Roots of this story
I AM of the rice fields, coconut trees, mountains, and the oceans of Maharlika Islands -Philippines.
I AM of the mango trees, sugar canes of the land I was born and raised, Zambia.
I AM of the lakes and rivers of the Ohlone land also known as Berkeley, California where I live.
My relationship to the land has been a connection to my culture, family, and community. My family chose to leave their homeland, Philippines for better opportunities in Zambia. Being away from home, a sense of community and culture was held onto through plants, herbs, and fruits as food for the soul and survival. Living in harmony with nature was instilled at a young age, it was a place for refuge, and a way to come home to myself. My relationship with the land is a pathway to wholeness.
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MA’ AL’ ALA: Remember
written in indigenous baybayin filipino script means to remember. Re-membering my roots, my ancestors and their indigenous ways of animism that understood all things, such as plants, rocks, rivers, words possess an essence. Maalala is to remember that all serve a purpose for personal and communal perspectives in life.
Saturn’s Moon Botanicals is born…
out of love for the sacredness of plants, recognizing them as allies who invoke the potential of the soul and the most profound imagination for humanity. Nature has been a way to access my ancestors known and unknown, who lived in an integral relationship with the natural world. The products symbolize the alchemy of earth’s elements giving back to other beings other than to themselves as pathways towards collective healing, possibility, empowerment, beauty, self-expression, and community. A reciprocal relationship.
Saturn’s Moon Botanicals is located in West Berkeley, which is on the Unceded Chochenyo and Karkin Ohlone territory of the First Nation people. I honor and acknowledge I am a visitor and I support Indigenous First Nation tribes of this land. Saturn’s Moon is committed to restoring relationships and wellness of the land. It’s important to include indigenous knowledge and practices in Saturn’s Moon narrative to build ‘Kapwa’ which is a Filipino value that recognizes a shared identity, an inner self, shared with others. To establish a connection to others we need to acknowledge we are also an embodiment of our past. In the spirit of reciprocity, 5% of every sale will go to the Sogorea Te Land Trust.
The planet Saturn has been a beautiful mystery to me with its 82 moons in different colors and its many rings. I have an affinity for Saturn's moons because one of them has my name sake - Rhea.
A deeper meaning to the name Saturn's Moon is the understanding that life is rich with duality. Saturn symbolizes strength, logic, thought, and the male. The moon represents the feminine, fertility, softness, and intuition. Saturn's Moon reminds us of this fundamental recognition that dualities exist in all of us; one can't exist without the other. And beyond our physical body, we're also the elemental essence of the cosmos, an understanding that we are related to one another, the earth, and all things that support life.
Rhea Borromeo, Founder
As a Massage Therapist for 10+ years, I believe healing our human relationships is not without healing our relationship to the earth. Elements of the earth are integrated in my sessions such as river rocks, herbal poultices, plant oils, and aromatherapy. A huge part of my work involves the practice of self-awareness, attuning to the deeper subtleties of how I relate to all that is. Self-knowledge gifts us the the agency to grow emotionally, mentally, and physically. I weave my work into an expression of beauty, with the intent to liberate the truths we carry within.