Palo santo, holy wood in Spanish, is native to the dry tropical forests of Peru and Ecuador and belongs to the Burseraceae family, the same family as frankincense, myrrh, and copal. Paige Vanderbeck writes in Green Witchcraft that it is burned like a cleansing wand or in incense blends for spiritual cleansing, meditation, creativity, luck, and connection, and that only naturally fallen wood, aged around four years, should be harvested to protect the tree.

Palo santo (Bursera graveolens) is a deciduous tree of the torchwood family, Burseraceae. Its aged heartwood is rich in volatile terpenoids, chiefly limonene, alpha-terpineol, and carvone, which develop as fallen wood cures on the forest floor and are released as sweet, citrus-resinous smoke when the wood smoulders.

Palo santo was considered a holy tree by the Incas and other Indigenous peoples of South America, as Paige Vanderbeck records in Green Witchcraft., Tradition holds that the tree gives its gift only after death, since the fragrant oils develop as fallen wood rests for years on the forest floor., and Folk belief credits palo santo smoke with banishing troublesome spirits while welcoming good fortune into the home.

As the sweet smoke curls upward, I set down my hurry. I am cleansed, I am fortunate, and I am quietly connected to the sacred running through my ordinary day.