After raising my children, a friend asked, “What will you do with your life?”

Without thinking, and as if the words were spoken through me, I heard: HEAL. HEALING.

That moment began the long journey of understanding and accessing the healing gifts I carried. I also discovered the need to heal my own emotional wounds before I could assist in healing others.

Along the way, doors to the mystical and the unseen began to open.

Signs and wonders appeared, showing me I was on the right path while I redefined my identity as a medicine woman.

After a shamanic training, centered around power animals and medicine allies, I longed for a tangible sign that the support I felt from the spirit world was real.

Then, like a gift from the Universe, there it was on the side of the road: a badger with eyes closed, and a single meat-eating yellowjacket circling its nose. Knowing badgers are fierce animals, and that yellowjackets consume carrion, I approached cautiously until I confirmed the badger was indeed dead.

Understanding that the Universe had offered me the hide of a badger to be a medicine ally, I gave thanks and, using a tennis racket in my truck, carefully placed the carcass in the back of my pick-up. At home, I sprayed the carcass with disinfectant and tick spray, then researched how to taxidermize the hide.

The process of working with the badger pelt allowed me to honor the spirit of the animal while releasing the medicine it carries so it can continue to serve the community.

In my work, I embody badger’s keen instinct, fierce focus, and the ability to dig beneath the surface. I embrace spacious awareness, looking at the larger picture while focusing on wellness as an active process and state of being.

Badger Hills Wellness reflects that balance.