I have always found herbs fascinating. Growing up in Tennessee, my family commonly used herbs for both cooking and for healing. My great great grandmother, Margaret Jennings, was a practicing herbalist in the early 1900s in Chattanooga, patenting several herbal formulas along the way. Margaret was granted permission to use alcohol during Prohibition for her tinctures, which were commonly used by soldiers. Originally from Northern Tennessee near the Kentucky/Virginia line, Margaret was said to be very educated with exceptional calligraphy skills. She was a bit of an enigma. It remains a mystery where exactly she received her education or how her herbal knowledge became so vast, but she left quite a legacy.
Margaret met my great great grandfather, while he was working on the railroad, and they settled in Chattanooga to have a family. I vividly remember her daughter, my great grandmother, Juanita Duncan, who lived in the same large house in Chattanooga where she was raised. I can still picture the huge Mulberry tree, cement in the ground for a pool, a metal cauldron in the yard, the large porch and porch swing, a very scary cellar with cobwebs and mason jars, a hill in the backyard, and a red wagon. We hunted for arrowheads across the street in a field. It’s interesting to contemplate how these impressions and memories might have shaped my growing consciousness. One day after completing my education in Chinese medicine, it dawned on me that I was practicing the same great art of herbalism that my great, great grandmother once did. This tradition lives on at Element.
Contributor
Acupuncturist, herbalist, Maya abdominal practitioner, and reflexologist Christina Morris is the founder of Element Natural Healing Arts. Writing about health and wellness gives her an outlet to express her care and concern for her beloved community. She believes everyone can achieve better health and happiness–emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.