More about Me
Since before I can remember, I would disappear into Peterson’s Field Guide to Wildflowers and then disappear outside to see which flowers would flag me down. I would visit the different microclimates on our 40-acre land to see my special rare and ephemeral friends: bloodroot blooming out of the frigid mud on the north side of the mountain at the very beginning of spring, or pink lady’s slipper in amongst the sweet pine straw around Mother’s Day, or the robust columbine near a rock pile in the meadow.
Throughout my life herbalism and divination have always been present, if not formally studied and practiced. I know the weather around here, the clouds, the smells, and I take it for granted that plants, water, fire, and stones can speak and tell stories. My mom always had a small apothecary, and I learned recently that Mom was given Blue Cohosh during my labor, which brought me down and eventually helped push me out.
Now I am a practicing herbalist, graduate of Sacred Plant Traditions, long-term mentee of Suzanna Stone and Owlcraft Healing Ways, and owner of The Elderberry, a beloved place that is burgeoning with life. I work with clients and plants to facilitate healing connections and constitutional alignment while honoring my clients in their wholeness. I teach community classes from medicine making to tarot, facilitate ceremony, and read cards for folks who need extra guidance.
I am of the land that raised me, and I spend time in deep reflection and gratitude, pondering what it means to be so connected to this place and its histories. In honor of this land, and of being a Virginia resident, I am dedicated to maintaining an underpinning of social justice throughout all facets of my work and do my best to follow an ethical structure of reciprocity, honoring, and gratitude.
I live, work, learn, practice and exist on the unceded land of Manahoac people and the Monacan Indian Nation.
I practice Western Energetic Herbalism which is greatly informed by Indigenous and Black herbalism as well as Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine. I do not practice traditional forms of herbalism outside of my culture without express permission from those who teach them to me, or outside of common knowledge accessible to all. I create all of my own offerings and writings unless noted.
Thank you for your interest and inquiry. I wish you very well.
Credentials, Experience and Ethos
I am a graduate of Sacred Plant Traditions’ 3-year clinical herbalism program, a long-term mentee of herbalist Suzanna Stone, and owner of The Elderberry, and brick and mortar herbal apothecary and shop. I graduated with honors with a degree in Gender, Sexuality and Women’s studies, a minor in Psychology and focus on women’s health from Virginia Commonwealth University.
My work through One Flower and The Elderberry includes 1:1 herbal consultation, wellness counseling, teaching, and facilitating.
As a clinical herbalist, I collaborate with my clients and medicinal plants to bring healing and wellbeing to my clients, while honoring both people and plants in their wholeness and complexity.
I teach material from medicine making to plant identification to tarot, and have taught and facilitated at Owlcraft Healing Ways, BotanicWise Women’s Herbal Gathering, Mountain Run Jam, The Elderberry, and more.
In addition to clinical work and formal teaching, I facilitate ceremonial events, plants walks, and read tarot.
Throughout all my work I strive to offer a rich, authentic, challenging, and support that allows my clients and students to shine and safely access their depths while moving toward informed health and empowerment.
In addition to the above I write, study anatomy and physiology, psychology, astrology, and a host of other subjects. I have deep interest and personal practice in ancestral work, handicraft as art, tending wild and cultivated plants, and am dedicated to promoting wellbeing for all.
MY STORY
My full name is Meghan Emily Madden. I was born at home in a cottage that no longer exists in Greenwood, VA, at the feet of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Growing up, my parents chose to homeschool my siblings and me, which offered me the opportunity to be a student of Nature and of my own curiosity, and urged me to follow the golden threads of inquiry as far as I would like.
I had and still have many interests, from writing to beading to dancing to cooking, but the most present and necessary has always been plants in whatever form I can get myself close to.