We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Zipporah Sowell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Zipporah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Mission:
🌿✨Connecting souls with Earth Magick✨🌿

Values:

🌿Working with Mother Earth to navigate us back to the healer within
🌿Understanding our role as co-creators with Spirit and the Universe
🌿Advocating for access to spiritual wellness tools and awareness about the importance of holistic living
🌿Embracing the alchemy of both the physical and spiritual world

Honestly, when I decided to pursue agriculture, I experienced a lot of discouragement initially. Many people didn’t understand my love for plants and many people told me I was too smart to study agriculture. They thought my time and intelligence could be spent better elsewhere- maybe being a doctor or something else I had no interest in. Even though I experienced this, the beauty of Mother Earth continued to entice me. Plants intrigued me so much and I was fascinated by how they were created and what they were capable of. When I started studying the medicinal and metaphysical properties of plants, I was truly in awe. I was captivated by how divine forces created this beautiful planet we live within, and once I studied the beauty myself, I couldn’t help but be appreciative of what our planet does for us. For years, I’ve been incorporating plants into my lifestyle through food and medicine and it’s been nothing short of amazing. Connecting with plants and their energy is ethereal and I would love for people to awaken themselves and be open to experiencing what Mother Earth has to offer to the fullest extent. By “Connecting Souls with Earth Magick”, I want to share the affinity I have for plant spirits with others. I want to inspire others to grow an appreciation for these green creatures around us. Through connecting with Mother Earth, we connect with Spirit and the healer within ourselves. It is our hope here at Rooted Vybz Botanica that with the use of our tools and the guidance of Spirit, our customers can achieve divine bliss by remembering one’s power. Our power to love. Our power to heal. Our power to create. Our power to connect.

Zipporah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

🌿How you got into your business?

I began my studies of herbalism during my senior year of high school. I decided to take a horticulture course as an elective and that’s when I found my passion at first sight. I learned plant identification, leaf arrangements, and all of the plant basics. Towards the end of the course, I was required to complete a final project and I decided to grow oregano, lavender, chamomile, and other herbs that sparked my interest. The pivotal point of my interest in herbalism came about when one day I came home from track practice and I was lying on the couch as normal. A little later that evening, I got up and had the worst headache of my life. That headache was followed by a fever, cough, and congestion. I was almost certain I had the flu or some version of it. Fortunately, I was introduced to this wonderful medicinal plant by the name of Elderberry. I consumed an Elderberry decoction at least twice a day, engaged in intermittent fasting, and rested. At the time I wasn’t sure what the Elderberry was doing in my body, but all I remember is my body sweating excessively as if my body was putting all of its energy towards fighting off this dis-ease. I experienced those symptoms on a Friday and by the time Sunday came around, it was as if nothing had happened and my body returned to its state of balance. To add a bit more to my journey in herbalism, I took a study abroad trip to Jamaica right before COVID to complete some soil science work to earn credits for one of my classes. In addition to the agriculture work, I was taught about medicinal plants they use in Jamaica such as Allspice, Tamarind, Bitter Melon, and more. As I delved into countless herbalism books and taught myself, I knew this was my thing. The “thing” that makes you lose track of time, that brings you peace, and could also be used as an avenue to turn my passion into prosperity. Fast-forwarding to today, I graduated from Tuskegee University with my Bachelor of Science in Plant & Soil Science, Magna Cum Laude in 2023 and I also received my certification as a Naturopathic Herbalist back in March of 2022. Now I am more than elated to say I am the owner of a spiritual wellness boutique where we specialize in connecting souls with Earth Magick.

🌿What products/services do you provide?

Currently we offer organic herbs ( free of harmful pesticides and GMO components ) , raw crystals, crystal pendants, incense, spiritual waters, herbal digital guides, and smoke wands such as sage. We are looking forward to adding more divine tools to our inventory very soon! We are also offering herbal classes in the near future~ stay tuned! 🙂

🌿What problems do you solve for your clients?

We provide increased access to quality metaphysical tools to assist one in their journey of remembering their own power of self healing. The number of spiritual wellness shops/botanicas is not sufficient, and we are working to bridge that gap. Furthermore, not only do we offer these divine tools but we also offer guides on how to use these tools via our digital guides and creatives on our social media page.

🌿What sets you apart from others?

