Nature’s Magic Apothecary, at 1923 21st Ave, provides various herbs, herbal formulas, oils, salves, lotions to the people of Forest Grove. It’s open on Tuesdays to Fridays, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm and Saturdays, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.
“Nature’s Magic Apothecary is what I’ve always loved to do,” said Missa Maureen, the owner of Nature’s Magic. “I love plant medicine. I love natural medicine. And years ago, I decided to go to many years of school for different things, and yet it always came back to plant medicine as what I love. So after many years of helping my family and friends, it made sense to open a shop.”
Inside the shop, there is a room with shelves filled with various herbs. There, Maureen went from one shelf to another to gather what she needed for an immune system tea. In the tea were Coltsfoot, Calendula, Damiana, Hibiscus, and Saffron petals.
Maureen explained that Coltsfoot keeps the lungs strong. Damiana leaves are good for vitality, memory, and waking up in the morning. Calendula is an antimicrobial, antiviral, and antibacterial. It is also good for the skin, scar tissue, wrinkles, and age spots. Hibiscus has vitamin C. The properties of Saffron petals help with sadness, anxiety, and major depression. Her choice of herbs depends entirely on the specific person with which she is working.
“When I choose herbs, I do muscle testing and so it really varies as to what a normal day is,” Maureen said.
Oftentimes, frequent customers will come into the shop knowing exactly what they want to purchase thanks to Maureen.
“A typical day is somebody comes in and if they’re interested in the herbs then we come back in here and sometimes they know what they want,” said Maureen. “Some people know herbs when they come in. They just want me to weigh them out because they’re making something of their own, and so I’ll do that.” — Jamie Samson
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