Aimee Xiao

“Springbok Herbalist” explores herbalism in South Africa. A Springbok familiar practices as an Inyanga and channels a ball of light made up of a combination of South African herbs between her antelope horns to cook over the cauldron. She wears white, blue and pink beadings of the indigenous Zulu people, respectively representing purity, faithfulness and promise.

“Your Future is in Your Hands” shows the Hispaniolan Trogons tattooed on the healer’s hands assisting in telling fortunes using an orbuculum. Hibiscus flowers grow and flourish in the presence of the healer performing magic in Haiti.

“Let’s Protect Each Other” aims to encourage viewers to have a conversation about feminism, as witch hunts still exist in the 21st century among cultures most fearful of change. This tarot card design for the Strength card features a female Lion (a symbol that represents majesty and strength) being hugged and receiving the protection reciprocated from the Wiccan witch in England.

“Kangaroo Healers” glide on healing stones travelling throughout Oenpelli, Australia to heal the aboriginal community town, as witch doctors. Their presence manipulates the winds to blow golden wattle flowers throughout the community, lighting up the town with the flowers of unity. Using the healing crystals in their pouches, they relieve pain and heal sicknesses caused by supernatural forces.

“Carabao Nipa Hut” addresses Albularyos importance in the Philippines because of their deeply rooted beliefs in folklore and folk medicine. The Carabao-shaped nipa hut shop displays potions and remedies made from traditional herbs and roots for sale. The healing hands of Albularyos reach across the island performing hilot using herbs recognized in indigenous Filipino healing practices, which grow around the shop.

“Enduring Love” is inspired by the Eskimo proverb: “Perhaps they are not stars in the sky but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy.” This ambiguous approach shows stars shooting through the patches of a Masai Giraffe travelling through Tanzania. The patches represent rooms for Babu healers to perform therapies, similar to a hospital, and the stars illuminate the room with ancestral love.

“Hallucinogenic Vicuña” features a San Pedro cactus sliced open, exposing 14 lagoons naturally arranged in a shape resembling the head of a Vicuña, an animal worshipped by the Inca people of ancient Peru. The lagoons are surrounded by Peruvian Cantua Buxifolia flowers and sacred stones often used in mesada healing ceremonies. The juice of the hallucinogenic cactus, that induces visions, drips down the cactus and is used in these ceremonies performed by Shamans.

“Up in the Mountains of Sichuan” features a glimpse of Giant Panda familiars as Wu shamans that gently perform cupping therapy on humans in the mountain ranges of Sichuan, China. Plum blossoms blow in the wind bringing calming and uplifting energy to the bamboo forest.

Unfamiliar Familiars