Palo Santo – How to Burn it and Use it For Cleansing Your Home and Crystals

Last Updated on October 18, 2022 by IncenseJunction

Everyone wants a very peaceful home free from any evil spirits or negative energy. Now, this can be achieved in different ways. One of the most effective ways includes burning natural herbs or incense with natural herb ingredients. Palo Santo is among the most effective herbs out there in this regard.

What is Palo Santo? The name of this wood translates to Holy Wood. It has a relation to Copal, Myrrh, as well as Frankincense. Sacred practices in many communities involved burning Palo Santo to eradicate any evil spirits that might be around. It is therefore important to learn how to burn Palo Santo the right way for it to work. You should also know the Palo Santo cleansing prayer. This article aims to help you learn how to use Palo Santo effectively. Let’s get started.

Burning Palo Santo

Before we go into any other detail, we will discuss how to burn Palo Santo sticks.

The first thing you have to do is obtain some sticks. They are conveniently found in bohemian shops, massage and yoga studios, as well as aromatherapy stores. It is usually sold in bundles of around 6 sticks. You can also find it in most online stores such as Amazon.

Once you have the sticks, you should light them. We recommend you use a candle for this step. Hold the stick at an angle of 45 degrees onto the flame. You should then rotate it slowly while still in the flame.

Since the wood is dense, it might take a short while to light properly. How do you get Palo Santo to stay lit? You have to make sure it lights properly so that it does not go off after some time. Once you notice an ember glowing at the end of the stick, you should know that it is ready.

After it catches the flame, allow it to keep burning for around 30 seconds, after which you should blow it so that the fire is extinguished. You can continue blowing it some more so that the glow keeps burning strongly. You might also opt for fanning it. It is important to do this when you notice any chance of the wood drying out.

One of the major problems associated with this practice is that Palo Santo won’t stay lit. However, this is because of lighting it in a hurry and not doing it right.

You should then Waft the resulting smoke around your space. Wave it in all directions so that the fragrance and aroma spread across the room. The pleasant aroma should be smelt after a short while. Guide it to any target areas for purification. These include inside closets, corridors, as well as corners.

How To Burn Palo Santo For Cleansing

Palo Santo is a great choice if you want to smudge, or in other words, cleanse the environment around you. This is a process similar to praying in that there is no set of rules that govern it. Truth is, there are certain recommended practices but at the end of the day, you should do with your ritual what you think is best.

Cleansing with Palo Santo is a very simple process. Here is how to use Palo Santo to cleanse your crystals, meditation, or cleansing space of unwanted or negative energies.

Cleanse your Home

Start by lighting a Palo Santo stick. You can use a lighter, match, or a candle. Make sure that it forms a flame, which should be allowed to burn for around one minute, even though 30 seconds might be enough. After that, blow it out carefully.

After the Palo Santo stick is glowing and producing some smoke, move around your space whether it is an office, a car, or the entire house. It is important to allow the smoke to touch all corners of the house.

During this time, you should chant a prayer, which goes like this. ‘I invite the Palo Santo spirit to fill this space or environment with blessings.’ However, the intention can be set in different ways. For instance, you can use a single word such as clarity, positivity, or any other that you feel you or the environment needs.

As you do this, the space will be filled with a rich aroma while clarity and peace fill the space.

Complete this process, after which you should place the stick in a bowl, allowing it to burn itself out.

Cleanse your Crystals

Now, you know how to cleanse your home with Palo Santo. Do you know how to cleanse your crystals with it? It is also quite simple.

All you would have to do is place the crystals in a single area after which you should light your Palo Santo.

Just like you should always do, ensure it burns for a short while before blowing it out. To cleanse the crystals properly, you should allow the produced smoke to cover the entire area in which the crystals are held.

After it burns out, the crystals will be ready for use.

How to Light Palo Santo and Keep it Burning

For your cleansing ritual to be successful, your Palo Santo stick has to produce adequate smoke. Here is how to keep Palo Santo burning.

First, as mentioned, you need to light it using an adequate flame from a match, candle, or lighter so that catches its own flame. Light it while it is tilted at a 45-degree angle so that it lights.  Allow it to burn like that for at least 30 seconds, then blow it out. At this point, it should form an ember and produce adequate smoke for the ritual.

You can, however, notice some differences. For instance, it can easily fail to light. Ensure that your stick is completely dry so that it is able to burn properly. It is also important to ensure that there is an adequate air supply.

As always, remember to be careful since it is possible to hurt yourself or those close to you.

Reuse Palo Santo – Can You Burn A Palo Santo Stick More Than Once?

There are no hard and fast rules. That said, some people believe that burning palo santo too often can cause it to lose its potency.

Palo santo can be used several times until it is all gone. And it’s actually a good idea to do so, because each time you use it, the magic of Palo Santo is released into the air and fills your home with its healing properties.

After Burning Palo Santo…

After you burn Palo Santo, you should make sure that it does not burn anything in your house. Therefore, there are a couple of things you should choose to do.

