
Sage
SALVIA OFFICINALIS
Common Sage or Garden Sage is known for its soft, fuzzy gray-green oval leaves, that grow in pairs opposite to one another, on woody square stems & give off a piney aroma. Sage, like lavender & rosemary, is part of the mint family. The term "sage" comes from the Latin salvia meaning healthy & has been used since antiquity.
Greeks & Romans used sage for woman's complaints, such as heavy bleeding & to delay periods. Its is also written that sage mixed with wormwood tea relived dysentery, & topically could heal certain wounds.
In the 20th century, it was also used to treat colic & fevers, to expel worms, to help prevent seizures & for gas pain.
Today, sage is more commonly used as a cooking herb than a medicine, but some still use it for stomach complaints & exssesive sweating.

Healing properties:
Aids with digestive problems
Treats congestion & fever
Aids with excessive sweating (hot flashes & night sweats)
Calms nervous disorders
Can reduce milk flow in nursing mothers during weening of their babies
Parts used: leaves & flowers
Collection: leaves are best harvested just before blooming
Aromatherapy:
Sage (clary sage) aromatherapy eases respitory conditions, cought & sore throats . It can be beneficial for soothing tention, depression, anxiety & stress related conditions.
Topically Sage essential oil treats acne, oily skin, dandruff & inflammation. When applied to the abdomen (diluted by a carrier oil) it can aid with menstral cramps.

Magickal Properties
Associations
Element: Air
Gender: Masculine
Planet: Jupiter
Magical Uses
Sage is a common herb in magickal practices, along with Rosemary & Lavender, Sage is in the top 3 herbs for beginner witches due to its power & availability.
Sage is often in wealth & healing spells. When carried, sage is said to promote wisdom. Eating sage in the month of May is said to bring longevity.
To protect form the evil eye, wear a small horn filled with sage leaves.
When growing sage, it is said that a full bed of sage is bad luck and should be shared with other plants. It is also said to invite toads.
To know if a wish will manifest, write the wish on a sage leaf & place it below your pillow for 3 nights. If you dream of your wish, it will come true. If not bury the leaf outside.
White Sage & Cultural Appropriation in Brief
White Sage is a variety of sage that grows wild in Southern California & parts of Mexico. Due to its rise in popularity many shady people have decided to take advantage of this valuable herb by unethically collecting it, resulting in a depletion of available plants.
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Luck
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Energy
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Digestion
Powers
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Cleansing
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Protection
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Addiction

White Sage used by some Native American Tribes in rituals called Smudging. It's important to know that Smudging is a closed practice, & are not available to the public.
Many naïve witches & spiritual people have mistakenly taken the term smudging to mean smoke cleansing & incorporate the burning of white sage into their practice. This has been characterized as cultural misappropriation (adoption of an element(s) of one culture by members of another culture). Some of the most controversial and harmful examples of cultural appropriation happen when when the culture being appropriated is one of a historically oppressed group.
- Magic & Medicine of Plants, by Readers Digest
Desk Reference to Natures Medicine, by Steven Foster & Rebecca L. Johnson, published by National Geographic
The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy, by Valerie Ann Worwood, published by New World Library in 1991
Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, by Scott Cunningham
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