It is evening, and you stand in a quiet room where the light is dimmed and the world outside slowly slips away. On your altar lie small bundles of dried herbs – juniper, mugwort, nettle, birch leaf, perhaps a little sweetgrass and lavender. You light one end of the bundle, watch the embers take hold, and the first thin thread of smoke rises. You lift the bundle toward your heart, letting the smoke bathe your chest, your face, your hands. This is eimilauga – to bathe in smoke – an ancient cleansing practice that has been used in Nordic and Sami tradition to prepare both people, places and objects for ceremonial work. We find this practice again in numerous places around the world. In North American smudging and the saining of the druids.
The smoke winds itself like a bridge between worlds. It cleanses the room of heavy energy, carries your prayers to the ancestors and the Creative Force, and helps you settle into a different state of consciousness. When you pass the smoke over your eyes, you ask to see clearly; over your mouth, to speak truly; over your ears, to hear the truths of the spirits; over your heart, to live in balance; over your feet, to walk your life's path with grounded calm. In this way the smoke becomes more than fragrance – it becomes a sacred act that opens the way for drum journeys, power animals, ancestral contact and guardian spirits.
Why is smoke used in ceremony?
In shamanic tradition, the smoke from burning herbs is used for several purposes that recur in Nordic and Sami practice: cleansing, communication with the spirit world, healing, preparation and consecration.
Cleansing: The smoke loosens and removes heavy, stagnant energies – in the room, in the body and in objects.
Communication: As the smoke rises, it carries prayers, intentions and gratitude to ancestors, nature spirits and the Creative Force.
Healing: The smoke can help balance mind, body and soul, creating calm and clarity before journeys and healing work.
Preparation and consecration: Eimilauga is used to cleanse and consecrate the ceremonial space, drums, rattles, the altar, and other ritual tools, so that they are ready for sacred use.
This practice has deep roots in Nordic and Sami culture, where the Sami term Suovvabuhttisteapmi describes how the smoke is used as a ritual bath before ceremonies.
Why not white sage and palo santo?
In modern new-age communities, white sage and palo santo have become very popular, but from an ethical and shamanic standpoint there are several reasons to be cautious:
White sage is sacred in several North American indigenous traditions. Many indigenous representatives have asked outsiders to refrain from using it as a trendy product, both out of respect and because the plant has been over-harvested in certain areas.
White sage is often used in their traditions not primarily for "cleaning," but to attract specific spirits and fields of power – something that does not necessarily correspond to Nordic practice for cleansing.
Palo santo is an endangered species in parts of South America, and even though packages say "ethically harvested," it is difficult for the consumer to verify the origin and sustainability. Overconsumption, illegal logging and tourism in search of "sacred wood" have created pressure on both nature and local communities.
In light of this, it is both ethically and spiritually wise to prioritize local, Nordic herbs and traditions. Eimilauga with juniper, mugwort, birch leaf, nettle, sweetgrass, heather and other Norwegian plants gives a practice that is rooted in your own land, your own nature and the wisdom of your ancestors.
Terms like smudging (North American) and saining (Scottish/English) are often used, but in Norwegian "eimilauga" – to bathe in smoke – is a good word to use. It brings to mind eim as in scent, but eimi also means smoke. Lauga you probably already know, it means to bathe, or to wash oneself.
Traditional Nordic herbs for eimilauga
The article on why smoke is used in ceremony describes several traditional Norwegian and Sami herbs with distinct qualities.
Examples:
Juniper: One of Máttaráhkku's protectors in Sami tradition; cleanses, opens and protects.
Mugwort: Used both in Norse and Sami practice; lifts the mind, opens to the spirit world, gives protection.
Nettle: Strengthens the ceremonial fire, protects against dark forces and deception from spirits.
Birch leaf: Drives away fear, strengthens courage and decisions made in ceremony.
Sweetgrass: Used especially in the north; gives strength and humility, associated with the Creative Force as both feminine and masculine.
Other herbs: Birch polypore and chaga, angelica, roseroot, plantain, hops, meadowsweet, yarrow, heather (gives rain when burned), pine (slightly toxic, use with care).
Grey sage and lavender can also be part of Nordic blends, but the main emphasis should be on plants from your own nature, both for the sake of ecology and spiritual rootedness. These have been cultivated in Norway for a long time.
A good eimilauga blend is traditionally built up with 4, 8 or 12 herbs – numbers often seen as completing and power-bearing in ceremonial work.
Practical exercises: Smoke, cleansing and sacred space
Exercise 1: Make your own eimilauga blend (4–8–12 herbs)
Time: about 30 minutes (plus drying time)
Tools: Local dried herbs, twine, scissors, fireproof bowl.
Suggested herbs:
Base (2–3 herbs): juniper, mugwort, birch leaf
Addition for protection/health: nettle, heather, yarrow
Fragrance and mildness: sweetgrass, lavender, meadowsweet
Deep earth connection/ancestors: angelica, chaga, pine (very little, with care)
How to do it:
Choose 4, 8 or 12 herbs you have a good relationship with. Feel the leaves, the scent, and ask intuitively which ones want to be part of the blend.
