There are people who challenge norms, and then there are those who reshape them. Hanna Livengood is the latter, a force of nature blending the mystical with the practical, and guiding others to reclaim their wild, sensual, and sacred selves. An herbalist, sex educator, herbal ritualist, and transformational doula, Hanna holds a degree in Holistic Sex Education from the Institute of Sexuality Education & Enlightenment and over 6 years of experience crafting herbal medicine. Through her work at Untamed Altar, she creates more than just medicine; she’s created a movement.
Untamed Altar is not your typical apothecary. It is a radical space of reclamation where science, sensuality, and spirit come together. Here, herbs are not only tools for healing but also portals to deeper self-connection, intimacy, and ancient wisdom. With an ethos rooted in rebellion and reverence, Hanna’s mission is clear: to help people become their own altar, their own healer, their own authority.
In this conversation, we dive into the lush world of plant rituals, body wisdom, and Hanna’s vision for a more embodied, empowered future. Here’s what she had to share:
- Your journey into herbalism and holistic sex education is deeply unique and layered. What sparked this path for you, and how has it evolved over time?
Growing up in rural South Carolina, I was surrounded by nature and guided by an insatiable curiosity- not just about the plants and land, but about my own body and its relationship to the world. Early on, I began working in wilderness education, deepening my understanding of the human-earth connection while also navigating complex relationships, societal shame around intimacy, and the confusing messages many of us receive about our bodies, especially as young women.
As I dove deeper into herbal medicine, it became more than physical healing- it became a spiritual practice. I noticed that certain plants, like mugwort or calendula, seemed to “speak” to me, offering insights about self-worth, love, and the nature of connection. I began to seek these plants with intention, not just for their properties, but for their wisdom.
Over time, this evolved into my life’s work: helping others use herbalism, ritual, and pleasure to remember who they are and reclaim their power.
2. Untamed Altar blends intimacy, altered states, and plant medicine—three realms not often discussed together. What does it mean to bring sensuality into herbalism, and why is it so important today?
In a culture addicted to speed, surface-level validation, and quick dopamine fixes, true intimacy- both with ourselves and others- has become increasingly elusive. We see this in the rise of social media’s obsession with performative pleasure, rising divorce rates rooted in unfulfilled relationships, and substance use as a form of escape rather than connection. Pleasure has been commodified or demonized, reduced to either taboo or trend, and rarely honored for the sacred, healing force it truly is.
At Untamed Altar, I view pleasure as something that exists beyond the bedroom, something more than a heightened state. It is slow, warm, and nourishing. It is present. To bring sensuality into herbalism is to take healing beyond physical wellness and reawaken our capacity to feel, receive, and trust ourselves.
This work is more important now than ever. In a disconnected world, returning to the body through plants, touch, and intention is revolutionary. It's how we heal shame, rebuild trust, and create a new narrative around pleasure as power.
3. Herbal medicine is often associated with remedies for physical ailments like colds or digestive issues. How do you expand that narrative through your work, and what are some overlooked powers of herbs that you wish more people understood?
Herbal medicine is often viewed through a narrow lens, primarily as a remedy for physical ailments like colds, digestive issues, or immune support. For this reason, herbs are powerful tools for preventative care, helping to fortify the body and reduce the burden on conventional systems before imbalance takes root. While herbal medicine is incredibly effective in these areas, that’s just the beginning.
One of the most profound ways herbs support us is through the nervous system- something deeply strained in today’s world. Between building careers, maintaining relationships, political unrest, and the sheer pace of modern life, many of us are living in a chronic state of stress.
Herbal medicine helps us soften. It allows us to move through life with more resilience, tenderness, and presence. And by nourishing the nervous system- the foundation of our health- we move from surviving into thriving, making space for our ambitions and desires to flourish.
I also work through a psycho-spiritual lens, exploring the subtle frequencies and energetic imprints plants carry. Just as we intuitively sense when a person’s energy feels “off,” plants emit vibrational signatures that can help shift emotional patterns, release stored trauma, and even unravel inherited ancestral imprints. These aren’t abstract ideas- they’re deeply embodied transformations that happen when we enter into a genuine relationship with the plant world.
My work is a reminder that healing is not just physical. It's emotional, spiritual, sensual, and herbal medicine holds the intelligence to meet us in all of those realms.
