Repels evil! Cleansing power! Calming self! Just an awesome smell!
Sage has been used for centuries as a cleanser and barrier against evil of all kinds around the world. Here in San Diego, we have a variety of sages, which are all in the Salvia genus of plants. Salvia derives from the Latin Salvere, which means “to feel well and health,” “salvation,” or “to heal.”
In Mission Trails, we can commonly find white sage (Salivia apiana) and black sage (Salvia mellifera). Other sages such as purple sage (Salvia leucophylla), Munz’s Sage (Salvia munzii) and Cleveland Sage (Salvia clevelandii) are more elusive and rarer. We even have an entire biome called coastal sage scrub (CSS). Sage is right there in the name. And what’s one of the characteristics of CSS? It smells fantastic.
Our white and black sages have wonderful aromas. When walking around Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP), one can enjoy the aroma of sage growing in the park. If one pinches or gently rubs the leaves, an oil is released that contains this aroma. Upon closer inspection of flowers in bloom, one can also see many numerous pollinators, including honeybees. Search around town, and one can easily find delicious sage honey for sale.
Did man use sage? They sure did. In Europe, sage was used as a culinary food, as a “holy herb” in several religions, and in medicines. Sage was even mentioned by Charlemagne and Pliny the Elder and documented recipes call for sage in treating several ailments, including warding off the Black Death plague. In North America, the native peoples, including the local Kumeyaay, used sage as part of their ceremonies and culture. Smudging with sage (and other local flora) was commonplace for cleansing and purification.
Does it work? It does sounds mystical. Studies of several plants, including salvia, reveal they contain a series of chemicals known as terpenoids. Terpenoids include common “healing” ingredients we all know of in such plants and their derivatives, including menthol, camphor, turmeric, mustard seed, ginkgo biloba, and more. Further studies have shown several aromatics, including sage, camphor, and horehound, to have antimicrobial properties.
During your next walk in MTRP, take a moment to smell the various sage plants and ponder the importance of these plants in the classic battle of good vs. evil around the world over the millennia.
Photo credit: Peter Thomas
