bio + influence

hello and welcome

to my ever-blossoming apothecary!

I'm Abigail (they/she)

the human behind Venus Botanica,

lover of all things flora & feline, queer,

leo sun/bull moon, portal tender, potion maker, sun worshipper, hydration doula, pleasure-centering, human with big feelings and dirt-covered hands

My greatest teachers are the plants themselves. Human evolution would not be possible without the generosity of plants as food and medicine. We are interdependent. They are beings of deep wisdom, ever-evolving and adapting despite the self-important human drama that now colonizes much of the world.

The plants remind me of my humanity and I am always learning how to be in reciprocity with them while foraging, growing and harvesting. I appreciate how their medicine is scientific, intuitive, and often accessible. Often the plants we need most are growing in our environment and are just within reach. Humans have looked to plants medicinally since ancient times and still, more than 80% of the world's population uses herbs as a primary source of medicine.

I love the herbs for all the ways known and unknown in how they support our bodies (physically + emotionally) by soothing + mending wounds, resourcing resilience, and being unwavering support in tending to personal + collective grief. Plants can invite our bodies into rest + nourishment, teach us how to honor the gifts of pleasure, where to contract to create boundaries, and how to move with the impermanent nature of life. The plant connection feels so intimate and yet generative and to be heralded. I believe we have an innate capacity to connect with these beings. As a community herbalist, I feel a lot of gratitude and joy in sharing + pairing people with plants.

I would not be the plant lover I am today without four years of learning with my beloved teacher and herbal grandmother, Suki Roth of the Herb Haven garden. She has helped shape how I observe, listen, and stay curious while working with plant medicine. She has shared her devotion to this craft and a long tapestry of healing wisdom gleaned from various herbal traditions and experiences. She has taught me how to be playful yet focused and how to honorably harvest with gratitude, songs & sometimes chocolate chips. I will forever be giving a deep bow of gratitude to my beloved plant elder Suki and all that she has generously shared with me.

For the year 2023, I have the great pleasure of studying with Janet Kent, Jen Stovall, and Dave Meesters of Terra Sylva School of Botanical Medicine out of Marshall, NC. I am excited about all that I am learning and how it is shaping my herbal practice and what I have to offer my community.

I would not be communing, learning, and creating with these plants and their medicine without the immense knowledge and practices coming from Indigenous, Black, and many working-class folk of this land. I give deep bows of gratitude to these ancestors and plancestors whose legacies make it possible for me to live and learn with the plant beings that I love.

I am also influenced and informed by other herbalists and plant lovers of the world. I read and reference many books and practices of herbalism. I have a deep love for the seemingly infinite spectrum of scientific and "woo" herbalism holds.

resource list coming soon!