❀ ABOUT ME ❀
Hi, I’m Paul! I am an herbalist, Tarot reader, gardener, musician, and birder. My peoples are Moravian, Ligurian, Celtic, Germanic, and Slavic, from the coast of the Mediterranean and the deep forests of central Europe. I live here by the Patapsco River on the lands of the Piscataway and Susquehannock peoples, on the Piedmont plain between the shores of the great Chesapeake and the foothills of the ancient Appalachians. I spend my days in community with the land, chosen family, and the many other seen and unseen beings around me.
I first came to this work, as many before me, because of my own chronic health struggles. I sought out many different kinds of treatments and modalities. Although many were helpful, and I definitely turn to them as part of my consistent care plan, I realized that my initial approach was flawed. I was hoping to find something that would heal me, like a magic pill, instead of coming into the presence of each modality through reciprocity and relationship. Through my practice of herbalism, I finally came to see that some of the most healing relationships I could have were those with the plants as beings in their own right. This is not to say that I was suddenly healed forever of my migraines, or that my connection with plants is unique in any way – but that they are teaching me to trust my intuition in ways that I have not since I was a child. I am forever falling deeper in love with the animated world, full of spirits and beings embodied in so many kaleidoscopic forms. The plants have been my guides into this world, and I hope they will be for you as well.
❀ ABOUT MY PRACTICE ❀
I have been studying herbalism since 2016 and have completed over 3000 hours of guided study, including the Community Herbalism intensive at Terra Sylva School of Botanical Medicine in 2020. My teachers have mostly practiced the Vitalism tradition of so-called Western Herbalism, which itself holds massive debts to the vast Indigenous knowledges of Turtle Island and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Arabic, Greek, and Egyptian medicine and the folk practices of Europe and the Mediterranean basin. Vitalism is rooted in the idea that each being is unique, enlivened, and whole, yet deeply entwined with all other beings around them. We all hold the keys to our own wellbeing, but that ultimately requires us to work towards the larger goal of joyful liberation for all.
I intend for my practice to emphasize right relation to the plants that we work with and who choose to work with us, as well as to the lands that hold us. My work centers collaboration with the plants I have a personal connection to, those of my own garden, those of my friends, and some specific abundant stands around me that I visit regularly. These plants hold many lineages, and I encourage my clients to get to know the plants around them with special focus on rekindling relationships with plants your own ancestors would have worked with. Personally, I am most knowledgeable about the plants of my own European ancestors and the Piedmont lands I tend to, so this is an important aspect to think about when you are deciding whether or not to work with me.
I give thanks to my teachers Lyrra, Holly, Olivia, Liz, Janet, and Dave, Mary Valerian and all my ancestral plantworkers who came before me, and to my greatest teachers, the plants themselves. I pray for liberation and land back within our lifetime.
❀ NO NAME PLANT COLLECTIVE AT FRUIT CAMP ❀
2658 Miles Ave, Baltimore, MD 21211
Fruit Camp is a collective of tattoo artists and bodyworkers located in Remington. My studio is located on the second floor up a flight of steep stairs. Aylén Violeta and I share two lovely treatment rooms as No Name Plant Collective, a growing collective of herbalists in Baltimore City. We also facilitate plant walks, herbal medicine making classes, and other learning opportunities under No Name. Aylén runs their own clinical herbalism practice out of the space as Ruka Healing House. Our practices are very complimentary, and I encourage you to check out Aylén’s offerings as well. We hope to see you in the space for an appointment soon!
❀ PLANT ALLIES ❀
HAWTHORN
Child of the Rose family, boundary marker, heart strengthener. Hawthorn is beautiful for holding space for grief – creating a safe space bordered in thorns, gently encouraging opening with their sweet flowers. Their various species are found in kaleidoscopic variety throughout practically the entire Northern hemisphere, meaning many peoples carry ancestral relationships with this plant.
CALENDULA
These little sunbursts are so full of resin they make your fingers sticky when you pick them! Calendula speak of the calends, the ends of the year in winter time when we most need a bright smile and a nudge to move around. Their cheery flowers are sometimes added to soup, or infused in oil to rub on tired muscles. I cherish whenever I get to see their neon orange petals.
YARROW
Deeply associated with the archetype of the “wounded healer,” Yarrow holds together when you feel most torn and tattered. From warding off infection to warding off evil spirits, they have a long history of relationship with humans wherever they grow. As someone who can feel overwhelmed easily, I still have much to learn from their stately stalks waving in the wind.