Rachel Budde is an herbalist and the creator of Fat and the Moon herbal bod care. Fat and the Moon is a primary branch of her herbal practice, as she sees external herbal medicine-in the form of body care- as a gateway for profound realizations of the efficacy of plant medicine.
Rachel’s background is in fine art. She received a BFA from Pratt Institute, a MFA from Hunter College. Fat and the Moon is where Rachel’s skills as an herbalist and an artist converge. She creates self care products as mediums for self love ritual, and as messages of reclamation of our belonging to the earth.
Teaching the practical and magical aspects of plant medicine is another dimension to Rachel’s work. She believes the cultivation of our herbal knowledge is a practice of remembrance. Herbal medicine is a part of all of our ancestry, it is a tradition which connects us to our bodies and to the earth.
Herbal medicine is part of Rachel’s Slovenian heritage. Plant medicine is an essential thread in the cultural fabric of Slovenia. Rachel has been conducting ethnobotanical research in Slovenia since 2015 on the traditional Slovene uses of plant medicines. Her aim is to reconnect to the ancient wisdom of her heritage and to inspire others to do the same.
Rachel’s mentors and teachers include the ethnobotanist Kat Harrison, Aviva Romm MD, TCM practitioner William Morris and herbalist Joshua Muscat. Rachel is trained in the somatic psychotherapeutic method, Hakomi. She has also been trained in the ceremonial practices of the Mazatec tradition, from Huautla, Mexico.
Rachel does one on one work combining these methods of practice. Please contact her on the contact page if you would like to work with her.