What Is a Palo Santo Holder? The Sacred Wood Behind the Ritual
, by Divya Chatani de Tourani, 2 min reading time
A palo santo holder holds the burning stick safely — the wood itself is a centuries-old South American ritual tradition. Here's the real story, and how the two come together.
Palo santo is a fragrant wood burned for centuries in South American cleansing rituals, and a palo santo holder is simply the small dish or stand that holds the burning stick safely. Here's the real story behind the wood, and what the holder is actually for.
What "palo santo" means
"Palo santo" is Spanish for "holy wood" or "sacred wood." It comes from Bursera graveolens, a wild tree native to the dry forests of Peru, Ecuador, and neighboring parts of South America, Central America, and the Galápagos Islands. The tree belongs to the same family as frankincense and myrrh, which explains the similar warm, resinous scent when it's burned.
A tradition built on fallen wood
Traditionally, palo santo isn't harvested by cutting down live trees. Peruvian practice centers on collecting branches and twigs that have already fallen and aged naturally on the forest floor — the wood needs time to season before it develops its distinctive fragrance. This fallen, aged wood is then broken into sticks and burned like incense.
What it's used for
Palo santo has been used by Indigenous communities across Peru and Ecuador for spiritual cleansing rituals, often called limpias. Burning the wood is traditionally believed to clear negative energy from a space, an object, or a person. In more recent years, it's become a familiar part of home wellness practices well beyond South America, used simply for its scent and the ritual of slowing down.
What a palo santo holder actually is
A palo santo stick is lit, allowed to catch flame briefly, then blown out so it smolders like incense rather than burning fully — similar to a stick of incense. Because it continues to smolder and drop ash, it needs a heatproof holder underneath it: a small dish or stand that catches the ash and protects the surface below. The holder itself isn't made from palo santo wood — it's a separate object designed to hold the stick safely while it burns.
The Casa Duniya Shanti Palo Santo Holder
Our version is hand-painted ceramic, made by artisans in Jordan, featuring the evil eye motif — a different craft tradition from the wood itself, brought together in one object. Since it's hand-painted individually, small variations in the brushwork are part of the handmade character rather than a flaw.
See the Shanti Palo Santo Holder, or browse our Scents & Glow collection for more candle holders and ritual pieces.