The main aspect that sets us apart from others is that we work with Mother Earth as a lifestyle. Our lives are infused with this concept. We are not in this industry because spirituality is now a “trend”. Furthermore, we are not in this industry to make a quick buck. We truly care about helping people remember their power of self-healing through connecting with Spirit and our planet. Furthermore, we focus on the holistic balance of both physical and spiritual wellness. This world would be a much better place if everyone could reconnect to their infinite selves. Digging deep into your spirituality is healing for the soul and it is not something to be taken lightly. The importance and sacredness of Mother Earth and all that she offers is something we are passionate about.

🌿What are you most proud of?

As far as what I’m most proud of as an entrepreneur, is my resilience and my unwavering passion for my craft. Being an entrepreneur is not for the weak, and the person you always have to believe in no matter what is YOU. I’ve experienced discouragement from people about my line of work, but I let that remain as outside noise. Some people can’t see your vision until you make it happen. You have to hold onto your vision even when others don’t see it. What I’m most proud of with Rooted Vybz Botanica, is the success we had at our most recent market in Chicago, IL. The annual Juneteenth market hosted by Thank You Chicago was incredible; the love and support was immaculate and it was such an honor to be in that space with other black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs of color.

🌿What do you want people to know about your brand/your line of work?

Rooted Vybz Botanica is a luxury black woman -owned spiritual wellness boutique that provides souls with spiritual tools to assist them on their healing journey. Our products are sourced from Mother Earth herself and blessed with her magick touch. We offer a variety of products ranging from organic herbs to raw crystals that can be used to connect one with Spirit and Mother Earth. Through connecting with Mother Earth, we connect with Spirit and most of all ourselves. It is our hope here at Rooted Vybz Botanica that with the use of our tools and the guidance of Spirit, our customers can achieve divine bliss by remembering one’s power. Our power to love. Our power to heal. Our power to create. Our power to connect. Asè✨

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

So interesting story, before there was a Rooted Vybz Botanica there was a Rooted Vybz. Rooted Vybz was my original company that I started while I was in college. Rooted Vybz solely focused on physical wellness through holistic living; I sold herbal tinctures that I formulated myself. Everyone knew about Rooted Vybz on campus and loved the products. My original company was on the rise, I even received the opportunity to be a part of the HBCU NBA Black Girl Ventures Business Accelerator program. Through this program, not only did I develop a variety of skills including pitching, marketing, etc, but I also won 3rd place in the final pitch competition and ended up raising close to $10,000 in capital for my company. Everything sounds picture perfect right?

Upon graduation from college, I entered an entrepreneur funk. I became burnt out and exhausted. So I made a very hard decision to take 6 months off from being an entrepreneur. I was scared to do this because I thought if I took a break that I would lose my spark/passion for being an entrepreneur. However, taking this break was the best thing I could have done for my entrepreneurial journey. During this break, Rooted Vybz Botanica was born. As I gave myself time to rest from the business day to day, I thought deeply about what I wanted to offer the world and how I wanted to use my gifts to do so. Also, during this time I went deeper into my spiritual journey and my connection with Mother Earth. After some deep thought, I realized I hadn’t lost my passion for being an entrepreneur- I just wanted to expand my vision that would be more representative of my journey, more holistic so to speak. Once my break was officially over, I hit the ground running with rebranding my business. With this rebrand, now as you know as Rooted Vybz Botanica, I now offer herbs, crystals, incense, and other divine tools that one can use to assist them on their healing journey. Rooted Vybz Botanica encompasses both herbal wellness and spirituality. I tell this part of my story because it helped me learn a few things:

🌿Despite what the mainstream/society tells us, it’s okay to not be in ‘hustle” mode all of the time. Part of productivity is resting.

🌿Don’t be afraid to switch things up

🌿Sometimes your next big idea comes by way of rest, not “doing more”

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been participating in pop-up markets. Even though our products are always available for purchase online, being face-to-face with our customers has a more authentic feel. The transfer of energy is REAL! Through markets, we can add a little magic touch by interacting with our customers. Furthermore, I believe that my customers enjoy seeing the face that is behind Rooted Vybz Botanica; they enjoy hearing my story of how I got started and where I’m going. The genuine devotion I have for Mother Earth attracts my customers to Rooted Vybz Botanica every time, they love hearing about my passion💚🌍.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rvbotanica.com
• Instagram: rvbotanica__
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/thezipporahsowell
• Other: 🌳Linktree:

  linktr.ee/iamzipporah

Image Credits

Alexis Jacobs