Quick Specs
- Brand: Sonavi
- Pack: 8 mini smudge sticks
- Botanicals: Arruda, rosemary, cinnamon, copal, sandal, rose, white sage, lavender
- Burn time: About 20 minutes
- Mark: ECOCERT natural origin home fragrance
Eight Small Sticks, Eight Botanicals
The sticks come in a half-round card of kraft board with a deep green arched header lettered in gold. Two columns of four windows run down the front, with arruda at the top left and lavender at the bottom right so the order reads like a list, and beside each window sits a rounded, color-coded tab with the name of the botanical on it: arruda in blue, rosemary in green, cinnamon in orange, copal in red, sandal in orange-red, rose in magenta, white sage in light green and lavender in purple. Through the windows you can see textured dried material in shades of brown, olive and rust, so each stick gives some hint of what it holds before you open the pack. The header carries a round red ECOCERT mark for natural origin home fragrance, and a band of green beside it counts eight sticks and gives a duration of about 20 minutes. Each stick sits in its own compartment, so the eight stay separate, and the shallow pack has a hanging hole at the top, which lets it hang on a hook or lie flat on a shelf.
Two of the names are worth a closer look. Arruda is the Portuguese name for rue, a woody, blue-green shrub with small yellow flowers that is also called ruda. Its bruised leaves give off a strong smell. In folk belief rue is a protective plant, and sprigs have been kept in homes or carried to guard against the evil eye. Copal is an aromatic tree resin that peoples across Mesoamerica burned as incense, and the word itself comes from the Nahuatl copalli, meaning incense. Several different trees yield it. The other six are rosemary, cinnamon, sandal, rose, white sage and lavender, and the eight names make a pack with plenty of variety. Each stick burns for a short time, so you can try one in a single session and keep the rest for another day, or burn two in a row when you want a longer session that changes botanical halfway through.
Practical Smudging Applications
Use the pack as a sampler: burn one stick at a time to find the botanical you reach for most, then keep a record of your favorites in a journal. A single stick suits a short session, such as the start of a Tarot reading, a few minutes at a desk, or a quiet moment on a shelf by a window. Because each stick is small, it suits a small room. The variety also makes a good gift for someone who likes to try new scents, and the compact pack travels easily in a bag. Keep it on a shelf where the colored tabs show, and the sampler doubles as a small display. Browse my assorted smudge sticks collection for larger bundles, and see my smudging accessories for shells, dishes and burners.
How to Burn Your Mini Smudges Safely
Prepare a holder, stay within sight of the stick, and make sure it is fully out.
- Prepare a holder and a surface
Choose a holder made for burning, such as a heat-resistant dish or a shell, that is sturdy and can catch falling embers. Set it on a flat, heat-resistant surface such as a ceramic tile or a metal plate, and keep it away from furniture, curtains, bedding, books and paper. Place it out of the reach of children and pets before you light anything.
- Light one stick and stay nearby
Light the end of one stick and set it in the holder so it can burn without touching anything. Keep it within sight for the whole session, which is about 20 minutes for a mini stick, and sit where you can see the holder from your chair. A short stick suits a short session, so plan a task that fits the time, such as a few pages of a journal or a single Tarot spread.
- Put it out and check it
When the session ends, or if you need to leave the room, put the stick out completely. Double-check that it is out and no longer smoldering before you walk away, and let the holder cool before you handle it. Return unused sticks to the pack and store them out of reach of children and pets.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stock this pack because it lets you try eight botanicals at once: arruda, rosemary, cinnamon, copal, sandal, rose, white sage and lavender, each in a size small enough to finish in one short sitting. It is a modern smudging sampler named by plant, and it suits anyone who wants to learn which botanicals they like before choosing a full bundle. I carry it for shelves, desks and small rooms where a short burn fits the space, and for gift-givers who want a variety in a single flat pack.
Frequently Asked Questions
Arruda is the Portuguese name for rue, Ruta graveolens, a woody perennial shrub with blue-green leaves and small yellow flowers that is also called ruda. Folk belief holds that rue has protective qualities against the evil eye, and in Brazil people keep sprigs at home or tuck one behind the ear for that reason.
Copal is an aromatic tree resin used as incense across Mesoamerica, and the word comes from the Nahuatl copalli, meaning incense. Most Mesoamerican copal comes from trees in the Burseraceae family, usually the genus Bursera, though pines and other trees also yield resins sold under the name. It is traditionally sprinkled on hot coals, and it is still burned by Indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central America.
No. Fire services advise never leaving burning incense unattended and putting it out when you leave the room or go to sleep. Avoid candles and incense in a bedroom or anywhere someone might fall asleep, and skip them if you feel sleepy or are under the influence of alcohol, drugs or medication. Check that the stick is properly out and no longer smoldering before you walk away.
ECOCERT runs a standard for candles and home fragrances with two labels, organic and natural origin. For the natural origin label, all ingredients in the finished product must be of natural origin, with an exception for alcohol denaturants. Certified products go through an annual audit by an independent certification body, and ECOCERT checks each ingredient through a questionnaire from the manufacturer.
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