The Intuitive Herbalist

Naturalist and Author

Plants are Erin Lovell’s calling. As an author, intuitive herbalist, nutritionist and energetic practitioner, she seeks to inspire organic transformation in her clients by facilitating deep, integrative healing through the wisdom of nature. Erin has amassed a wealth of knowledge for over twenty years, compiling two extensive plant medicine guides and helping scores of people reconnect to a path of vitality, consciousness and healing through the teachings of Mother Earth.

Tell us about yourself (your background, story, etc)

I am an Australian trained herbalist, nutritionist with a background in energetic healing, and the author of two plant medicine centric books (Plants for the People, and The Plant Clinic) I live on Bundjalung land on the east coast of Australia, in the rainbow region of the Byron Bay hinterland in a sweet old, converted church home. This is where I run my online clinic, write books, grow a bountiful garden, and live a slow (as slow as it can get for a double Aries like myself) considered life with my husband and our two sweet senior dogs!

Did you grow up with naturopathic medicine or did you find it on your own?

Not at all really. I do have one memory of my mother taking me to see a Chinese Herbalist as a very young child. I recall the mucky brown potion I was given to drink and my ailments miraculously improving! Although my parents were not fluent in a naturopathic approach there were these practices and rituals that now I can see had great influence on me as a little person such as my mum’s love of flowers and herbal teas, and her ever openness and optimism about trying the natural option if given the choice. I was surrounded by positive influences in my inner world as a child, great neighbours who gardened, aunties who cooked whole foods, access to abundant nature. My grandmother seemed uncannily intuitive; it seems I can thank her for my strong sight! But I arrived on the path of studying naturopathy on my own accord, and then forked off into a bachelor of herbal medicine and nutritional medicine studies. A true departure from the path of my family members!

“The greatest lesson I have learnt from the plants is that we are kin, we are all nature, there is simply no separation. In the communion of kinship, there is so much healing possible for each and every one of us.”

Erin is wearing The Dawn Dress in Chamomile Noir

How did you first enter the world of herbalism? What put you on this path?

I was always so enamoured with nature. To me, as a child it was my greatest indulgence to kick off my shoes and run over the street to the park, or up the road to the nature reserve. I felt free. All these moments, I see now were the plant path calling me. When I began to grow awareness of healing plants, I was so impressed and fascinated by the bounty of nature! As a teenager I would seek books on healing and herbalism. I can only simply describe it as a calling.

What sort of ailments have you been able to heal through your work?

My job is really to facilitate healing, to share and educate. I am blessed to witness people move through incredible health transformations! Witnessing people return from extreme burn out or shift a chronic health condition, or even heal an acute issue. My work with clients is truly full of diversity.

“I find this the most transformative, when people bring on working with plant medicines and connecting to nature, eating well, hydrating, sleep hygiene, moving their bodies, correcting nutritional deficiencies etc.”

In what ways have you seen your clients transform through these healing modalities?

The most powerful piece I gain so much joy and purpose from is seeing people truly integrate supportive practices into their way of life, for the long term. This creates huge shifts, it is not a wellness fad, it is about practices that are sustaining. I find this the most transformative, when people bring on working with plant medicines and connecting to nature, eating well, hydrating, sleep hygiene, moving their bodies, correcting nutritional deficiencies etc. Transformation is a by-product of these nourishing practices!

What was the process for collecting information for your book, Plants for the People and your upcoming second book release The Plant Clinic ? Is it an accumulation of your wisdom over the years, etc?

It absolutely is an accumulation of my work in the healing realms for 20+ years. My first book, Plants for the People brewed deep within me for many years and truly rolled out of me in its perfect time! I held the vision of it strong within and all the stars aligned to bring it earthside. I felt this deep call to retell the stories of the plants, to reignite remembrance of plant medicine to whomever needed to receive it. My second book, The Plant Clinic came to be from my many years working 1:1 with clients in my clinic, I was only able to create a body of work so deep as it is from all the incredible years working intimately with others on their health and wellbeing. I began to see patterns of breakdowns and breakthroughs with health and understanding how plant medicine can assist fluently. My intention is to make all this rich earthy information as accessible as possible.

“I have pledged my life path to advocating for the plants and will pursue my plant path till the very end of my time!”

How do you implement your teachings and philosophies into your own daily life?

I practice what I preach! So much of how I can show up fortified in these spaces as a practitioner, author and teacher is in thanks to the practices I have enriched my daily life with. Rest, connecting to nature, lots of plants, grounding foods and keeping a considered pace are all essentials for my own process. I listen to my body and trust that is my greatest barometer, my compass.

What are the greatest lessons you’ve learned from plants?

Honestly the most profound lessons I have learnt have come from the soil, from the seeds, from the flowers, from the roots, from being with in nature. The greatest lesson I have learnt from the plants is that we are kin, we are all nature, there is simply no separation. In the communion of kinship, there is so much healing possible for each and every one of us.

Erin is wearing the Brooklyn Dress in Honey Blossom

How do you Honor Mother Earth?

With the deepest appreciation and reciprocity, I am in service and communion as a herbalist and a true friend of the earth. I have pledged my life path to advocating for the plants and will pursue my plant path till the very end of my time! Hopefully I will be a wise old crone teaching all the youngins about the stories of the land, the colourful stories of the plants and how to hold them strong in their golden hearts to pass down the lineage over and over again.


Erin Lovell @erinlovellverinder
erinlovellverinder.com