Awakening Artemis

A healing resource that blends practical plant-based knowledge with spiritual reconnection to show how a respect for and communion with our natural world guides us toward healing.

Combining Chakour's story of her own healing journey with practical plant-based knowledge, Awakening Artemis is rooted in the belief that healing happens through reclaiming an intuitive connection to ourselves, to the natural world, and to our own "inner wild."

Having experienced a series of physical traumas growing up-including chronic asthma, a car accident that fractured her back and neck, and sexual trauma-Chakour pursued various approaches to therapeutic movement from martial arts to yogic practices, and explored traditions honoring the mind-body connection while forging a path to recovery. Twenty years now into her journey to reconcile her daily routines with her yearning for greater purpose and connection, Chakour shares the eclectic mix of elements that have brought her deeper self-awareness, a richer understanding of her place in the world, and the confidence and clear boundaries to truly connect with her loved ones.

Organized into four sections that move through the seasons and realms of our consciousness, each chapter within in the four sections focuses on a single plant: on it's power to connect us to the season and to illuminate a new part of our psyche. Using storytelling from her own life, Chakour connects the plants power and characteristics to issues we all grapple to heal from and even to understand-from the alienating consequences of cultural appropriation and to the intersection between a forest's mycelial network and the neural pathways of our brains.

For those seeking to recognize the power and omnipresence of the natural world-from the mugwort sprouting in the city sidewalk to the majesty of a thousand year old oak in rural Scotland-and harness that to push into new realms of self-discovery, Awakening Artemis is an intimate, unforgettable resource capturing one woman's journey to heal her traumas that opens up a world of potential growth and healing for us all. Vanessa Chakour is an herbalist, holistic arts educator, former pro-boxer, experienced archer, environmental activist, and founder of Sacred Warrior-a multi-disciplinary educational and experiential "school" offering plant medicine, martial arts, wildlife conservation, and meditation through courses, workshops, and retreats. Sacred Warrior's Rewilding Retreats are in partnership with the Wolf Conservation Center in New York, The Jaguar Rescue Center in Costa Rica, and Alladale Wilderness Reserve in the Scottish Highlands. Chakour has studied and taught with renowned Herbalists such as Robin Rose Bennett and Matthew Wood, and has created events & initiatives on behalf of luminaries such as His Holiness, The Dalai Lama and hip hop legend KRS One.