Juniper Saining Ritual

Saining is a Scots term for blessing, protecting, and consecrating… and it’s probably the most apt word I’ve found from the lands of my own ancestors that speaks to what happens when we work with Juniper smoke. While many forms of the traditional Scottish saining rites involve both sprinkling of lustral water and smoldering of Juniper leaves, we’ll be focused on the latter in this particular practice. For those who work with any kind of blessed water, you can easily incorporate asperging self and space as part of this overall working.

In Scottish saining practices, it is almost always Juniper who is worked with to smolder and suffumigate a home or space with their dense, fragrant smoke. This smoke, as it permeates space, clears away all ill, exorcises any malefic presences, purifies the patterns of a space, and leaves the whole area in a completely auspicious state. In other words, Juniper both purifies and blesses, clears and charges, both at the same time. Juniper, as aligned to the Sun and Fire as they are, brings so much sacred light into a space that there is simply no room left for anything else.

My invitation to you as you connect with Juniper and learn from this incredible and celebrated plant spirit, is to hone your skills of cleansing and blessings your physical spaces. Use the tips below to go beyond the ‘light it up and let it go’ method so many people rely on when working with purifying herbs and really get into the magic that this plant carries.

Before working with dried Juniper for smoldering, please consider the following:

·       Keep all dried Juniper materials wrapped in paper or cloth to respect them and to keep the bits that will naturally fall off which can be used in your burning rites.

·       The traditional Scottish method for saining involves use of a cast iron skillet, pot, or cauldron to safely burn the juniper in. You can absolutely do this! I don’t work with iron in my practice, so I instead use a Japanese ceramic incense urn filled halfway with sand.

·       Juniper creates a good deal of smoke. Be mindful of this with folks who have sensitive respiratory systems and also with animals. You can still burn, just burn less and have air flow. Traditionally, once the space is completely suffumigated, the windows are all thrown open to release the exorcised energy from the place- this can be used to help clear the air quicker, too.

·       Sometimes dried Juniper will pop and sputter, so don’t set your urn or pot on anything that might easily catch fire. Keep an eye on the Juniper until you are certain it is no longer burning.

·       You can burn Juniper in small pieces that are lit, dropped into the receptacle, and then allowed to self-extinguish which will release the smoke. You can also bundle up fresh Juniper, wrap it well, and allow it to dry for a couple of months to make convenient burn bundles like the one below…

A SAINING RITUAL

This is the way I personally work with Juniper to purify a space, call in protection to that space and all who dwell within it, and to bless and sanctify that space for my work. Below you’ll find some tips on making this a truly transformative rite…

·       Always remember that you are not the only person in a given space. When doing any kind of ritual that involves concepts like banishing, chasing, warding, exorcising, etc. it is crucial to consider the Good Folk, Ancestors, Deities, Animals, and other non-human persons who inhabit a space- often completely unseen by us. If they aren’t causing you serious trouble, don’t banish them- you have no idea how much good their presence may be for you and yours… and it is not your right to evict every being from a space you are likely the newest occupant of. Rather, include them in your protection and blessings prayers to Juniper… include ‘all good folk’ who share this space- this goes a long way.

·       Offer three exhalations saturated with vital energy to Juniper before the ritual as an offering. I like to see my breath coming out as a blood-red, vibrant power that Juniper absorbs via the dried leaves.

·       Petition Juniper before burning. Get clear about what you want from this ritual- whether that’s a simple clearing and blessing of the space for meditation or study or a more thorough cleansing and blessing for a formal ritual, medicine crafting, or other working. Say what you mean and mean what you say- and do it from the heart and you’ll never go wrong.

·       Once you light the Juniper and extinguish the flame to release the smoke, don’t check out. The more engaged you stay with this process, the more magical it will be and the closer you will get to Juniper as they do what they do. I very much value both seeing and experiencing the cleansing, clearing, protecting, and blessing happening via my imaginal faculties. Imagine, pretend, make-believe, or otherwise feel the things happening. This creates a liminal space whereby our world and the green realm can mingle.

·       It is traditional to walk from the back of the space to the front to cleanse, then from the front to the back to bless. This is where you could add in lustral waters, charms, prayers, and the like if you want.

·       Don’t forget to cleanse, protect, and bless yourself and other people who want it! The smoke can be wafted around them from the head down to cleanse and from the feet up to bless. I like walking around people in a clockwise circle to do this. When alone, I often place my urn on the floor once the smoke is going and stand over it to bathe in the smoke.

·       Your dried Juniper, urn/censer, or burn bundle should always be kept wrapped up in paper or cloth tucked under an altar or other nice place.

After finishing your saining ritual, spend a moment checking in to the feeling and atmosphere of the space and of yourself. The contrast of before and after will teach you a great deal about what Juniper brings to a saining and how that magic is actually unfolded.

This post is an excerpt from our Juniper Plant Spirit Journey- the kind of material you can expect from our monthly sits with a different plant spirit each moon! Details HERE.

Juniper Blessings!
Josh

A great deal of gratitude goes to Scott Richardson-Read of Cailleach’s Herbarium for the incredible historical, practical, and contemporary applications of saining rites in Scottish folk magic. If you aren’t connected with him on socials or reading his blog, I cannot recommend it enough!