My name is Brandon Weston and I’m a spiritual healer, native plant herbalist, folklorist, and writer living in the beautiful Arkansas Ozark mountains. Some of the old terms I like to use include Yarb Doctor and Power Doctor. These are titles that come from within the old Ozark folk healing tradition. Yarb Doctor comes from the Ozark word "yarb" meaning a healing plant. This points to my training as an herbalist and work with the many native medicinal and edible plants of the area. Power Doctor means I also know the use of healing prayers and songs, passed down from generation to generation. More information on Ozark folk healing can be found under the "Writings" tab above. ​

My work is a living tradition. It's the work that Ozark healers have been doing for hundreds of years. You can see many different cultures and traditions represented in Ozark folkways. These beliefs and practices, much like the Ozark people who created them, are a mixture of many places, religions, and ways of life. Specific folk traditions that have had a great influence on Ozark folkways include the European "cunning craft", Cajun/Creole folk medicine, Pennsylvania German healing or Braucherei, Native American healing traditions, West African folk traditions, and Central/South American Curanderismo. Part of my work as a folklorist includes looking into all the traditions that have had such a great impact upon Ozark folkways. In looking at where these traditions intersect we can start to understand so much more about our past. While you can look at Ozark folkways and see the fingerprint of all these traditions (as well as many more) Ozark folkways are still very unique to this specific area and should be approached with that mindset. ​

I’m an Arkansan and Ozarker through and through. This is the land where I was born, the land where my parents and my grandparents were born, as well as many more of my ancestors before that. In this way, my work is my own, the spirits I honor are my own, and while my work may be seen as a part of the larger world of Southern US folk healing, there are still practices that may be unique to me as I have learned them. I hold true to all these traditions that I’ve been taught and those that have been Spirit led.