To the women who paved the way - the healers, the rebels, the changemakers

It’s 2025, and hearing a woman lead a conversation on health is simply, and thankfully, the norm.

You don’t think twice that your health practitioner is female or bat an eyelid when you open your app and see a woman sharing their wellness rituals, discussing the latest research, or bringing ancient remedies back to life. Podcasts, books, workshops - women’s wisdom can be found everywhere.   

But not so long ago, that wisdom was feared. A woman’s knowledge of healing could mean exile, persecution - even a death sentence. 

For centuries, women were the original healers, tending to their communities with knowledge passed down through generations. They were the midwives, the herbalists and the caretakers of health, deeply attuned to the body's rhythms and the power of plants. But over time, their wisdom became a threat. Fear of their knowledge, autonomy and influence led to persecution. Their voices were silenced. Their lineage severed. 

And yet, not entirely.

Now, that wisdom is reclaiming its place. On this International Women’s Day, we honour the lineage of women who shaped the wellness world. A thread that stretches back through time, connecting those who gathered, shared, and healed - against all odds - so we can continue to pass the baton of women's wisdom to others today. 

The Original Healers

Women have been central to healing traditions across countries, cultures and centuries. They have held the knowledge of plants, energy, and the body, passing it down the learnings to others. 

• Native American healing traditions revered female healers as ‘medicine women’, midwives, and herbalists. The Cherokee, for example, entrusted women with sacred plant wisdom, which they shared across generations. 
  

• Ayurveda recognised women as keepers of knowledge within their households, preparing herbal remedies and food-based ways to heal and support everyday health.
  

• Traditional Chinese Medicine saw women managing home remedies, acupuncture, and herbal treatments with some women such as Zhang Xiaoniang (12th century) and Yi Shuo (17th century) stepping into the roles of physician. 

• Medieval Europe had its own wise women who foraged remedies from the land, passing on their knowledge from mother to daughter. In Salerno, Italy, women contributed to medical education with groundbreaking texts like The Trotula, which shaped women’s healthcare for centuries. 
  

• Hildegard of Bingen, an abbess and herbalist, meticulously documented plant properties, laying the foundation for modern herbalism.

The Silencing of Women’s Wisdom

As time passed and power structures shifted, women’s healing knowledge became a source of fear. Religious institutions sought control over both spiritual and medical practices, branding women’s wisdom as heretical. Those who acted outside of patriarchal norms - especially independent women  - were often accused of witchcraft. 

As medicine became institutionalised, women were systematically pushed out. Medical knowledge became increasingly controlled by universities, which only admitted men. Laws restricted midwifery and herbal medicine to licensed practitioners, and these licenses were only granted to university-educated males. 

To be a healer became dangerous. To understand the ebb and flow of seasons, to know the plants and the properties they hold, to brew tinctures, track the lunar cycles or understand the body in ways which could not be scientifically defined, was to wield a power that could not be controlled.

And yet, the wisdom survived. Intuition cannot be silenced. Women’s deep connection to healing endured, passed through generations, kept alive in quiet rituals, waiting to rise again.

It lived on in kitchen remedies, foraging, folk medicine and in the strength of those who refused to let it be lost. Even in the Victorian era, when women were largely excluded in the medical field, pioneers like Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole bravely redefined care, bringing compassion and innovation to nursing, helping to reshape perceptions of women in healthcare, paving the way for future generations.

Reclaiming What Was Lost

Only now, centuries later, are we beginning to reclaim what was taken. Today, we are proud to stand with the women pushing boundaries - those challenging outdated nutritional research, reviving ancestral healing traditions and making self-care an intuitive, powerful practice once again. 

At Ancient + Brave, a proudly female-founded brand, we honour this legacy. As we blend our ingredients and pass on our wellness rituals, we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us - part of an unbroken thread of wisdom and resilience.

We are the continuation of those who stood bravely in their power. And together, we shape the future for those who will carry this knowledge forward.

“Because the truth is that other women need other women; we need sisters, allies and communities. We need to be able to see, feel, encounter and recognise the goddess in each other.” – Kirsty Gallagher