Sweetgrass Braid (01) TRADITIONAL 21 STRAND (Hierochloe ordorata)

Our Grade-A Sweetgrass (Hierochloe ordorata) braids are ethically sourced in Canada from Indigenous harvesters and ethical wildcrafters.

This healing herb has a prominent place in daily ritual and is considered to be one of the primary sacred medicines of the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island. Sweetgrass is the great COMMUNICATOR. It helps us to speak our truths in a good way, both to others AND to ourselves. Said to be “the hair/antenna of Mother Earth”, Sweetgrass is used in prayer, smudging and purifying ceremonies as a harmonizer and to attract positive energies. A single Sweetgrass strand is weak and can easily be broken on its own. But when many Sweetgrass strands are woven together they become very strong and almost unbreakable. The same can be said about community. We are weak when we are alone, and so much stronger together! 

The traditional 21 strand braid carries with it these teachings:

Each of the three sections of the braid contains seven strands. (3x7=21) The first section represents the seven generations behind us. (parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc.) The second represents the seven sacred teachings (Love, respect, honest, courage, wisdom, truth, and humility.) the third section represents the seven generations to come. (Children, grandchildren, etc.) These paths and these teachings are interwoven with this sacred medicine to help heal and remind us of Ginawaydaganuc - an Algonquin word that Karen learned from Grandfather William Commanda, which means we are all connected - to everyone and everything, past, present and future. All things are all interwoven. That is the lesson of the braid. What we do to this planet we do to ourselves, what was done to our ancestors has been done to us, and what we do here in the present affects our descendants in the generations to follow. We are "gifted" right here, in the present, with the seven sacred teachings. Those teachings are the tools that heal us by teaching us how to walk and make this a good path, to live in harmony with the spirit of Ginwaydaganuc. We are reminded of how important this is because the present is the ONLY place where healing can occur... the ONLY place where we can ever make any kind change.

Caution: The active ingredient in Sweetgrass that makes it smell so wholesomely wonderful is coumarin. Coumarin is a strong anti-coagulant and potentially carcinogenic. Internal use of this medicine is not recommended by Health Canada.