Soulful, honest, and deeply connected.
The Wooed is more than a brand; it’s a way of remembering. A return to feminine wisdom, to Earth, and to self.
We recently connected with Tika, founder of The Wooed, to delve into the magic behind her beautiful creations and the life philosophies that inspire them. From her journey through burnout to the grounding rituals that now shape her days, Tika shares the story behind the Seize the Day capsules her intuitive approach to herbalism, and the values that guide her work and way of living.
Brew a tea and settle into this slow, thoughtful space with us. There’s so much wisdom to soak up here.

W: Throughout my life I’ve watched a number of people I love go through the mainstream medical system, only to end up more sick and disempowered than ever. When I was studying herbalism, I read a book on Traditional Chinese Medicine titled “Between Heaven and Earth” that cracked my mind open. In the book they describe how TCM views the body as a garden, a richly interwoven biome of life, to be tended and cared for, so it may evolve into the abundant ecosystem it’s innately designed to be. In Modern medicine, the body is viewed as a machine, a reductive approach that breaks the body down into seperate parts, and describes disease as the malfunctioning of a specific part that needs repair or replacement.

I could see how this ‘mechanical’ way of approaching health was missing such an important piece, leading to more illness and disconnection in so many people around me. 

Ultimately, the main Catalyst for THE WOOED was a desire to empower people, particularly women, to feel confident in making more intuitive decisions with their health. We’ve lived in a patriarchy society for thousands of years that has seeked to extinguish women’s sovereignty in so many ways… To me, THE WOOED represents a return and embodiment of this feminine wisdom. I believe there is no healer more powerful than our individual selves. When we tune into our intuition and connect with the natural world around us, the answers we seek are usually very clear.

W: In 2019, I reached the peak of my burnout, which was an accumulation of decades of conscious and unconscious stress. I was working a demanding job and not prioritising rest. From that came a multitude of symptoms — hormonal imbalances, irregular cycle, skin breakouts, brain fog, fatigue — all the classic symptoms associated with burnout. It got to a point where I realised that the work I was doing wasn’t actually making me happy. In fact, it was making me sick.

So I knew, at that moment, that I needed to make a change in my life because my health was — and still is — the most important thing to me. I left my job and took some time off work to rest and heal. During that time, I went deep into Homeopathy, Herbalism, TCM Ayurveda, working with practitioners and studying these traditional medicine systems myself. That was the journey that led me to herbalism and eventually to discovering the combination of herbs that have now become our Seize the Day capsules.

W: At the peak of my burnout, I started incorporating certain herbs into my daily routine — herbs like Ashwagandha and Bacopa — to help support my energy and mental clarity. I was experiencing intense fatigue and brain fog, and these herbs became a gentle but powerful part of my recovery process.
Overtime I worked with different herbs that came to me either through my studies or healers I was working with. I experimented with many myself and let my intuition guide most of my healing process. Eventually landing on a particular blend of 5 key Adaptogen & Nervine herbs that I was noticing such a difference from. My energy and stress levels had improved so much, my cycle was regular for the first time in about 10 years and I felt like my brain was finally back online. 

Later, I discovered that this particular combination of herbs has been used traditionally for their synergistic qualities — each one enhancing the effects of the others, so as together they created something more powerful than the herbs individually (sounds like a great analogy, right). This all felt like such a powerful confirmation of what I had already been experiencing first-hand through my own healing journey.

So I guess, how it came together really was through self-inquiry and experience with the herbs, feeling the benefits they had to offer, and being guided by my intuition, teachers and practitioners I was working with at the time. That really shaped the formulation of the Seize the Day capsules.

W: One of the core values of The Wooed has always been self-sovereignty and the belief that we are our own healers. The body is intelligently designed to be a self-healing organism. This self-healing process is only hindered when something blocks its natural rhythm.

With THE WOOED, I want to bring awareness to the root cause of dis-ease — in our bodies and in a greater sense, the Earth — which I believe is this fundamental disconnection. So the core philosophy and values of The Wooed are around rebuilding that connection to the Earth and therefore, ourselves. Through THE WOOED I hope to inspire awareness of the interconnectedness and intelligence of the natural world  — when we remember that, we find true healing.

The Wooed came to me through my grandmother and maternal lineage. The nature of herbalism itself is so deeply connected with the feminine, with the cycles of creation. Those are also core values that I aim to weave through everything we do within The Wooed. Empowering women to create and express themselves — in whatever form that looks like — is something I care deeply for.

W: We’ve recently switched from creating everything in-house to now working with an amazing herbalist in Victoria. She grows 80% of the herbs we use in her own garden using organic farming practices, and that’s really important to us. I truly believe the energy, potency, magic that plants have to offer starts in the soil, in the love they’re given from seed - through the alchemical process - into the finished product.
Everything we source is guided by our philosophy of respect for nature and the purity of the process, so we can bring through the healing energy these plants and products offer. 

