When the World Feels Heavy, I Write to Ghosts

The world is loud right now. Not just in the news but in our bodies, our homes, our quiet moments. I’m a mom. I run a small candle business. I care deeply about the kind of world my kids are growing up in. And lately, holding all of that at once has felt… heavy.

While working on my Master's, I worked on a project about a practice that shows up across cultures and history: writing to non-human entities, gods, ancestors, spirits, imagined protectors, especially during times of distress or transition. When systems fail. When answers feel thin. When language alone isn’t enough.

For my project, I wrote letters to Rhea, the Greek goddess associated with motherhood, protection, and endurance. I wrote honestly about fear, anger, love, exhaustion, and hope. Then I did something unexpected.

I wrote back.

Writing to an entity lets you release what you’re carrying. Writing back creates space for steadiness, perspective, and compassion, often the kind we struggle to offer ourselves. You don’t have to believe in ghosts or gods for this to work. You just have to believe that your inner voice can be more than panic.

You Can Try This (No Degree Required)

If the world feels like too much right now, here’s a simple version of the practice:

1. Choose an entity. A god, an ancestor, a future version of yourself, the “mother of the world,” the version of you who isn’t exhausted.

2. Write the letter you’ve been holding in. No editing. No aesthetic. Just honesty.

3. Take a breath. Then write back. Let the voice be calm. Firm. Loving. Unafraid. Say what you wish someone would tell you.

That’s it.

No crystals required. No belief test. Just a conversation with something bigger than the moment you’re stuck in.

Fighting for a Better World Starts Small

I’m not naïve enough to think a candle or a letter fixes everything.

But I do believe that people who feel regulated, seen, and grounded make better choices for their kids, their communities, and the world they’re trying to protect.

This practice reminded me that softness and strength aren’t opposites. That care is a form of resistance. That doing something, even briefly, can keep you moving forward.

Some days, fighting for a better world looks like organizing or donating or speaking up. Some days, it looks like writing a letter to a goddess and lighting a candle after the kids are finally asleep.

Both count.

And both matter more than we’re taught to believe.

With Love,

Vanessa

xx