About

Hi! I’m Katie.

I fell in love with essential oils getting my massage therapy training at the New Mexico School of Natural Therapeutics in the late 90’s.

I’d just gotten a BA in literature, and after all that reading I was ready to study the wisdom of the body. On the day we studied aromatherapy, my soul stirred with each fragrant bottle of essential oil that was passed around the room.

I’ve had an apothecary and essential oils in my life ever since.

I formulated the archetype anointing oils in 2010 as a tenant at the Marshall High Studios. That’s where the name river island apothecary comes from; these studios sit on an island with the mighty French Broad river flowing all around.

The formulas for the anointing oil were designed to represent archetypes, a concept I first learned during my literature degree. While I initially learned them as a literary device, archetypes slowly revealed themselves to me as “facets of wisdom”.

In 2010 I wondered, if there were an archetypal formula that comprised me, what would it be? What are my facets?

The Girl Child, Mermaid, Priestess, Queen, Tantrika, Warrior, and Wisdom Keeper all raised their hands. So, I blended oils for each one to use as tools of alignment — something to help me kindle and tend these aspects of my Self.

As I was formulating these blends, I invited friends, studio mates, & clients to smell them. They connected with the scents and the archetypes as much as I did. I realized these were clearly not just “my” archetypes.  I was inspired to make these oils for everyone.

Fast forward many years, and I am still blending these exact formulas. I now batch them from my woodland apothecary in east Asheville, called Darkwood.

I still use these anointing oils as tools for tending wisdom and the Self. And now, even more…

I’m a guide for women enlivening their wisdom. I promote women’s empowerment through a lens of archetypal wisdom and seasonality.

With what I now call the “Darkwood Archetypes”, I help women navigate cycles of life — rest, creativity, collaboration, wisdom, and so on.

I use scent, symbolism, and poetry to help you feel your feet on your path.

I am incredibly grateful to Katie and all that she offers… she teaches in a way no one else does. She’s a gem, and what she brings to the heart is nothing short of spectacular and miraculous. Don’t miss the opportunity to know yourself through Katie’s eyes. –C.H.

River island Apothecary and the pedagogy of The Darkwood School are a culmination of my life’s studies.

My love of ritual and sitting in circles began as a kid in Girl Scouts. I studied symbolism through a literature degree, and the healing arts as a massage therapist. I indulged my love of scent with Aromatherapy and the art of botanical perfumery.

I’ve lived off the grid, built cool businesses, and followed my heart as an artist guided by the cycles of nature.

“Working with Katie is like accepting an invitation to come home to oneself. From the moment you enter Katie’s sacred space, you are touching the Divine within while growing in your wisdom. Katie is brilliant; warm, grounded, courageous. A true master.”  — Laura Juarez, Pure Potential

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