Sweet Grass Braids 4-5"

A hand braided sweetgrass braid, four to five inches. Five dollars.

The vanilla smell is coumarin. It is the same compound behind the smell of new-mown hay, which is the point: coumarin becomes strongly noticeable as the cut grass dries, so a dried braid smells sweet before you ever light it and one left in a drawer will scent the drawer. It is also what flavored the original Polish bison grass vodka, though the US has banned coumarin in food since 1954 and the bottle sold here is a reformulated version without it.

Sweetgrass is one of the four sacred medicines in Anishinaabe teaching, from the Great Lakes and Eastern Woodlands, and it is used in Haudenosaunee basketry, ceremony and medicine. It is called the hair of Mother Earth. The braiding carries several teachings depending on who is telling it; the three strands are given as mind, body and spirit, or as love, kindness and honesty. This is a living tradition belonging to specific peoples, not a generic one, and it is worth knowing that when you light it.

Its role is the opposite of a clearing herb. Clearing empties a room. Sweetgrass is burned to call something back into it, so a space is not just cleared but welcoming. A lot of people burn the two in that order, though there is no single correct sequence and every nation that uses these plants has its own practice. What you will notice is that if you only ever burn the clearing herb, the room ends up feeling bare. This is the other half.

Light the end of the braid, let it catch, blow the flame out and let it smolder. It will go out on its own if you leave it, which makes it easier to manage than a stick.

Good to Know

4 to 5 inch braid, hand braided. Burn in a heatproof dish and never leave it unattended. Keep it dry; damp sweetgrass will not hold a coal. The scent survives storage for years.

Try It With

The braided sweetgrass with white sage at nine dollars is both steps in one object. An abalone shell to burn it over, and Sweetgrass Hem incense at two fifty for the everyday version. More in herb bundles.