Pau Santo: What is it good for and how does it work?

O Pau Santo has been a best-seller in storesince the day it became available!

So I would like to talk a little more about this "spiritual tool". I believe that if we understand why and how to use it correctly, our lives can be transformed.

Its smoke and smell seems to help dispel negativity and bring in a breath of well-being.

I use it to clear the energy of both my home and office, and myself. And with each new month that comes in, I like to do some extra "cleaning" around the house.

All to do with the Feng Shui aspect that runs through my veins, which includes "trying" to be more minimalist, donating everything we haven't used for more than a year, and being as zero waste as possible.

Maybe it also has to do with having 4 kids, but I like an organized and clean house. And often to achieve that, I have to be a minimalist (less junk in the house, less the kids clutter!). Smell is also one thing that affects me. I like the windows open all year round (thank goodness we live in Portugal!), to let good energy in.

Another thing I don't give up is Pau Santo.

 

It has been used for centuries by Amazonian civilizations to ward off bad energies.

I use it for two reasons :

1 - Because I like to clean around the house and energy is something I feel a lot. When there are arguments, some heavier problem or someone who came by with that "bad vibe".

2 - Because I like the sweet smell and the "clean" that the house gets after burning the stick! Unlike incense, Pau Santo burns slowly. So you can use it over and over again and it doesn't have that intense smell. This is softer and more subtle.

Properties of Pau Santo

The smell that Pau Santo emits is the essential oil it contains - the "life force" of the tree. Like all essential oils, pau santo contains dozens, if not hundreds, of chemical constituents that are studied for their unique healing and regenerative properties. When we inhale these constituents, the nervous system assimilates and reacts - sending signals to the places in the body that need recovery.

The essential oil of Pau Santo has benefits such as relieving allergy symptoms, keeping mosquitoes away, fighting free radicals, relieving stress and anxiety, promoting restful sleep, relieving nausea, and even reducing pain and inflammation. That's why the relaxed feeling I get after using Pau Santo. It is very likely that it is not only the placebo effect. Pau Santo is traditionally burned as an offering to good indigenous spiritual beings, especially in a sacred place.

It is believed that when we enjoy pleasant smells on land, spiritual beings will also be attracted to those smells, and in return bring pleasant vibrations and good luck.

 

Start your own Ritual

Next time you want to clear the energies of your home or have it smell fresh:

1 - Stop and think for a moment about what you want. To clean energies? Maybe a particular corner of the house?

2 - Take a Pau Santo and light it, always carefully. Use a match preferably or a candle. There are some rules and one of them is that you must use natural fire, so lighter and stove should not be the first choice.

3 - The stick will start to get flame and quickly go out. Let this process happen for you. When it's just smoke coming out, start the "work". I like to start with myself. I pass the smoke from the bottom up, and a little all around. I even help with my other hand to pass the smoke over me almost as if I were shaking crumbs off my body (for example, from my shoulder up my arm to my hand).

Then I move on to the house. I start at the front door and follow the route, entering each space and doing all the corners of it. Pay special attention to the doors and windows. When I do it to the kids, I do the same thing I did to myself, but since they have less patience and think I'm a little "weird", I just go around the head of each kid and do the same thing to them. Holy Stick.

Have doubts? Then take a look at this video: