“Protect us and walk us through the apocalypse.”
I’m sitting in a circle of plastic chairs in a small studio space on a Battersea estate in south London, intoning a chant to protect our group, and by extension the world, from the ravages of the climate crisis. We’re each clutching a ‘smudge stick’ – a bundle of herbs selected for their magical and healing properties created under the supervision of Ayesha Tan Jones, the creator of the cheekily named ‘Apocalypse Survival Skool.’
I’ve chosen thyme for its powers to strengthen memory and rosemary for its ability to heal discord. We’ve also included a bay leaf in our sticks, on which we’ve written a simple intention, prompted by the question of how to build new myths to help us survive ecological collapse.