We’re now working with some beautiful Ayurvedic Artisans in India, that carry out the entire oil extraction and infusing process in-house. They know the farmers that grow each plant so we can trace the entire production back to the soil. They care deeply for the medicine they’re making — a care and knowledge that has been passed on and deeply ingrained through generations.

There is so many chemicals, toxins, and microplastics in our daily lives now — from the water we drink, the air we breathe, the food we eat. It’s so important to have products we can turn to and trust — knowing they’ve been created with integrity, and that what we’re putting into our bodies is healing us rather than harming us.
That’s how I want to live my life, and what I hope to offer others.
It’s something I’m deeply passionate about and will always be a core value of The Wooed.

W: My current goal is to treat my whole life as a ritual and honestly I require it for my mental health *haha. 
They help break up my day and set the tone for anything I’m entering into — whether that’s meditating, making a tea, body oiling, lighting an incense or moving my body — what we’re really doing is setting containers for ourselves to be fully present in the moment. In that, we can live life to the fullest — instead of constantly thinking, “I’m meant to be here,” or, “I should be doing that.”
My rituals are always changing depending on how I’m feeling, where I’m at in my cycle, and what season we’re in — but having them always allows me to feel way more balanced, grounded and clear.

W: At the moment — and for a while now — I’ve felt particularly called to Cacao. Anybody that watches my Instagram probably knows I have a mild addiction.
Cacao is medicine for the heart. In traditional Peruvian culture, they have a saying along the lines of “Cacao comes out of the jungle when humans are in need of opening their hearts and minds." I feel that’s so true right now. We’re seeing Ceremonial Cacao coming through in all these different ways, at a time it’s so greatly needed.

It came into my life through a dear friend as I was transversing some big life shifts. It’s allowed me to move through so much with an open heart, to feel all the feelings, express them, and let them go.
Before I drink Cacao, I love to set an intention. I often do this with my partner — we pull a card and connect, share ideas or whatever we’re feeling. I love the connection it brings and the conversations it opens.  I think this is happening for so many of us, even when we don’t realise it — how often do we show we love someone through the gift of chocolate? 
Cacao represents love. I just find that so beautiful.

W: I try to work very intuitively, while still having a loose structure around my week. That gives me time to ebb and flow with the cycles of life while still feeling like I’m moving forward and showing up for my business.
That flexibility allows me to show up in a way that’s more energised and purpose-driven. It’s not something I “need” to do. I don’t think of what I do as work — it’s an extension of myself and what I’m here to offer the world.
For it to continue feeling that way, it needs to be created from a space of joy and fun — not obligation. So I try to allow spaciousness to receive the downloads and information that help me propel it forward.

W: Well, I’m a double Gemini — so slowness is not a word in my vocabulary, nor do I wish for it to be (that’s a joke, kind of). Honestly, it’s still something I’m working on.

When you feel so passionate about what you do, it’s easy to get lost in it — to keep going. You don’t realise until you hit burnout or frustration that you haven’t fully allowed yourself to rest. Those are the signals I now look for. They tell me “Hang on. Take a step back. Go lie on the grass. Go lay in the sun by the water. Recharge.”

So much changed for me when I finally understood the concept of ‘we are the architects of our own reality’. I’ve consciously restructured my whole life over the last 5 years so that I no longer work 8 hours per day. I have space to create, to enjoy life and I’m much less driven by fear or lack. I think when that mindset switches for you, naturally rest becomes an ally rather than an obstacle.

I’m also really grateful for my partner, who constantly reflects back to me when I’m not showing up for myself and encourages me to rest, slow down, and just be. That always helps. We’ve actually just decide to spend a few months in the Himalayas for some much needed rest which I’m really looking forward to.

W: My hope is that people experience a deeper sense of themselves — of vitality and truth — and what our incredible bodies and minds are capable of. I hope that this connection to nature, to ourselves, to our souls, helps facilitate a deeper awareness and transcendence from patterns and ways of being that have limited us, so we can move forward, individually and collectively, toward a future of love and freedom.
Ultimately, I want all people — particularly women — to feel empowered to make their own decisions around health and to feel confidently guided through life by their intuition. I know so much expansion will come from this space.

W: The first thing that comes to mind is a topic I’ve been sitting with a lot lately — the notion of polarity and the idea that multiple things can be true at once. That’s something I love to embrace and love seeing others embrace too.

So I guess, how I’d answer this question is: although I’m a herbalist, I don’t actually feel called to have my hands in the Earth, growing and planting myself — at this stage of my life. At the moment I’m more drawn to the alchemical and spiritual side of herbalism. 
Funnily enough, I’m about to pack up and move to the city. I never thought that would be a place I could see myself, because I’ve always valued being close to nature. But right now, I feel really strongly that I want to be in a more urban environment. I want to be around people. I want to feel the buzz and the energy that comes with that — which probably isn’t something you’d typically associate with a herbalist. There are seasons for everything, and I trust I’m being called to this one for a reason.