Today we’d like to introduce you to Felicia Howe.
Felicia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Felicia’s lifelong passion for plants and flowers began during her childhood on a community family farm in the lush, forested coastal range of central Oregon. From an early age, she developed a deep love for nature and felt intuitively connected to the fragrant herbs and flowers that grew around her, absorbing their essences and communing with their spirits. She was enrapt by stories of her family’s lineage and their history as farmers in the region. She felt especially drawn to tales of her third great-grandmother, who owned The Snake River Dahlia Farm in Ontario, Oregon in the 1920’s. As she pored over the farm’s old catalogs featuring colorful hand-drawn illustrations of the varieties they grew, she felt a connection to both her ancestry and to the flowers themselves. This sparked a desire and a curiosity that led her down an immersive, decades-long path of learning to explore and reveal the healing properties of plants. While studying with Master Herbalists, she gravitated to the practice of Aromatherapy, which transported her back to her floral roots. As she mastered the ancient practices, she learned to distill essential oils and formulate therapeutic herbal products from her own garden plants and other carefully sourced botanicals. As she began to use and share her remedies with others, creating case studies and monitoring their impact, she was inspired by their powerful therapeutic benefits and positive effects. And in healing others, discovered her own healing.
Through working with essential oils and herbs, Felicia began to explore the more ethereal and mystical qualities of the plants, specifically the vibrational signatures and energetic imprints of flowers. She began to develop flower essence elixirs from flowers cultivated in her own garden, and in using them to work through her personal experiences of environmental sensitivity, loss and grief, began to appreciate their potential to provide mental and emotional healing by releasing the kind of stagnant emotional patterns and self-limiting beliefs ingrained in the greater collective. In wanting to share this healing with others, she created a hand-illustrated oracle with each card featuring a specific botanical to address a common mental and emotional condition. This became the impetus for her first book, The Flower Attunement Guidebook and Tarot, and formed the basis for her Flower Attunement readings and healing work today.
Felicia’s healing practice is housed in a cozy and private studio in a lovingly restored art deco building on Portland’s west side where she offers flower attunement readings and facials, formulates personalized flower essence elixirs and hosts monthly new moon sessions in a heartfelt commitment to help people connect to the beauty and power of flowers to find healing and self-love.
She resides in a mountainside flower sanctuary in northeast Portland where she cultivates flowers from her own secluded garden for her flower essence elixirs and invites clients to sit quietly among the flora as part of their healing process. Her second book, Sibyl of the Flora, a deeply personal collection of forty-six floral affirmations with hand-painted botanical illustrations written as a tribute to her grandmother, will be released in June of 2024.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
while deeply fulfilling, has not been without its obstacles and challenges.
The path to mastering herbalism and aromatherapy was long and required dedication. I had to invest significant time and effort into studying with Master Herbalists and learning the intricate processes of distilling essential oils and formulating products.
As with many alternative healing practices, I have faced skepticism from those unfamiliar with or doubtful of the benefits of aromatherapy and flower essences. Building credibility and demonstrating the efficacy of her methods would have been crucial.
working with flower essences was deeply personal, helping me navigate my own experiences of environmental sensitivity, loss, and grief. This emotional work required her to confront and process my own feelings, which can be both challenging and transformative.
Establishing my healing practice in Portland required not only finding the right location but also building a client base and creating a welcoming and nurturing environment for healing.
Growing and sourcing the right botanicals for my products and elixirs have required knowledge, patience, and a connection to the land, especially commitment to using plants from my own garden.
Despite these challenges, my passion and dedication have allowed me to create a meaningful and impactful healing practice, helping others connect with the beauty and power of flowers.
We’ve been impressed with Primrose Apothecary, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Primrose Apothecary’s holistic healing practice addresses all layers of your well-being for transformative emotional, physical, and spiritual wellness. Our processes are specifically tailored to empower you in your unique healing needs with applicable education, tools, and practices. Explore Felicia’s selection of consultations, readings, and rituals to find balance through custom flower essence elixirs, attunement practices, spiritual balancing, and botanical beauty treatments.
Discover the transformative power of the Flower Attunement Facial, a therapeutic botanical healing experience meticulously crafted to detoxify and revitalize both your physical and emotional well-being using the four elements in nature. Each session begins with a mini Flower Attunement reading and the creation of a custom-blended flower essence elixir. This elixir is designed to tap into your peripheral nervous system, guiding you into a deep meditative feeling that promotes relaxation, incorporating reiki to hold space for healing and release.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Finding a mentor can be a rewarding step in your personal or professional development. Here are some steps to help you find a mentor:
1. Before seeking a mentor, clarify what you hope to achieve. Are you looking for career guidance, skill development, or personal growth? Knowing your goals will help you find someone with the right expertise.
2. Start by considering people you already know, such as colleagues, supervisors, or acquaintances who have the experience and qualities you admire. Sometimes, the best mentors are those who are already familiar with your work and aspirations.
3. Conferences, workshops, and networking events are great places to meet potential mentors. These settings allow you to connect with experienced professionals in your field.
4.Many industries have professional associations that offer mentorship programs. Joining these organizations can give you access to a network of potential mentors.
5.LinkedIn and other professional networking sites can be useful for finding mentors. Look for individuals who share your interests and have a track record of success in your area of interest.
6.When you identify a potential mentor, reach out with a clear and respectful message. Explain why you admire their work, what you hope to learn, and how you believe they can help you achieve your goals.
7. Sometimes mentorship can develop organically through regular interactions with someone you respect. Be open to learning from those around you, even if it doesn’t start as a formal mentorship.
8.Finding the right mentor may take time. Be patient and persistent in your search, and don’t be discouraged by initial setbacks.
9.Remember that mentorship is a two-way street. Consider how you can offer value to your mentor, whether through assisting them with projects, sharing your own insights, or simply expressing gratitude for their guidance.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Primroseapothecary.com
- Instagram: Primroseapothecary
Image Credits
Felicia Howe