Palo santo and white sage are herbs which were historically used by the indigenous tribes of North and South America. The aroma of these plants was often considered divine. Native Americans often used these herbs in their spiritual rituals.
Nowadays palo santo and white sage are pretty mainstream and you can easily purchase these materials either online or from new age retail outlets.
But how do these mystical herbs compare with each other?
Table of Contents
Palo Santo
Palo santo is an aromatic wood, from the Bursera graveolens tree, which has been used by the Indigenous tribes of the Amazon, in South America.
These trees and their wood were considered holy and were literally referred to as ‘Holy Wood’.
These tribes used to burn large amounts of this wood during rituals and social gatherings.
Palo santo is thought to dispel negative energy.
An interesting fact about palo santo is that the wood is fresh, it isn’t yet very fragrant. The timber must lie on the forest floor for 4 to 10 years before it becomes fragrant enough to be used for spiritual purposes.
If you’re interested, we do sell palo santo smudge sticks here at Reed’s Handmade Incense.
White Sage
White sage was used for it’s fragrant and spiritual properties by the Indigenous tribes for as long as anybody can remember. Although it was used indeed used in spiritual rituals, it was also used to banish evil spirits and dispel negative energy. It was also used for protection.
The word sage originates from the Latin word ‘Salvia’, which means ‘to heal’. This is also the plant genus which white sage is a part of.
If you’re interested, we do sell white sage smudge sticks here at Reed’s Handmade Incense.
Comparing Palo Santo and White Sage
The main difference between palo santo and white sage is that one is a fragrant herb, and one is an aromatic wood which has aged in nature.
Each of these have a distinct fragrance, but are similar in nature.
Both of these plants should suit you just fine for general cleansing purposes.
White sage is, however, is a little easier to light and use.
We hope you found this information helpful.
