In this special episode, fellow Verbena author and herbal storyteller Amanda Edmiston shares her version of a fairy story known throughout the world, often called something like Six Swans or Wild Swans. At the heart of this story is the humble nettle, and Amanda and Julie discuss the powerful themes and meanings of this folktale and how it resonates for us in terms of loss, grief, motherhood, and more.
Amanda's books are The Time Traveller's Herbal and Collected Curiosities. Her website is here: https://www.botanicafabula.co.uk/ Follow her @botanicafabula
Julie's books include Maiden, Warrior, Mother, Crone; Witch, Healer, Priestess, Outcast and The Full Moon Yearbook. Learn more and book Tarot or counselling here: https://www.juliepeters.ca/ Follow Julie at @juliepeterswellness.
We reference Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass, the Tarot of the Divine by Yoshi Yoshitani, the Gospel of Thomas, and the story of Elizabeth Blackwell, who wrote A Curious Herbal in 1735.