First, you could choose to place it in a fireproof bowl, allowing it to burn out by itself. Alternatively, you could extinguish it by placing it in a bowl, made of glass, ceramic, or metal, and adding a thin sand or ash layer so that it snuffs out faster.

Now that you have learned how to burn and cleanse with Palo Santo, let us look at some of its benefits.

Benefits of Palo Santo

What is Palo Santo good for? Nobody wants to burn wood that does not give you some benefits, right? So, here are some main benefits.

Healing

One of the most traditional and popular benefits of Palo Santo is healing. It is a great remedy for flu, stress symptoms, as well as colds. It is known to eradicate headaches, asthma, depression, reduce inflammation, and anxiety.

The essential oil made from Palo Santo is used in therapeutic massages and aromatherapy.  Furthermore, the oil can be included in soaps, candles, body lotions, scrubs, and more to moisturize and cleanse the skin.

What’s more? It has calming effects and will support your nervous and immune systems. That way, you can recover quickly from any illnesses.

Palo Santo is known to have a compound known as d-limonene in high concentrations. This compound is thought to help in the prevention of certain types of cancers.

Relaxation

Palo Santo is burned during meditation for this specific purpose. It helps you relax and connect to yourself, allowing you to meditate successfully. Its amazing scent will alter the energy in your space.

Imagine a day full of hard work and stress. If you come home with some things on your mind, sleeping might be a challenge. Luckily, burning Palo Santo before bed will allow you to relax and you will be able to catch some sweet and relaxed sleep for a while. If you feel like you can take a bath, you should add two drops of Palo Santo oil, Lavender oil, a tablespoon of body wash, and a drop of Mandarin. Once you add these to your water, you will be able to renew and relax.

Cleansing

Let’s look at how to use Palo Santo wood for cleansing. One of the most known uses of Palo Santo is the spiritual cleansing of a house’s energy and other benefits. It is known that the smoke produced when Palo Santo is burned helps in eradicating any negative energy, calming emotions, and restoring tranquility.

As we stated earlier, cleansing using Palo Santo is not hard. It is quite easy, to be honest. As you walk around in corners of your house to cleanse them, you should say a prayer. What do you say when burning Palo Santo? You should say these words out loud. “I ask for the Palo Santo plant spirit to please infuse this space with blessings.” After saying this prayer out loud, you will realize that peace, clarity, and tranquility will be restored in your house.

Faqs:

• Does palo santo help with sleep?

• Can you burn sage and palo santo at the same time?

• What does palo santo smell like?

The scent of palo santo is very distinctive and hard to describe. It’s not spicy, but it’s also not sweet like vanilla or lavender. Palo santo smells like a combination of multiple scents and is usually described as a woodsy, bright, sweet, piney, musky, and lemony scent.

•  What chakra is palo santo good for?

Chakra balancing. Palo santo helps you feel grounded and centered. It’s said to help re-balance your chakras, which are the seven energy centers in your body that regulate your physical, mental, and spiritual health. It’s also said to boost the energy flow between the chakras, which can help you feel more energized and alive.

Especially for the root chakra which is the foundation of our health and well-being. It governs our sense of security and stability in life, but if it’s out of balance, we may feel anxious, insecure, or afraid of change. This can lead to depression and other mental health issues such as anxiety and panic attacks. Palo santo is good for this chakra because its sweet aroma helps calm you down when you’re feeling stressed or anxious.

• Why does palo santo smell so good?

Palo santo’s unique smell comes from its essential oils. These oils are made up of a variety of compounds that give palo santo its characteristic scents such as terpenes (monoterpenes), limonenes, and pinenes.

• What do you say while cleansing with palo santo?

When you’re clearing with palo santo, there are several things you can say or think about while burning the wood:

• “I am surrounded by divine light.”
• “I am protected by divine love.”
• “I am safe here.”
• “I am healing my body, mind, and spirit.”
• “I release any negative feelings or emotions.”
• “I am open to receiving love, abundance, and joy.”

• Can you put Palo Santo in the fireplace?

Yes, you can put Palo Santo in the fireplace.

It’s a great way to freshen and cleanse the air in your home. Just throw some pieces in a pan on the stove and let them burn. The smoke will clear out any negative energy or smells in your home, and you’ll have a lovely scent all over!

• What scents go well with Palo Santo?

Palo Santo works well with most incense blends. It is especially good with frankincense and myrrh, as well as cedarwood and different types of sage. If you are looking for something more unusual, try mixing Palo Santo with Ylang Ylang or Sandalwood.

Also, read:

• Best Incense For Cleansing
• How To Burn Incense Cones
• Sage And Palo Santo – Can You Burn Them Together?

Conclusion

Now that you know how to burn Palo Santo sticks and reap their benefits properly, it is time to get some and enjoy the amazing benefits associated with burning them. Make sure that you get the right type of Palo Santo and that you avoid leaving it on to avoid any risk of fires. Have fun!