Palo santo and its health properties
Palo santo is a type of wood that comes from the tree of the same name. It is native to South America, and its name means «sacred wood» for the many healing and spiritual properties it possesses.
Like sage, the smoke of palo santo is so powerful that almost all shamanic rituals in South America use it to burn it. It smells of pine, mint and citrus and this makes it really quite unique – so unique that it’s hard to believe it’s burning wood when you smell it.
For generations, the medical people, the Incas and other tribal peoples of the Andes have used palo santo wood for healing.
The spiritual properties come during the death of the tree. Each tree lives up to 90 years and then lies dead for at least four years before all the wood is harvested for the rituals. It is during this time, when the living tree is transformed, and its sacred properties are obtained.
Palo Santo Benefits
The list of benefits of using Palo Santo is long:
Its penetrating fragrance relieves stress and anxiety
Palo Santo can help eliminate headaches and symptoms of the common cold
Reduces inflammation, asthma and allergies
Eases emotional or mental trauma such as depression
Can be used in combination with other healing modalities such as crystal healing or Reiki
Helps deepen your spiritual connection
Raise your energy vibration
Enhance creativity
It is used in massage therapy to relieve pain in joints and muscles.
Soothes difficult skin conditions and promotes healthy skin
Potential anticancer effects
Calms the immune system
Palo Santo: How to use it
Palo Santo is most commonly used for energy purification, cleansing of people and objects, curing disease, inspiring creativity, protection, attracting good fortune and love, and clearing negativity.
If you have a meditation practice, consider burning some palo santo during, before, and after your practice. Each time it is burned, it not only raises your vibration, but helps to connect you with the divine source, as well as mother earth.
Many people enjoy using it as an energizer to lift their spirits or prepare for a task or project.
Steps for cleaning with Palo Santo
This procedure for using Palo Santo to cleanse your space is similar to that for sage, so if you are familiar with this process, just add a stick of palo santo to your sage pack and follow the same procedure. .
If you are new to all this… Here is the process:
First of all, obviously, you need to obtain a Palo Santo.
You can find Palo Santo in many crystal shops and local esoteric or natural products stores.
Hold a Palo Santo in your hand, and choose the end farthest from your hand to light it.
Palo Santo doesn’t light up nearly as easily as white sage… So when the palo santo flame comes on, make sure you let the flame burn for about 30 seconds before putting it out.
Next, hold the stick (and sage pack, if used) and set your intentions or recite a prayer. This can be something for the next day, being thankful for the day that is over, or whatever or event in your life you want to focus on.
Making the smoke of Palo Santo purify the place where you are, raising the vibration and transforming it into positive energy.
Now let the holy smoke fill the room you are in.
Walk methodically around the room, making sure to spread the smoke toward the ceiling and toward the floor.
Move through your house until you have entered each room. To cleanse yourself, you will begin to pass the palo santo near your feet, passing the smoke around you until it ends at the crown of your head.
You can also use Palo Santo to clean crystals, tarot cards, pendulums, or any other magical or sacred object.
Note that, unlike regular incense, palo santo can relight several times during use, or you may have to keep it burning for quite some time before it goes out. I find the aroma and power of Palo Santo to be quite strong and powerful.
When you are done with your particular cleansing ritual, if the stick is still burning, it can be placed in a metal or ceramic bowl in order to allow the ember to extinguish naturally on its own. If you want to turn it off, put a little salt in a bowl and rub the part of the stick that was on so that it turns off completely.
Palo Santo can also be wonderfully combined with white sage, juniper, or cedar. Personally, white sage and palo santo are my favorite combination!
If you liked to know about the palo santo, its benefits and how to use it, you can share it with another person. IT’S FREE!