How to clean the house with palo santo

The palo santo is a tree (Bursera graveolens) which grows in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and in the Matto Grosso region, in Brazil. Its use in the current era derives from the customs of some indigenous tribes from the aforementioned countries, who since pre-Columbian times used this wood for healing, magical and energetic purposes.

With the colonization process by the Spanish and Portuguese, palo santo became known in Europe as a natural flavoring, until in more recent times its original use as an energy restorer has been rediscovered.

What is currently marketed under the name palo santo are tree wood sticks of the same name that are used to be burned and thus take advantage of its aroma and benefits. You can also get sawdust, incense or palo santo powder. However, for the properties of the wood to be intact, it must come from a fallen tree with a decomposition of 3 or 4 years.

During that time, the resin is produced that gives it the characteristic smell and that when burned, generates White smoke, which cannot be obtained if the tree is cut down. In this sense, the best thing that can be done to protect the palo santo tree from indiscriminate felling is to buy certified bars to ensure that they come from a fallen tree and also contribute to the reforestation of this species.

We recommend you read this other article about Palo Santo: what it is for and how to use it.

There are many ways to clean the house with palo santo. One of them is the following one:

Cleaning material

• A large piece of palo santo
• Matches
• Three bay leaves
• A saucepan with a lid

Cleansing with palo santo and laurel

1. Wrap the palo santo with the three bay leaves, tying them with a thread.
2. Light the piece of palo santo with the laurel using a match.
3. When it is quite lit, turn it off by shaking the wood, never blowing.
4. Put the palo santo in the saucepan and cover it until you see the smoke starting to come out.
5. At that point remove the lid and allow the smoke to permeate the entire space.
6. You can go through the entire house, from the back to the front with the saucepan, ending at the front door.

You can do this process without the bay leaf, just with the palo santo, and you can put it in a saucepan or not to carry it around the house. Putting it in the saucepan makes it easier for more smoke to come out.

Palo santo can also be found in the form of sawdust and in the same way you can take advantage of its properties. For this you will need:

Material

• A handful of palo santo sawdust
• fresh rosemary leaves
• A clay, ceramic or earthenware bowl
• Matches

Preparation

1. Place the sawdust and rosemary leaves in the bowl.
2. Light the mixture and let it consume.
3. Repeat this action in all spaces of the house.

To clean the house with palo santo you can also use incense, which in this case can be mixed with other elements, as we see below:

Material

• Two sticks of palo santo incense, two of myrrh and two of sandalwood.
• A ceramic, clay or clay bowl.
• Matches.

Steps

1. The bars are ground.
2. The resulting powder is mixed inside the bowl.
3. Light the mixture with a match and proceed to pass the bowl throughout the house so that the smoke they generate does the cleaning work.

Another option is light several palo santo incenses in the shape of a stick or coneplacing them on a suitable base or a bowl, and placing them in strategic points of the house (near doors and windows).

If smoke inside the house can be a problem (in case one of its inhabitants is allergic), another way to use palo santo is by taking several wooden bars and group them in various corners of the house. Not only will they cleanse the environment of negative energies, but they will also aromatize the house for a long time and in a more subtle way. Here you can learn more about How to know if there is negative energy at home.

Once the ember goes out, Palo Santo wood pieces can be reused repeatedly. It is important to be careful when lighting the palo santo and make sure to extinguish the flame before beginning cleaning. It must be remembered that what is used for this element is the smoke it generates, not its flame. In the same way, you should avoid lighting wood near flammable objects.

If you want to read more articles similar to How to clean the house with palo santo we recommend that you enter our Home Cleaning category.