4. Ritual seems central to your practice. Can you share a personal moment where a plant ritual deeply transformed or surprised you? What did it teach you about yourself?
There have been ceremonies that changed my life, like when the essence of cacao pulled my voice out of hiding. It whispered to me, urging me to sing, to speak, to express. That moment cracked something open, releasing a fear that I held so tightly to. I began sharing my voice unapologetically- at potlucks, karaoke nights, and eventually a cappella at open mics.
And then there was rose-tender, fierce rose, who broke me in the softest way. She taught me that I could have boundaries and be loving. That I didn’t have to work hard to be safe. That revelation shifted the way I approached relationships, finally allowing me to feel safer being vulnerable because I finally knew how to have my own back.
But the transformations I treasure most aren’t the big, cinematic breakthroughs- they’re the quiet ones. The subtle, almost imperceptible shifts, like soul fragments slowly being stitched back together. I think of the year I spent with Rosemary, as it gently held my grief while I said goodbye to a version of myself I once loved. Or the six months I spent working with Yarrow, who taught me that empathy is powerful, but it cannot thrive in a heart that is constantly bleeding.
Plant work is like that. It’s the gardener with the 30-year plan who allows space for every bloom, or the painter who adds just one stroke a day until an image appears.
The true alchemy of plants is patient. And then, months pass, and you realize you’ve changed.
And in some ways, this mirrors life itself. We often wait for the grand rites of passage- marriage, births, deaths- to feel like transformation is happening. But life is happening now. Healing is happening now. And plants are the ritual that gently brings the magic back to the mundane.
5. You often talk about helping people become their own altar. What does that look like in daily life, and how can someone begin to reclaim their inner authority through sensual or plant-based practices?
Humans love boxes. We crave categories and clarity- ways to define ourselves and the world around us by what we are and what we are not. But the truth is, we are many things: mother, daughter, lover, friend, creator, destroyer. These roles can often feel contradictory, creating tension not only in how we are perceived by others but in how we perceive ourselves.
To be your own altar means to hold reverence for every facet of who you are, even the parts that feel paradoxical or unfinished. It’s about honoring your full complexity while allowing space for change, contradiction, and growth. This is where the untamed aspect of my work comes in because some parts of us are meant to remain wild.
Living as your own altar will look different for everyone. For some, it's daily movement or cooking nourishing meals. For others, it’s indulging in a creative hobby, reading for pleasure, or engaging in ritual. But at its heart, it’s about embodying devotion to self, flaws and all. It means letting go of shame and the pressure to be “fully formed,” and instead showing up in your messy, authentic truth. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being present and choosing to love yourself exactly as you are.
6. Looking ahead, what do you hope the lasting impact of Untamed Altar will be? How do you envision this work influencing the way we approach healing, intimacy, and community care in the future?
At its core, Untamed Altar is about reclamation of the body, of intuition, of connection, and of pleasure as a sacred, healing force. I envision a cultural shift: away from shame, suppression, and performance, and toward authenticity, embodiment, and reverence. I want people to remember that healing doesn’t have to be clinical or sanitized- it can be sensual, creative, and deeply personal. Pleasure isn’t a distraction from healing; it’s one of the most powerful ways into it.
This reclamation extends not only to those who have been historically marginalized- women, children, disabled and neurodivergent people, people of color- but also to the more-than-human world. The plants, animals, and ecosystems we’ve ignored or exploited are reflections of the parts of ourselves we’ve learned to silence. How we treat the natural world mirrors how we speak to our own bodies, needs, and desires. Healing our relationship with ourselves requires healing our relationship with everything we’re in connection with.
I imagine a future where pain and pleasure can coexist, where radical self-honesty feels just as safe as the coping mechanisms we’ve clung to. A future where messy, unfiltered authenticity becomes a portal to empowerment and vulnerability becomes an act of devotion, not only to others, but to ourselves. One where we remember that the deepest intimacy we can experience is rooted in our interconnectedness- with each other, with the earth, and with our own truth.
If Untamed Altar leaves behind anything, I hope it’s this: a living blueprint for how to inhabit the world with more trust, more depth, more beauty- and a reminder that coming home to yourself is the most revolutionary act of all.