Hello beauty,

It feels like we are collectively in a space of change, with winter on it's way out & spring just around the corner. Many planetary shifts in the sky can be witnessed as well, like Venus entering Pisces.

"Change is the one unavoidable, irresistible, ongoing reality of the universe. To us, that makes it the most powerful reality, and just another word for God." - Octavia Butler

I rarely am able to say or think of the word change without my mind immediately pulling up Octavia Butler & her books! So of course we had to mention her & offer a belated happy birthday. <3

One of the reasons I'm so geeked about herbs, is that they can be catalysts for change & support us in transition. Often times, what we are looking for when we turn to herbs & other remedies, is a change from our current reality. We sometimes call that healing & can get caught in an eternal search for a cure or to be fixed or arrive at healed. I always love the reminder that change is constant & learning how to accept that, move & change with, or stand in our truth through it is the medicine. Change ain't pretty, so if you're experiencing some resistance, irritability, or sadness, that is completely valid! My hope is that you honor your feelings, whatever they may be, & receive the support & resources necessary to move through them.

Herbs as tools for change, support, & healing.

Check out the latest Seasonal Apothecary offerings up in the shop! (Meaning these wont be available year round & were made in alignment with the winter months)

Sunshine Oil- Freshly wilted St. J's Wort flowers infused into olive oil, for a topical skin & nerve massage.

Submerge- a mineral rich, uplifting Winter tea blend of Dulse Seaweed, Ginger, Marshmallow, Hawthorn Berry, & Rosehips

Guava Starburst- a juicy, sour oxymel that is delicious in a mocktail made with winter farmer's market fruits like Guava, Persimmon, Pomegranate & more!

Gentle reminder, there is still time to signup for next week's Sensual Herbalism workshop!

& This week we are continuing to highlight darkskin Black herbalists & artists in wellness doing incredible things whom you. must. know!

Jess Turner (she/her) is a Black clinical herbalist, grower and educator whose practice is centered on helping frontline communities—low-income, working-class BIPOC communities who experience the first and worst impacts of climate change—repair through connection to the land and plants growing around them. In cities, these plants are often discarded as mere weeds.

She is interested in exploring the liberatory struggles of the plants and people whom capitalism alienates and building bridges between human and more-than-human worlds. Jess ferments, forages and grows plant medicine in unceded Lenni Lenape territory. 

Check out her shop, Olamina Botanicals, a Black femme-owned apothecary crafting tinctures, teas, syrups and salves in unceded Lenni Lenape territory. Her mission is to help people ground into their own innate power as healers, draw strength from the plant world—and act on behalf of the planet. 

To learn more about what informs Jess' practice, read this beautiful Well + Good article she is interviewed in below:

Jess has an upcoming workshop, Eat the Weeds, that you don't want to miss! 

You can also support her Black Resilience Fund so that she can expand her capacity to offer free workshops, plant medicine and herbal consultations to people descended from enslaved Africans living in Turtle Island.

be sure to follow, support, & connect with Jess

Olamina botanicals

Instagram

venmo: blackvervain

Thank you for being here. It's an honor & a pleasure,

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