Compendium of herbs: which ones we use and why

Herbs are not aromas. They are tools. Each one with its specific function, its time and its mode of use.

In the River Plate craft we use a handful of herbs that are constantly repeated because they work. We don't use a hundred — we use eight, well used. I'll tell you all of them.

Romero

For what

General energetic cleansing, mental clarity, gentle protection. Rosemary is the most versatile herb and the easiest to obtain. If you only have one at home, let it be this one.

When to use it

In monthly maintenance smudges. To clean after heavy visits. To accompany moments where you need focus. Before exams, presentations, important decisions.

How

• Smoking: a dry twig on fire, passing smoke around it for 2 minutes.
• Infusion: a fresh branch in hot water, leave for 5 minutes, drink warm.
• Pillow: dry leaves in a small bag under the pillow for clear dreams.
• Pot: have a plant near your guardian.

Lineages that prefer it

Gnomes, tree spirits, elves. For fairies and sylphs it is good but stronger than they need.

Ruda

For what

Strong protection. The rue is defensive: it raises an energetic wall around the space where it is. Useful when there is envy, conflicts in the environment, dense energies that infiltrate.

When to use it

After strong arguments at home. When someone with complicated energy came to visit. In times where you feel that "they are throwing energy at you." For new houses, before moving in.

How

• Sahumed: a dry twig, no more than 1 minute. The rue is intense, it doesn't take much.
• Flower pot at the entrance of the house: a River Plate classic for a reason. It works.
• NOT ingested: internal rue is problematic, especially for pregnant women. External use only.

Careful

Rude is demanding. If you use it well, it protects. If you use it too much, it closes the excess space and isolates you even from good things. Once a month is enough, except in emergencies.

Lineages that prefer it

Elves especially, gnomes. It is the classic herb of the Creole trade.

Lavender

For what

Emotional calm, restful sleep, opening of the heart. Lavender is soft but deep. Work with the emotional plane without invading.

When to use it

In moments of anxiety, insomnia, grief, breakup. Before going to sleep if your mind is racing. To receive someone who is sad. To accompany strong emotional conversations.

How

• Sahumado: very brief, 1-2 minutes. More than that, tide.
• Bag in the room: a bag with dried flowers on the nightstand.
• Essential oil: a drop on the pillow.
• Night infusion: a teaspoon of flowers in hot water, before going to sleep.

Lineages that prefer it

Fairies in general, especially water fairies. It's his herb.

Palo santo

For what

Deep cleaning, spiritual anchoring, connection with the sacred. Palo santo is the most powerful in the common compendium. It is used with respect.

When to use it

When there is something really dense to clean (after serious events). In special rituals (important new moon, adoption anniversary). To open a new cycle. NOT for everyday use.

How

• Swab on: 2-3 minutes maximum. Turn off and let it consume itself in a bowl.
• The smoke from palo santo is dense but clean. It doesn't have to drown you.

Careful

Make sure your palo santo comes from an ethical source. Palo santo is commercially overexploited — buy from responsible importers who work with natural felling, not forced logging. If you cannot verify the origin, use rosemary or sage better.

Lineages that prefer it

Everyone accepts it, but it is especially strong for gnomes, tree spirits and hill guardians.

Sage

For what

Intermediate cleansing, ancestral clarity, opening of intuitive channels. Sage is less common in the River Plate craft but powerful.

When to use it

For deeper cleaning than rosemary but less dense than palo santo. When you need perspective on something you are experiencing. To open intuition before long meditations.

How

• Sahumed: a twig or a small bundle, 2-3 minutes.
• Infusion: a fresh leaf in hot water. Strong flavor.
• Near the guardian: a dry branch hanging nearby for weeks.

Careful

There are different types of sage (salvia officinalis, white sage, salvia apiana). For ritual use, white sage is classic — but it is overexploited in the United States. If you get salvia officinalis (the culinary one) and use it in smoky, it works very well too.

Myrtle

For what

Openness of the heart, tenderness, bonds. Myrtle is the herb of love in a broad sense: emotional bond of any kind, not just romantic.

When to use it

To strengthen family, couple, and friendship ties. In anniversary rituals. For reconciliations. To strengthen the bond with the guardian when you feel that he has become distant.

How

• Sahumed: a twig, 1-2 minutes.
• Essential oil mixed with neutral: to apply on wrists before important meetings.
• Dry paper in a letter or notebook: traditional for carrying correspondence with emotional intentions.

Lineages that prefer it

Fairies in general, especially those of the water. Also vegetables with emphasis on ceibo.

Myrrh

For what

Closure and mourning. Myrrh works with ends. It's not sad — it's respectful. Accompanies goodbyes and letting go processes.

When to use it

In duels. To close stages (a job, a relationship, an era ended). On a full moon night when you are releasing something. Before moving house to say goodbye to the space.

How

• Resin on charcoal: the traditional way. A drop of resin on a lit charcoal in a heat-resistant bowl.
• Myrrh incense: if you get good quality, it is more practical.

Lineages that prefer it

Tree spirits especially, also guardians of ancient hills. It is a deep herb.

Copal

For what

Resin similar to myrrh but sweeter. Mesoamerican, not European. Opens the sacred space, connects with ancestry, raises the general vibration of the room.

When to use it

For solemn rituals. When you want to create an "elevated" space for important work. On anniversaries of deceased loved ones.

How

• Resin on charcoal, just like myrrh.

How to combine

Basic rule: one herb per smudge. The exception is rosemary + lavender combined (they go well together: cleansing + calming).

DO NOT combine: rue with palo santo (very intense, saturating), myrrh with myrtle (opposite energies), sage with many others (it is absorbent).

If in doubt, use only one. Simpler is always better.

What we don't use

Common herbs that we DO NOT use in the trade:

• Sandalwood: nice aroma but it has no specific function with elementals.
• Patchouli: very invasive, saturates the space.
• Commercial scented incenses: without energy value, they are aromatic.

If you take away just one thing from this article

Let it be this: less is more. A single herb used well does more than five herbs mixed together. Start with rosemary. Learn it well. Then add one more, then another. That's the job: progressive mastery, not accumulation.