Palo Santo Holy Wood Sticks.

Before guests arrive, before a ceremony, before you begin something new, there is the old habit of clearing the air. A stick of palo santo does it softly, with a sweet smoke that covers a surprising amount of space.

These are sticks of palo santo, Bursera graveolens, the aromatic holy wood of the South American dry forest, cut only from branches and trunks that have already died and fallen. The wood is then left to age for several years, which lets the resin inside concentrate and sweeten: freshly cut palo santo barely smells at all, and age alone gives it its honeyed, faintly citrus scent. In Peru, cutting a living tree is prohibited, by law and by the older custom behind the law.

Shamans and healers along the Andes and the Pacific coast have burned the wood for centuries to clear a space before ceremony, and folklore holds its smoke welcoming rather than banishing, unlike the sharper smoke of sage or copal.

Details

• Wood: Bursera graveolens, naturally fallen, aged several years
• Weight: roughly 30 grams, about four sticks

How to use

Light one end until it catches, let it burn ten to fifteen seconds, then wave out the flame so only a glowing coal remains. Move the smoking stick slowly through a room or around the body. Rest it in a fireproof dish and never leave it smoldering unattended. Sold as a curiosity, with no medical or scientific claims.

A soft, sweet smoke for new beginnings.