🔥Debunked: Smudging Sage Kills Airborne Bacteria and Viruses

GENERAL HEALTH, HALLOWEEN

Halloween is the season when all kinds of tales and superstitions float around the internet: black cats, jack-o-lanterns, ghosts covered in sheets… and sage smudging.

It is our position that all things were created by God for good, but the devil came and twisted as much as he could for evil. So, with that being said, is the foundation of any of these stories rooted in good and truth? Let’s take a look at smudging this week.

🌿 What is smudging, anyway?

❗🧠 Don’t forget about the fun quiz at the end of this newsletter!

You may have seen videos of people waving a tied-up roll of a smoking plant around while wafting the smoke through the air and over themselves. They say it’s to “cleanse the negative energy” and “ward off evil spirits”.

Smudging is a practice where dried herbs, mostly white sage, are bundled, tied, lit, and then waved or blown around to spread the smoke.

People now claim that there is scientific evidence to support the notion that smudging sage kills airborne bacteria. So, where does this claim come from? Glad you asked, because that’s where our love of research comes in.

☎️ A Game of Telephone, Anyone?

Many blogs promoting this narrative cite a study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology in 2007. Here is an example of a website doing that.

This website clearly states, “One study, published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology in 2007, examined the effects of burning medicinal herbs, including sage, on airborne bacteria.”

Throughout our research, we found only one study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology in 2007 that related to the effects of burning medicinal herbs on airborne bacteria.

Furthermore, the author states that the study was, led by Dr. Narendra Singh. While it appears that there is a Dr. Narendra Singh who is a published scientist, we were only able to find one circumstance where he was a part of a study that has been published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, and the study had no connection to “the effects of burning medicinal herbs, including sage, on airborne bacteria”.

Is this because they never read the article themselves? The full study is hidden behind a paywall, so that makes sense. Were they just playing a game of telephone with other bloggers about what the study actually showed? Maybe.

Let us introduce you to the official…

“Medicinal smoke reduces airborne bacteria”

(Nautiyal et al., 2007)

Note: The study title is written in sentence case, exactly as it appears in the journal, where only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized. That’s not a typo on our part. 😉

In this study from India, researchers aimed to investigate the effects of havan sámagri, a traditional herbal mixture burned for its odors and medicinal properties, on airborne bacteria. The traditional blend consisted of over 30 ingredients. You can read them all here, as the list is too long to add to this main newsletter.

There are two types of “sage” which are usually burned in smudging rituals. One would be Artemisia ludoviciana, commonly referred to as white prairie sage, but is in fact a mugwort species, not a true sage. The other, more well-known, is Salvia apiana, commonly known as white sage.

· Neither species is listed in the ingredients that were tested during this study.

· The scientists never tested the effects on viruses.

This study, however, does show that havan sámagri has antimicrobial properties. After one hour of exposure to smoke, airborne bacterial counts in a closed room decreased by approximately 94%. That effect even lasted for hours afterward.

🤔 Could Smudging Smoke Reduce Bacteria?

Theoretically, sure. Although we were unable to find studies that have directly tested the antimicrobial effects of smudging with white sage (Salvia apiana), there is a reason some believe it might have some antimicrobial properties.

White sage contains essential oils, including 1,8-cineol (Borek et al., 2003). This active constituent can inhibit bacteria’s biofilm formation, making it harder for bacteria to survive (Wang et al., 2022).

When white sage is burned, 1,8-cineol could possibly be released into the smoke as tiny droplets or aerosols. In theory, these molecules could interact with airborne bacteria, reducing their viability, much like the medicinal smoke tested in the havan sámagri study.

💡 Important note: this is speculative. The actual smoke composition, concentration, and airflow in a room make it very different from a lab dish. While sage smoke may slightly lower bacterial counts, its effectiveness has never been scientifically confirmed, at least not to our knowledge, and it should not replace standard hygiene or infection control measures.

🙅‍♀️ Where Christians should draw the line?

So what do we do with all this? If sage smoke might reduce bacteria, but it’s also tied to spiritual practices outside the faith, what might a Christian think about it?

Here’s our balanced view:

• ✅ If someone enjoys sage as a nice-smelling herb to relax, there’s nothing inherently evil in burning a plant, though it’s probably not healthy for the lungs.

• ❌ Christians should not burn sage with the belief that it drives away evil spirits or “negative energies.” That gives power to smoke that belongs only to God.

• 🤔 If you like the smell, treat it like incense or a scented candle: just fragrance, maybe with a tiny scientific bonus.

In other words, keep the spiritual meaning rooted in Christ.

Besides, as Christians, we are to be set apart. Worried about those so-called “negative energies” and “evil spirts”? Maybe don’t open the door for them, and don’t give the enemy a foothold in the first place.

Your spiritual problems can only be solved by Jesus, not by sage smoke.

Happy Halloween…

🎃🕷️ 🦇 👻🧛 🐈‍⬛

Behave out there!

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💀 DID YOU KNOW…

The classic ghost costume, a white sheet with cut-out eyes, actually has a surprisingly practical origin! Throughout history, people have often covered the deceased with white sheets. Over time, this practical custom inspired the cartoonish “ghost in a sheet” we see today. So, if you see a ghost costume this Halloween, you’re really seeing a nod to history… not just spooky fun! 👻