Bay laurel is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Mediterranean, capable of reaching up to ten metres in height. Its glossy, leathery dark-green leaves carry a bold, spicy aroma and contain essential oils with anti-inflammatory properties.

In ancient Greece, laurel was sacred to the god Apollo. According to legend, the nymph Daphne was transformed into a laurel bush by her father, the river god Peneus, to escape Apollo's pursuit — Apollo then wore a wreath of laurel branches in mourning for his unrequited love. Wreaths woven from its branches went on to crown the victors of athletic and poetic competitions, and victorious Roman generals entered the city crowned with a laurel wreath (corona triumphalis); Roman emperors later adopted the same symbol. The tradition still echoes today — in the English title "poet laureate," in Germany's highest sporting honor, the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), and in the Laureus World Sports Awards. In the Bible, laurel is often an emblem of prosperity and fame, and in Christian tradition it symbolizes the resurrection of Christ.

Burned as incense, laurel gives off a warm, spicy-resinous scent with a faint, sweet sharpness. The dried leaves are traditionally burned to energetically clear a space and create a focused, ceremonial atmosphere — a scent associated with clarity and a certain sense of dignity.

White sage (Salvia apiana), also known as bee sage or sacred sage, is an evergreen perennial shrub native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, particularly the coastal sage scrub habitats of Southern California and Baja California, along the western edges of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. It typically grows 1.3 to 1.5 metres tall, with whitish-green, evergreen leaves densely covered in fine hairs that hold aromatic oils — an adaptation to the aridity of its habitat. In spring, several flower stalks, sometimes pinkish, rise above the foliage bearing white to pale lavender flowers that strongly attract bees — hence the species name "apiana." The plant grows on dry slopes in coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and yellow-pine forests up to roughly 1,500 metres in elevation.

For numerous Indigenous peoples of California, white sage has been a sacred plant for generations, known by its own name in each language — qaashil (Luiseño), shlhtaay (Kumeyaay), kasiile (Tongva), we'wey (Chumash), and qas'ily (Cahuilla), among others. Its seeds were a main ingredient of pinole, a traditional staple food; the Cahuilla harvested large quantities, mixing them with wheat flour and sugar for gruel or biscuits, while the Chumash and other tribes also ate the leaves and stems. Some tribes used the seeds to remove foreign objects from the eye, while Cahuilla women brewed a root tea for strength and healing after childbirth. The leaves have also long been burned by many Indigenous peoples in purification ceremonies and spiritual practice. In recent decades, growing commercial demand has led to overharvesting of wild populations, prompting many Indigenous communities and conservationists to ask that only cultivated — not wild-harvested — plants be used, and that the plant be treated with respect.

The dried leaves are traditionally bundled into smudge sticks and burned, releasing a strongly aromatic, herbaceous, camphor-like scent with a faint sweetness. Its smoke is believed to have cleansing properties, clearing negative energy from a space and promoting mental clarity and relaxation.