Sit outside or by an open window. Hold the herbs in your hands, and thank each plant for being willing to help. This is part of ethical harvesting and use.
Lay the stems parallel and roll them lightly together into a bundle. Tie gently around it with cotton thread or natural twine – not too tightly, the smoke must be able to circulate.
Hang the bundle to dry in an airy, dry place for at least a week. When it is completely dry, it is ready for use in ceremony.
Give the blend a name if it feels right, for example "everyday cleansing," "journey smoke" or "ancestor smoke," and place it on the altar.
What are you opening to?
A personal, ethical and powerful smoke blend that connects you to your own land, your own nature and the practice of your ancestors.
Exercise 2: Eimilauga over the body – to bathe in smoke
Time: 15–20 minutes
Tools: Eimilauga bundle, fireproof bowl, possibly a feather or small fan.
How to do it:
Light the bundle carefully at one end. Let the flame take hold, then blow it out so that only embers and smoke remain.
Start at the feet. Pass the smoke over the feet and set an intention: "May I walk my path with grounding and clarity."
Continue to the back: Ask a fellow practitioner to help, or pass the smoke along your back as best you can. Intend: "May my path become easier, both in ceremony and in everyday life."
Eyes: Pass the smoke gently in front of the eyes. "May I see truth, the beauty of nature and love between all beings."
Ears: "May I hear the truths of the spirits, listen to others and know when it is time to help."
Mouth: "May I speak truly, humbly and bring forth the good."
Heart: "May I feel truth, growth, harmony and care for others."
Finish by holding the bundle in front of the head and the whole body: "May I be clean, clear and protected." Extinguish the bundle carefully in sand or earth.
What are you opening to?
A complete ritual cleansing that harmonizes the senses and consciousness before drum journeys, healing or other shamanic work.
Exercise 3: Smoke for the room and sacred space
Time: 15–20 minutes
Tools: Eimilauga, fireproof bowl, possibly a bell/drum.
How to do it:
Call in the four directions, Mother Earth, the Creative Force above and the heart in the center, as you have learned in the series.
Light the bundle, and walk slowly clockwise around the room. Lead the smoke into all the corners, over doors and windows, around the altar and any seating.
As you walk, you can say quietly: "All that is heavy, old or does not belong here may now release and go. This room is sacred."
Finish at the center by the altar. Let a little smoke bathe the altar, the drum, the rattle and other tools.
Extinguish the bundle and stand still for a moment. Notice how the room feels different – clearer, lighter.
What are you opening to?
A clearly sacred space, cleansed and consecrated, where spiritual work can take place more safely and with greater focus.
Exercise 4: Smoke in interplay with protection and helpers
Time: 20–25 minutes
Tools: Eimilauga, altar with direction symbols, drum or rattle.
How to do it:
Establish sacred space and call on power animals, ancestors and guardian spirits.
Light the eimilauga and lead the smoke specifically toward each direction symbol (north, east, south, west), as well as down toward the earth and up toward the Creative Force, as an "offering smoke."
Pray: "May this smoke strengthen the shield around this room and our work. May only the spirits that wish the highest good for all who are present come near."
Listen for a few moments in silence or with the drum. Notice whether the mood changes – often the room feels more settled, calmer, and you may sense the presence of your helpers more strongly.
What are you opening to?
A deeper interplay between cleansing, protection and your spiritual helpers, which makes journeys and healing safer.
Exercise 5: Integrating smoke – the closing of a ceremony
Time: 10–15 minutes
Tools: The smoke that remains, possibly a mild blend with plenty of birch and sweetgrass.
How to do it:
After a drum journey, healing or ceremony: Light a mild blend, and pass the smoke first over yourself, then over the participants (with consent), then over the altar.
Intend: "May what is right to carry onward settle in us. May everything else be allowed to release and go."
Let the smoke carry thanks to helpers, ancestors and nature: "Thank you for help, wisdom and protection. Go in peace."
Extinguish the bundle with respect, and ideally place some of the used herbs out in nature as a small offering of thanks.
What are you opening to?
A good and whole transition back to everyday life, where the insight from the ritual is allowed to be integrated into body, mind and life.
The way forward – build your own relationship with herbs
Smoke cleansing is not just a technique, but a relationship with the plants and with the spirits that live through them. By using Norwegian herbs – and being conscious of the ethics around white sage and palo santo – you stand in a tradition that honors nature, the ancestors and indigenous peoples in other parts of the world. You can explore further:
Your own "signature blend" for different purposes (protection, dream work, grief work, celebration/festivity).
The interplay between smoke and the elements (earth, water, air, fire) and the directions.
How eimilauga can be combined with joik, prayer, silence or song to strengthen the intention.
In this way, the smoke cleansing becomes not an imported fashion, but a living, northern language between you, nature and the spirit world – a sacred breath that opens the doors to deeper shamanic practice.
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