Witches’ Brew at Wild Love Apothecary

Marysia Miernowska and Jesse Eidsness are folk herbalists and Plant Spirit Practitioners. Photo by Claire Fordham

As Topanga Courtyard continues to expand to almost full, the latest store to open there takes us back to Mother Nature.

Wild Love Apothecary was birthed by Gaia green witches Marysia Miernowska and Jesse Eidsness in the spring of 2018. “All of our staff are trained herbalists, rooted in the Wise Woman Tradition of Healing and certified by the Gaia School of Healing & Earth Education,” said Miernowska.

“As folk herbalists and Plant Spirit Medicine practitioners, we work with medicinal plants and natural remedies for both physical as well as emotional and spiritual transformations.”

Miernowska is the master herbalist behind Wild Love Apothecary and is the director of the California branch of The Gaia School of Healing & Earth Education.

As an herbalist, witch, biodynamic gardener and Plant Spirit Medicine Practitioner, she is rooted in the Wise Woman Tradition of Healing. Miernowska holds ceremony and teaches herbal medicine, plant shamanism, regenerative farming practices, and earth magic at California’s Gaia School of Healing and at Wild Love Apothecary.

A multilingual and multicultural devotee of Mother Earth, Miernowska has spent her life traveling extensively to learn and share different regenerative ways of tending to the Earth, healing land and people. With a background as a community organizer and activist, Miernowska invites us into active inquiry and participation around the theme: How can we best be medicine for ourselves, each other and the Earth?

As a medicine maker, Miernowska grows organic and biodynamic herbs in Malibu, makes the sacred plant botanicals for Wild Love Apothecary and formulates products as a consultant.
Upon entering the charming and delightful apothecary, customers see a reflection of themselves in a painted mirror that projects the store’s definition of a Green Witch: A wise one who embodies the Earth as a sacred, living being and aligns with the cycles of nature to create healing, magic and transformation.

Miernowska spells magic with a “k” to differentiate it from magic that she considers to be conjuring tricks.

The green witches at Wild Love Apothecary believe that by aligning themselves with the cycles of nature, “we can enjoy greater health and vitality when the season is right for expansion and growth, while also receiving the support we need to move through cycles of release and transformation.

“Nature teaches us,” said Miernowska, “that life moves like a spiral, that healing is non linear, and that by receiving nourishment when it is time to let go, we can spring up effortlessly when it is time to fly. Thriving can take on many forms and, thanks to the healing herbs, we need not be alone in our journeys of transformation.”

During our interview, Miernowska learned that I have trouble sleeping and created a delicious tea that she has named “Au Claire de la Lune,” a sleepy time blend to be drunk after dinner. It works.

Marysia Miernowska at work in her apothecary shop. Photo by Claire Fordham

Miernowska, who lives with her daughter Flora, 6, in Topanga, has a dream to help create a Regenerative Living Center in the greater L.A. area with the aim of healing the separation between the land and its people.

“Both the Southern California ecosystem and people are suffering with a loss of connection to each other. Through my work, I have seen the healing, magick, and transformation that occurs when we heal this relationship,” she said.

She also says herbs can help with any condition.

One of Miernowska’s favorite herbs is oatstraw, an herb of longevity. She explained that it restores nervous system integrity, emotional flexibility, and sexual flow. Oats and oatstraw are especially helpful at nourishing heart health and moderating cholesterol.

Although she wears the business hat at Wild Love Apothecary with a background in creative business development working on Wall Street and Park Avenue for ten years, Jesse Eidsness is also a trained herbalist. The women met at the Gaia School of Healing and wanted to work together, sharing a quest to work with Mother Earth.

“After ten years working in New York, I was burnt out and completely depleted. My adrenals were shot. I wasn’t connected to nature and know how important that is for everyone,” said Eidsness. “Years went by when I didn’t even put my feet to the earth. Connecting with Marisia and The Gaia School of Healing has been phenomenal for me and I want to share what I’ve learned with others.”

Both these green witches radiate good health and vitality and are the best advertisement for their business and lifestyle. Entering Wild Love Apothecary is a step back in time, to an era when women were the wise ones in a village whom people turned to for counsel, for herbal medicines, and to deliver their babies. And…lest we forget, were burned at the stake for their kindness and skills.

The green witches of Wild Love Apothecary are leading the charge back to nature. To be clear, their herbs and teas are to be used in tandem with conventional medicine during serious medical illness, not instead of.

“We want to cultivate a community for people and plants to connect. Come and visit us.” said Miernowska.

 

Wild Love Apothecary is located at 115 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Topanga, CA. Business hours are Wednesday-Sunday. For information: (310) 883-4285; www.wildloveapothecary.com; www.thegreenwoman.com.

 

Claire Fordham

Fordham worked for the BBC, ITN and Sky News in the UK and wrote a weekly anecdotal column for Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper, The Sun. She currently writes regularly for Huffington Post, The Malibu Times and the Messenger Mountain News. See "A Chat with Claire Fordham" on this website under Podcasts.

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