Wax & Wane Herbals

About Wax & Wane Herbals

Founded in honor of the depths we explore in our lives, disconnection and the lack of conversations surrounding taboo subjects such as depression, anxiety and trauma within the wellness world, Wax and Wane Herbals quickly took on a life of its own. While working with herbs in Indianapolis, I was approached by many people who were desperately seeking advice on how to deal

with physical ailments due to depths of their emotions. Unfortunately, they weren’t finding that information in the current holistic health world. Dealing with many of the same symptoms myself, I grew frustrated by the lack of education regarding plant medicine and decided to reconnect. Food deserts and accessibility to healthcare or fresh produce is an often uncomfortable and skimmed over topic. Wax and Wane Herbals is rooted in the philosophy that medicine can be found everywhere, even underneath the train tracks in the heart of Chicago or alongside the sidewalk in downtown Indianapolis. The products offered through Wax and Wane Herbals use only herbs that can be grown easily, often indoors, or found in urban areas. Not everyone is afforded the luxury of importing exotic roots or making fresh vitamin-filled smoothies everyday and it is the goal of Wax and Wane Herbals to not only sell honest products but to show the potential for the common weed. I have no clear heritage to the land I live on, I was raised on processed food and when I was diagnosed with depression, I started taking unfamiliar pills while still living my life the way I always had-ignoring the roots of my disconnection. For 11 years, I managed coffee shops and worked as a consultant training baristas and implementing my training programs throughout Indiana and Chicago. The disconnection between what we consume and waste in the coffee industry became a tough subject for me with brutality of the dairy industry, the oppression of coffee farmers and the general environmental damage caused by the industry. I created Wax and Wane Herbals while living in Chicago and working in coffee. I was inspired by the impact the coffee plant has on the world, which led me to appreciating all plants and wanting to educate urbanites. I was ultimately inspired by the resiliency of urban herbs and fed up with the idea that herbs come from far away places and can only be used as tea or in expensive drinks. I saw Chamomile growing at my train stop and Yarrow growing in between cracks in the sidewalk near my apartment and was determined to connect to these plants. To further my herbal education, I studied under Rosemary Gladstar through her school, The Science & Art of Herbalism while creating herbal concoctions for my friends and experimenting on myself. I am constantly working on my depression and trauma and coming up with new and fun ways to allow plants to do what they do best, heal. I am so happy I finally have the platform to share my discoveries while I continue learning.