Earth Medicines: Ancestral Wisdom, Healing Recipes, and Wellness Rituals from a Curandera - Hardcover

by Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz (Author)

Winner of the 2022 Eating the West Award!
Winner of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Book Award!

An accessible guide to time-honored Indigenous wisdom, healing recipes, and wellness rituals for modern life from an experienced curandera.

In Earth Medicines, Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz, a curandera (or traditional healer) who is a Xicana with Tewa ancestry, combines Indigenous wisdom from many traditions with the power of the four elements. This modern guide is designed to support readers on their path to wellness with lifestyle practices and recipes perfected by Ruiz in her twenty-five years of training and working as a curandera. Ruiz teaches readers to be their own healers by discovering their own ancestral practices and cultivating a personal connection to the elements.

These healing recipes and rituals draw on the power of Water, Air, Earth, and Fire--a reminder that the natural elements are the origins of everything and can heal not only our bodies, but the mind and spirit as well.

In chapters organized by each element, readers will first find recipes and advice for:

Promoting inner harmony through Hydrotherapy for Headache Relief, Mayan Tea to Calm the Mind, or Ginger Fire Honey Chews

Nurturing beauty inside and out with Tepezcohuite Honey Mask, Salt of the Earth Deodorant, or Sweetwater Herbal Mouth Rinse

Taking care of the spirit by creating an ancestral altar, making loose incense, or performing a Mayan Bajo Steaming Ritual

Author Biography

FELICIA COCOTZIN RUIZ (Tewa/Xicana) is a curandera and Indigenous foods activist whose work is deeply rooted in the healing properties of sacred plants. Sharing the Medicine of the People, Felicia weaves together stories of Indigenous wisdom with the intention of her dishes, applying "Culinary Medicine," as named by one of her Maestras.

Curanderas are traditional healers, who carry knowledge of foods, herbs, and other cultural remedies working with the body, mind, and spirit. Curanderismo has been practiced throughout the Americas for over five hundred years, with each healer offering a unique skillset applying their natural gifts, training, or cultural practices. With permission from her elders, Felicia shares her work with others through private consultations, workshops, and ceremony.