A Love Spell for the New Moon: Anointing the Path to Sacred Partnership
I observed my own giddy state while gathering herbs & flowers from my newly curated apothecary, to prepare a love oil on this new moon. I have been excited & fascinated by the idea of potions, spells and herbal remedies and elixers since I was a kid and this moment brought me back to the woods of my childhood, mixing potions from leaves and marsh water with my girlfriends, enchanted by the idea that nature held answers and spells. And now, I’ve relocated back to where I first experimented decades ago and after years of transition, deep soul excavation, and walking through some of the darkest corridors of identity and…
Cracked Open by Bobinsana: How She Ignited Emotional Healing, Feminine Awakening, and a Profound Plant Connection
Bobinsana is a sacred plant that has long been revered for its deep connection to the feminine energy of nature. Known for its powerful healing properties, it has been used traditionally by indigenous communities in the Amazon to open the heart and body, guiding individuals through emotional release and spiritual awakening.I sought to connect with Bobinsana not only to release grief and stuck emotions that were manifesting as fierce inflammation in my body, but also to deepen my connection with the shadow parts of myself—the places I had long been too ashamed or too proud to fully explore. I called on Bobinsana as a trusted plant ally to help guide…
Vitex and the Road to Balance: A Natural Ally for Hormonal Support
When I arrived at the final destination of a ten-month sojourn—set in motion after leaving a lucrative career and New York City, my home of 22 years—I found myself on an organic homestead in Selçuk, Turkey, owned by a mother and daughter. I was dealing with a tangle of symptoms that felt extreme for my usually healthy self. After months of travel without healthcare or routine—peppered with a bout of dengue fever, food poisoning, an identity crisis, and my 40th trip around the sun—I knew it was almost time to return home and begin the daunting process of untangling the root cause(s) so I could truly begin to heal. Among…
I have boundaries, Dammit! How a Misspelled Tattoo Became a Symbol of My Undoing—and Becoming
“I know what I’ll do today—I’ll get a tattoo!” I thought, watching the sunrise from my floor-to-ceiling window in a luxurious $22-a-night Airbnb in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Sprawled across a king-sized bed, I soaked in the comforts of my surroundings—worlds away from the mosquito-netted jungle hut where I’d just spent ten days deep in the Amazon on my first Ayahuasca retreat. Ten days of fasting from salt, sugar, and distractions. Ten days of facing myself. Through four ceremonies, laboring through excruciating physical pain, the walls I’d built to outrun my own feelings finally started to crack, making space to face the parts of myself I’d been too busy, too tough,…
Surrender
I have a message for you Her strong hands Know stuck parts My estranged bones yearn to melt into my soul A primal desire trapped deep in my hips Surviving in fear and disappointment Aching to be free Her strong hands offer permission To become unstuck I weep for fear of freedom A rush of love charges through my veins Mom, are you here? Surrender, she whispers Written in February 2025 I wrote Surrender during the second month of my unplanned sabbatical—looking back on that time one year later, so much of the pain of that time all makes sense, but in the moment it was so confusing. What…
The Girl in the Strawberry Field
On a hot, sticky day to work I went. Picking strawberries with my new white dress. I was getting hungry so I decided to eat some strawberries. Yum! They’re sweet and juicy. Oh no, I squirted some on my dress. I am getting sunburned. The money I will make will have to go to suntan lotion. My children are probably screaming for me. Only three more hours left. “This job is too tiring,” I said as I fell to my knees. Church tomorrow… what will I wear? My dress is stained and torn My boots are not white but brown. My knees are shaking and I am sunburned and I…
