This conversation with Susanne from Naturzauberwerke is part of a series of interviews with women who, like me, feel particularly connected to nature. I will talk to different women and find out more about them and their approach to nature.

These are exactly the stories I will pass on to you here so that you too can discover the most diverse insights and approaches to nature.

Natural magic works
Herbal knowledge from Pinzgau

Tell us about yourself

My name is Susanne and I come from Salzburg, more precisely from Pinzgau. I am exactly what you would call a "herb witch", only without a wart on my nose.

I think that's fitting, and when I sit here in my small but lovely shop, it's perfect. I find a lot of things in my garden and in the surrounding nature that I turn into good and healing things.

How long have you been living this calling?

I have been doing this for almost 8 years now. When I'm not busy processing plants, I go on herbal walks and give workshops on various natural topics. The natural medicine cabinet and natural cosmetics are my topics, and of course the practical side is important to me too: how do you make an ointment, how can you help yourself with aches and pains. Whether for babies or adults, you'll find products for every age group with me.

You have a business?

We have renovated the lower floor of our house. There is a separate seminar room where my workshops and seminars take place. I also have my own “witch’s kitchen” and a small shop.

What can you buy from you?

Teas, herbal mixtures, liqueurs and also natural cosmetics, all pure nature without preservatives and without synthetic additives.

How did you get to that point?

As a child, I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, who is also a herbalist. We learned a lot from her as children. I knew what arnica was from a young age and St. John's wort oil was always with us. Of course, there was also marigold and all the other classic herbs, I learned a lot from my grandmother.

Later, during puberty, it took a back seat. Other things were more important. With the birth of my first daughter, however, I really got back into naturopathy and completed some training courses. At some point, I made up my mind: I didn't want to go back to my old job, working in an office, and finally I decided to go into business for myself.

My four children are always with us when we go up the mountain and collect herbs.

Where do you like to spend time in nature?

We love being in the mountains the most. The peace, the solitude and the view into the distance - for us, the mountains are simply the most beautiful and many wonderful and medicinal herbs grow there. For example, I prefer to get St. John's wort from the mountains, where the herb has completely different growing conditions than in the valley and can therefore develop and accumulate its real power.

What is your favorite plant

I have a strong connection with arnica. It is robust and has incredible healing properties, but it is not particularly beautiful. It usually looks a bit tattered. It is not perfect and it has its peculiarities - just like all of us. That is what I like about arnica. It is also one of the classic medicinal plants that almost everyone knows.

Here in Pinzgau, arnica is not protected and can be collected - of course, always with caution and not in large quantities. I also only collect the flower tongues and leave the heads so that the plants can continue to reproduce. I then process them into tincture for sore muscles or into sage, which is used for sports injuries. Arnica hardly grows at all in lower altitudes. There is a cultivated type of arnica, but it does not have the same ingredients as mountain arnica. If you want arnica, you have to go to the mountain.

Which plants are close to your heart?

All!

I like nettles and ground elder just as much as coneflower and lavender - each has its own special qualities and each has its own effect. I pick out what I need at the time.

What grows in your herb garden?

I have around 200 different plants in my herb garden. It's a wild mess and everything blends into one another. A sea of ​​marigolds, cornflowers, poppies, lemon balms, thyme, coneflowers and many more. In between there are dandelions and ribwort plantains - they aren't planted, they just grow there. The weeds that we herbalists don't have also have their place in my garden.

If you had to choose a direction?

That would probably be the natural pharmacy. This is knowledge that has been around for so long, we use the same plants today that were used 200 to 300 years ago. It is important to me to pass on this knowledge. So that my children also learn that you don't have to run to the pharmacy for a small scratch. I can treat it with things from my own garden.

What can I do if I have a cut?

Depending on the size of the wound, I apply bloodroot tincture and then some St. John's wort oil or pitch ointment. I also like to work with pure, natural essential oils that are extracted from the plants.

Herbal knowledge was not that popular for a while, but it is becoming more “modern” again and many people are interested in it again and want to build up their knowledge again.

A lot of the old knowledge was also lost through the burning of witches. The witches knew which herbs were good for what. But since the knowledge at that time was mainly passed on orally and not written down, a lot was lost. It is important to me to pass on my knowledge, which is why you can find many recipes on my blog and also on Instagram.

I also trained in traditional European medicine many years ago and in my products I use local plants that are tailored to us and our bodies. They grow on our doorsteps and in our gardens and give us the strength and energy we need.

I also like to use turmeric or ginger, but we also have great local roots like horseradish. It's a natural antibiotic and can help us with lots of things.

Take us on one of your herb walks?

My herb walks are always very individual. I almost always walk the same route, but it's always different. We often start with the nettle and the participants are completely amazed at what you can do with it. They aren't long walks either, as there is so much growing left and right that we can explore. We always find different, but all wonderful plants. It always depends on the season what is growing and what we then find and discuss. So it's always different and always exciting.

What else can I do for you?

I have lots of different workshops all year round on a wide range of topics. There you can smoke, make soap, put together your own medicine cabinet and much more. There is also an ointment mixing course. There we learn from scratch how to make healing ointments and then compare what a cream is made of and how it is made. You can make a face cream or a hand cream with me and then recreate it at home. It is always important to me that you only need a few ingredients for a recipe. It should be simple and effective. Then you can recreate it at home.

For example, I don't have anything bought in my bathroom: toothpaste, shampoo, creams - everything I use is homemade. For example, I use a cream for my whole body.

In my courses, I always "start" the students with their knowledge. Everyone can start where they are. You will learn the basics from me, which you can then implement step by step at home. For a deodorant, you only need coconut oil, baking soda and cornstarch - if you like, you can add a little essential oil for the scent, but you don't need it for the effect.

Some certified products, such as lip balm or hand cream, are also available to buy ready-made in my shop.

Where can we find you?

I have a virtual presence on Instagram and Facebook . And also on my website . There is a blog and a small online shop and of course all the information about my workshops and herbal courses. I am also always happy to receive visitors in my “workshop” and in the shop in Piesendorf.

You can find more interviews about great women and their approach to nature here:

Karin from Naturspirit
Stephanie from Atempause
Susanne from Naturzauberwerke
Tina from the herbalist
Melanie from Mint
Anja from Daisy & Sunshine
Andrea from Fermentista
Andrea from Yoga Cuisine
Marlies von Quendelgrün
Christine from Textpoterie
Doris from Made with Love
Alex from Die Kräutermadame
Bianca from Naturespiritauraspray
Gerda from Green Power