Natural Law Apothecary: Old Medicine for a New Age

Many of us have come to realize the homesteading fantasies peddled by Utah’s so-called “trad-wife” figures co-opt a collective longing for connection and traditional living to sell hollow lifestyle capitalism — whether that’s by way of Hannah Neely’s $30k stove or Nara Smith’s designer baking outfits. By contrast, Natural Law Apothecary doesn’t sell an image of domestic perfection, but instead invites everyone to cross a threshold from Salt Lake City to more ancient ways of living, healing and knowing.

“Authenticity is love. We all need authenticity as much as we need contact with nature, with people, with music, with life.”

Just south of the Interstate 15 overpass on 400 South, among the gravel and warehouses on 600 West, you’ll discover a whimsical garden across the train tracks right at the edge of the world. Beloved by herbalists and witches alike, this apothecary is a magical abode you have to experience firsthand to believe. You’ll know from the glowing pixels promising “old medicine for the new age” that you’ve found the dreamy destination. Step in, and shelves climb toward the ceiling of the cavernous (but cozy) storefront and community space shared by a family and their familiars, including the cutest tegu lizard you’ll ever meet.

Marinda Bowen, the owner and a registered nurse with a background in oncology, patterns honest, traditional living and healing through practices and remedies rooted both in love and co-creation with nature and community. “Authenticity is love,” she tells me. “We all need authenticity as much as we need contact with nature, with people, with music, with life. That’s what we want people to feel here; to feel welcomed and held.”

“Dreams come out of your bones. They’re ancestral, and they carry the knowledge you’re meant to bring forward.”

Local collaborators like Peter Somers, the beekeeper behind Beez Hives & Honey, and James Rigby, who built the shop’s stage and altar space, are also central to the apothecary’s unique, thriving hyper-local ecosystem. Complete with more than a dozen microbusinesses represented by the handmade wares available for purchase — as well as regular community classes, rituals, readings and live music led by local artists, creators and practitioners — every dollar and minute spent at Natural Law uplifts working Utahns and their families.

Touring the space she shares with her husband Michael (Gemini), her daughters Fiona (25, Leo) and Lily (19, Sagittarius) and her son Ahern (14, Aquarius), Bowen explains that behind the shop is “the idea that we bring in every grandmothers’ and every grandfathers’ way of healing from around the world.” They embrace them all. Each herb and remedy represents a time-honored tradition, like the old bottle of her mother’s medicine from childhood she keeps behind the counter.

“Everything before us is kin. Animals carry more of the ancient code than we do.”

Her mother, Bowen tells me, grew up in Southern Utah surrounded by Indigenous practices and the smell of corn flour and cornmeal. She likewise inherited a reverence for nature and other cultures from her grandfather, who was respected by the Indigenous community. “They believed my grandfather had a gift for communicating with horses and would bring them to him to determine what was wrong, why they were sick and tell them what to do,” she says. “In return, they gave corn, blankets and other goods.”

The view of the alchemists is that metals came first, then minerals, then plants, then animals and finally, humans, Bowen tells me. “So everything before us is kin. Animals carry more of the ancient code than we do. If you listen to birds, or to the wind in the trees, you can hear the first language,” she continues. Seasonal cycles, equinoxes and solstices anchor traditional practices like Bowen’s. The end of October marks a significant time for many cultures, when the veil between worlds thins and night grows longer and darker.

“We all need authenticity as much as we need contact with nature…”

On behalf of our readers, I ask what she recommends for those interested in working with herbs this season. For the fall, Bowen recommends several herbs that improve dreaming and lucidity, like: blue lotus, amanita muscaria, mugwort and passion flower, among others. “Dreams come out of your bones,” she says. “They’re ancestral, and they carry the knowledge you’re meant to bring forward.” She also recommends root herbs for energy and others that resonate with the sun during the darker months.

Eager to learn more? Stop by the shop to pick up their in-store newsletter, a lovingly printed monthly guide. Follow along on Instagram at @naturallawapothecary or visit naturallawapothecary.com.

Read more about unique local businesses:
Wicked West Nails: Couture at the Cuticle
The Crystal Barista: DIY Festival STEM Exhibitor