Maya Hawke Reveals Mother's 'Witch-Adjacent' Herbal Remedies

Maya Hawke has revealed the unconventional wellness practices her mother Uma Thurman instilled in her from childhood, describing them as decidedly mystical yet grounded in a deep reverence for nature and herbal remedies.

The 27-year-old actress discussed her upbringing during the Thursday, June 4 episode of NPR's "Wild Card" podcast, offering insight into the nature-focused household maintained by her Academy Award-nominated mother.

"My mother really taught me to love and respect nature and to, like, love gardening and being in nature and to love thinking about, like, herbal remedies to things," Hawke explained during the podcast. "Like, you know, you get a cold, and she would make me a pineapple skin tea because the pineapple [has] enzymes in the pineapple skin are good for getting rid of your cold. It's stuff like that that's just sort of, like, witch-adjacent."

The actress was quick to clarify the nature of these practices, emphasizing their gentle, practical approach rather than anything stereotypical or dramatic. "You know, like, slightly [witchy]. We're not bubbling over it," she added, later noting that the practices amount to "light Wiccanry" rather than anything that "could potentially get you burned at the stake."

Thurman, 56, shares Maya and son Levon, 24, with ex-husband Ethan Hawke. Both parents have since had additional children from other relationships, creating a blended family dynamic that Maya has previously characterized in colorful terms.

While Thurman introduced her daughter to herbal remedies and nature-based practices, Maya described her father Ethan as "magic in a different way." The 55-year-old actor expressed his creativity through elaborate treasure hunts and scavenger hunts during her childhood, complete with hand-painted watercolor maps. "He's, like, crafty and magical, but he's not witchy," the Stranger Things alum explained.

The actress painted a vivid picture of her mother's dedication to gardening and natural living, revealing that Thurman's professional acting career was largely invisible to her as a child. "Most of the time I spent with my mother, she was barefoot in our garden on her knees, like, picking stinging nettles to make soups out of, which is also another incredible herbal remedy for what ails you," Maya told NPR.

The mention of stinging nettles prompted Maya to express particular enthusiasm for this seasonal delicacy. She noted the difficulty of sourcing the ingredient, especially in New York City, where Union Square farmers market represents one of the few reliable sources. "It's my favorite soup, and it's so hard to get stinging nettles, and you can only get them, like, really this time of year," she explained, adding that the ingredient requires blanching to remove its stinging properties before consumption.

Wicca, the spiritual tradition Maya referenced, represents a non-Pagan religion drawing inspiration from extinct pre-Christian European religious practices. Practitioners often engage in witchcraft within organized groups known as covens, though the Thurman-Hawke approach appears far more individualized and focused on practical herbal knowledge.

The actress's reflections underscore a growing cultural interest in traditional herbal remedies and nature-based wellness practices, particularly among younger generations seeking alternatives to conventional medicine. Her description of these family traditions as "a witchy love of nature and a love of herbal remedies and kind of different sorts of medicines for what ails you" captures a holistic approach to health that emphasizes prevention and natural ingredients over pharmaceutical interventions.