Jade (she/her) is a white settler trans woman who came to Chinese medicine after 8 years of work in activist communities where she honed collectivist values and observed a shared need to address our physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies alongside liberation work for the social body.

Moving to Victoria from Alberta to start on this path, Jade started studying Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) at Pacific Rim College in the Fall of 2017 and earned her Diploma of Acupuncture in December 2020. She has been licensed to practice acupuncture in this province since December 2021.

As a student of this medicine, Jade is interested in the ways in which the Daoist philosophy underpinning Chinese medicine and classical Chinese medical texts makes space for identities, bodies, minds, and hearts unrecognizable to mainstream Western culture. Part of this exploration has led her to undertaking mentorship as a Balance System Acupuncture certified practitioner under Shīfu Dr. Sonia Tan. She completed the formal certification in April 2025, but the mentorship provided by BSA instructors is a lifelong path.

As a trans woman, during a time when the rights of trans people and many other oppressed people are being offered up as sacrifices upon the altar of fear and division, Jade is particularly interested in how acupuncture and Chinese medicine can be accessed as an effective and financially accessible form of health care to fill in the gaps that many of us experience when engaging with the conventional medical system. She intends to provide a space where people can be seen and held in their unique embodied humanity while taking care of their earthly form and all its needs and intricacies.

She is also deeply passionate about the role acupuncture – and community acupuncture in specific – can play in helping communities and individuals to be more engaged in their own health care, and more aware of- and connected to their own bodies/hearts/minds/spirits. Jade finds the profoundly accessible, effective, and minimally invasive medicine we practice to be a radical intervention in the health of our culture as a whole.

Jade (she/her) is a white settler trans woman who came to Chinese medicine after 8 years of work ... Read More

Christina (she/her) is a first generation, Hong Konger-Canadian originally from the Greater Toronto Area, the traditional territory of the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Anishinaabeg and since 2005, has been a visitor on the unceded territories of the Lekwungen peoples.

She is a Community Acupuncturist, grassroots organizer-educator, Aikidoka, lupus survivor and high functioning spoonie. In 2006, Christina became certified as an National Acupuncture Detox Association (NADA) provider. In 2009, she completed her training as a Registered Acupuncturist at the Canadian College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (CCAOM) in Victoria, BC.

Christina is a Balance Method practitioner, training in the system since 2010, initially with the late Dr. Richard Teh-Fu Tan, followed by Si Yuan Balance Acupuncture based in the EU and in November 2023 completed the 9 level Balance System Acupuncture certification with Gold Level certified Dr. Sonia Tan, based in Vancouver, BC. Currently, she is part of a 2 year mentorship in the 8 Extraordinary Vessels with the esteemed Dr. Yvonne Farrell.

Active in the community, she is passionate about using acupuncture as a tool for positive social change through providing outreach, increasing accessibility and bringing the practice back to its traditional roots. She continues to explore her own personal experiences as a woman of colour living with chronic illness who is intentionally testing the limits of what is possible living in a semi-disabled body, Asian diaspora, working class organizer-educator, and founder of an unorthodox social enterprise in Lekwungen Territories, otherwise known as Victoria BC.

Christina (she/her) is a first generation, Hong Konger-Canadian originally from the Greater Toron... Read More

Em (they/them) is a white, queer, non-binary community herbalist, gender-affirming voice teacher, farmer, singer, and medicine maker. They grew up in Qualicum Beach on unceded Qualicum, Snaw-naw-as and K’ómoks First Nations territory and their ancestry is French, Irish and German. Em grew up spending lots of time in the garden and forest, but only started building deeper relationships with plants when chronic illness came knocking, and they realized they wouldn’t be receiving the support they needed from the medical system.

Em’s herbal training began with self study, local plant walks, and a beginner herbalism weekend with the Wild Seed School in 2016. By 2018 they were deep in the weeds and started Ravensong Seeds & Herbals 9-month apprenticeship program, after which they swiftly moved to the island, started an internship, and spent the next two years on the farm - making and bottling medicine, growing herbs, collecting and processing seeds, and generally immersing themself in the world of plants. 

Seeking to dive deeper, they enrolled in the year-long Community Herbalist Program with Now and Then Herb School in 2023, and since then have been continuing their education and learning about gender-affirming herbal support through trainings with Ayelet Hashachar and Ember Peters. Em approaches herbalism through the lens of their lived experience living with fatigue, chronic pain, frequent illness and lowered immunity. As a community herbalist, Em is here is to offer support, validation, resources, knowledge, and care. They are here to offer herbal and holistic invitations, while also reminding people of ways in which they are already taking care of themselves. As a white settler on stolen land, Em actively works to unpack their privilege and learn about how they can further decolonize their approach to medicine and their plant kin. They believe no one is free until we are all free, and their politics and values very much inform their herbal practice. 

