudge bundle — no internal use
- Herb:
- Northern white cedar Thuja occidentalis
- Method:
- Incense / smoke offering
- Plant part:
- Leaf
About 15 minBeginnerRecipe science profile
Procedure
- Arrange fresh thuja sprays into a bundle about 15 cm long and bind firmly with cotton thread from the base to the tip and back.
- Hang for 2–3 weeks in a dry, shaded, airy place until the scales are brittle.
- Light the end of the bundle, blow out the flame and let it smoulder in a heatproof dish of sand; ventilate the room.
- After a few minutes press the smoke out into the sand. Do not put the bundle in your mouth and do not use the ash.
Extraction
- Herb:
- a handful of dried twigs per bundle
- Solvent:
- no extraction — slow smouldering in a heatproof bowl
- Shelf life:
- a dried bundle keeps for 12 months
- Target compounds:
- smoke carries essential oil (thujone, fenchone) — fragrance; this is not inhalation therapy
Notes
Thuja contains thujone; neither tea nor a tincture from it belongs in home practice (see Safety). Smoke in a well-ventilated room, briefly; not around people with asthma or small children. Harvest only from trees you own or have permission for.
Why it works
Smouldering thuja releases its volatile oil (thujone, fenchone, camphor) as fragrance — a cultural practice of First Nations (one of the 'four sacred medicines'), not inhalation therapy. Naser's review summarises the pharmacology of standardised, thujone-reduced extracts, which has nothing to do with a home tea.
Literature
- Naser B, Bodinet C, Tegtmeier M, Lindequist U (2005): Thuja occidentalis (Arbor vitae): A Review of its Pharmaceutical, Pharmacological and Clinical Properties. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2:69–78 — Review including thujone content and risks of internal use of unprocessed preparations.
Related
Northern white cedar — Herb card
Incense / smoke offering — Processing method detail