***all photos by me - credit properly if used***

I don't know about you guys, but it's all got a bit too apocalyptic on planet earth recently.

Over the last week alone here in Nepal, we had forest fires, a blood red full moon, new lockdowns and all sorts of other spooky omens (see my photo below).

Our international "pestilence" is yet to subside. There's been earthquakes, hail the size of golf balls and even plagues of locusts across Africa. There's a distinct hint of Exodus up in here, am I right?

But, fear not, my sensitive souls, the apocalypse has been predicted many times, and seemingly prevented many times too.

Alongside the Mayans, Edgar Cayce, Charles Manson, Botticelli and Christopher Columbus, there's been a fair few unlikely prophets (and many many more) and I'm not looking to become one of them.

But I am looking for ways to soothe our collective fears.

 Unedited image of me during the Scorpio full moon and forest fires in the Annapurna region of Nepal - apocalyptic right?

Offerings as emotional healing

Recently, a 1,000yr old, Viking ritual cave was discovered in Iceland. Amongst the offerings were hoards of gemstones, ornate beads from faraway lands, and hundreds of animal sacrifices.

Apparently, the Vikings who made all these lavish offerings had just witnessed a devastating volcanic eruption that covered 90 square miles.

They were shook. Suddenly their world didn't seem so safe anymore.

Sound familiar?

Collectively, we have been living through extreme conditions, uncertainty and fear.

Like the Vikings, we are at risk of PTSD and other anxieties. It's a lot to process. But the difference is that we tend to deal with our trauma alone, whereas the Vikings took it higher and petitioned the gods.

These Vikings feared "the reckoning" was imminent, just as many of us do now, and yet, here we all are.

This made me feel a lot better, whether their offerings were the reason for our current existence or not, there is definitely something to be said about the power of ritual.

Candle petitions in Kathmandu, Nepal

Petitioning the gods

Those of you who are familiar with my work will know that I'm big into making offerings to divine. I believe it's something we've really lost (and missed) in the west.

Living in Nepal and India, we make offerings all the time.

It's part of our everyday life to offer a little incense or fruit, some of the food we're about to eat or even a song or dance on a good day.

In Religion and the Clinical Practice of Psychology, K. Pargament wrote “Relatively little attention has been paid to religious rituals by psychiatrists and mental health professionals. However, rituals may offer one way of coping with difficult life situations.”

Certainly, volcanic eruptions and global pandemics fit the bill?

River Ganges - She who receives millions of offerings

So why ritual?

For me, ritual has been a way to practice gratitude. When I am thankful for the things I do have, I feel more at peace with the things I don't. There is a certain subconscious reframing involved. I get to focus on positivity, and that makes me feel positive.

In addition, ritual requires us to suspend our disbelief for a moment and take part in something surreal. It allows us to live in two worlds, one where we are supported, connected, divine, and one where we are not.

That gap is bridged with more than magical thinking, it's the action in ritual that is important. When you give thanks or light a candle, you are creating a reality for yourself where there is something more, something meaningful, and that's really encouraging.

But mostly, I find it gives us a sense of control.

 A woman and a cow doing morning puja in Varanasi, India

Ritual helps with control freak-ism

I'll hold my hand up here and admit that I am a control freak. Chaos and uncertainty send me running to hide in my bed, and loud noises or commotion make my head spin.

I like peaceful environments and plans that run on time. I like predictability and people who I understand. I like to know what I'm doing today and tomorrow and I like everybody to be on the same page here with me so that I can relax knowing it's all going smoothly.

I know. Bonkers.

But ritual has been the single most effective remedy for my need to control.

When life gives me lemons, instead of spiraling, I ask divine to send me some lemonade (with a tiny sparkly umbrella please).

When I feel the void of desolate blackness and panic start to suck me in, I offer it up to divine along with some of my favourite incense and I remember that all is well. Divine will show me the way.

 Me, about to make an offering of sweets in Ayodhya, India, the birthplace of Lord Ram

Emotional boundaries

J. Jacobs writes in Religious Ritual and Mental Health, “Ritual allows for the recognition of emotional distress, providing secure boundaries in which to relive and experience emotional pain and suffering.”

Funerals and christenings are the two most obvious rituals that we all perform. Birth and death, of course, the most emotional times of life.

Cremation ceremony at Pashupatinath Temple, Nepal

The emotion of someone close to us dying can be so powerful, that without these rituals to contain and transmute the suffering, we are simply left with it. Sat awkwardly holding our pain like a burning hot potato we're desperate to pass on.

And if we're not self-aware enough, we'll end up passing it to someone we love. How many of us can say we haven't projected pain at our loved ones before? Not many.

When we have a supportive ritual practice, we literally pass the pain on to divine.

We are allowed to feel it all and then it is taken from us.

I've seen the cremation grounds in Varanasi and Kathmandu, people spend several days performing rituals powered by grief and pain.

Then afterwards they go back to their homes and they eat and they sleep and they carry on.

C'est la vie. Right?

 Cremations at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi

How can we make offerings too?

You were born to perform rituals, you are a child of divine, no matter where you come from.

Every time you brush your teeth or tidy your room, you are performing ritual. Every time you wear your "lucky pants" or partake in a family dinner. All ritual.

And of course, making offerings to divine can be as easy and creative as you want. It can be simple, like those above, or magical and elaborate like your friendly neighborhood witch. Yes, she's making offerings too, day and night.

But one tip for it to really work for your mental health: Don't overthink it. Just do it.

Make an offering every day. Light some incense, offer a flower, a sweet, a fruit, a candle, a drawing, a song. Even offer up your sadness and your anxiety itself if you feel so inclined.

Just stay away from the animal sacrifice ok. It wasn't cool when the Vikings did it and it's definitely not a required component of ritual worship.

Ladies making offerings at Buddhanilkantha Temple, Nepal

How do I know it's working?

So as a final thought: how do you know if your offering has been accepted?

Well, you'll start to feel lighter, more inspired and less strung-out.

You'll notice little miracles and strange and beautiful blessings.

You'll no longer feel afraid, stressed or confused, you'll trust that divine is always guiding you.

And of course, every day we continue living on planet earth, apocalypse-free, we'll know that the gods have heard your prayers. Thanks guys.

What do you think?

Love + magic,

Ellie xoxo

Ps. Sign up to my email list to get my weekly medicine letters - just add your email below and I'll send you my free ritual guide to get you started...