Elsewhere you can find Em making and formulating medicine as Moonseed Herbals, and teaching singing and gender-affirming speech lessons through Sweet Flag Voice Studio. Em also loves being creative with textiles, and performs as a vocalist in a variety of projects.

Em (they/them) is a white, queer, non-binary community herbalist, gender-affirming voice teacher,... Read More

Andie (they/them) is a white settler raised on Treaty 6 Territories, lands held by our Denendeh, Cree, Metis, Tsuut’ina, Woodland Cree, Blackfoot, Plains Cree, and Stoney relatives. They now reside as a grateful guest on the unceded traditional territories of the Lekwungen People, W̱SÁNEĆ People, Te’mexw Member Nations, Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla Nations (Territory locations provided by www.native-land.ca). These relatives are only some of the Coast Salish Nations that have stewarded this land for us to enjoy, and it is a privilege to provide reparations to these nations.

Raised in what many would call an unstable home, Andie often felt uncertain about who they were and where they were supposed to be going. As the eldest of three siblings in an economically disadvantaged home with a chronically ill parent, Andie began their role of caregiver at a very young age. Andie strives to extend their care to others through their practice at Queer Keratin.

Completing a diploma in Theatre Production and Stage Management in 2015, Andie was deeply involved in the independent arts scene in the city of Edmonton. This time in their life exposed them to a diversity of backgrounds, interests, and ways of being. Despite this exposure, it still took many years for Andie to fully embrace their own identity.

Upon moving to lək̓ʷəŋən territory later in 2015, Andie was able to heal away from the home they grew up in. This move created a safe path for one of their younger siblings to come to Victoria in the following years as well. This was a time of deepening spirituality and connection to community. They developed a stronger sense of identity separate from that of their childhood. However, their inner child is still an important and powerful influence on their life today. It was in this time that Andie was introduced to the world of organizing, mutual aid, and community care.

After having a child of their own, coming out as non-binary, and changing their marital status, Andie is now reaching out to the community to offer their skills. This is a new and experimental time in Andie’s life, but their years of experience in childcare, hospitality, and the service industry have situated them well to enter into this practice safely and professionally.

Andie is neurodivergent, meaning they are creative, multifaceted, and knowledgeable on many topics. They aim to reduce barriers to the basic and necessary care that every human should have access to.

Highly compassionate, their care will strive to be as sterile and safe as possible for all clients. Andie is not a licensed medical professional. They are a fellow human, and as their practice grows they wish to show sensitivity to your needs while helping you feel safe and comfortable in your skin.

Andie (they/them) is a white settler raised on Treaty 6 Territories, lands held by our Denendeh, ... Read More

Vic Lee (he/they) is a Trans, Nonbinary, Chinese-Canadian Tattooer, born and raised on the unceded W̱SÁNEĆ territory. They have been tattooing since 2021, in street shops and private studios. Their tattoo practice is based in kindness, consent, respect, and collaboration with their clients.

Vic aims to create a welcoming and warm environment for your tattoo appointment. Accessibility is an essential part of Vic’s tattoo practice and is thrilled to be working at Heart & Hands Health Collective, a wheelchair accessible and masked space. As well as their regular studio throughout the week.

His favourite designs to tattoo are silly, bold, bright, and colourful, although he excited to do almost any style! Custom work is always available! Not sure what you want? Vic has an extensive collection of designs available and free consultations are always available.

Along with tattooing, Vic is also a painter, specializing in reverse glass painting. When Vic is not working on art, you can find them riding their bike in the woods, walking their dog, Rizzo, or getting themselves a little treat.

Vic Lee (he/they) is a Trans, Nonbinary, Chinese-Canadian Tattooer, born and raised on the uncede... Read More

Violan(t) (she/her) was born in Barcelona, her interest for the human mind started as a teen. She studied Psychology and started her PhD in Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology. She built a solid foundation in research in mental health, and took a position as a psychologist at a Forensic Hospital. As a result of her observations at work, and due to her life experience her interest in the body grew stronger, and she decided to study shiatsu to fill her understanding of mind-body connection.

She left her career in Spain to embark on a life changing adventure. For the last 14 years she has lived in different countries while working as a shiatsu therapist while raising her two children with her partner. In her passion for understanding the connection between mind-body-soul she has expanded her studies learning foot reflexology and holistic nutrition. Violan keeps practicing community counselling towards her registration as clinical counsellor. She is currently training in Hakomi, joining her interest for the mind-body connection.

She specializes in helping people manage stress and pain by combining scientific knowledge with the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She has special interest in supporting women’s health along with the different life stages.

In her free time, she enjoys cooking healthy meals, preparing oils and lotions, and occasionally diving on S,Dáyes (Pender Island). She is grateful for living in the beautiful unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples.

Violan(t) (she/her) was born in Barcelona, her interest for the human mind started as a teen. She... Read More