A while back, I described the set of prayer beads I have and the words I use with them. It’s my habit to go through the entire set and then hold them quietly and address the gods directly — someones one at a time, sometimes in groups.
That, to me, is what prayer truly is — speaking to the Holy Ones as if They were sitting right beside me. I see nothing disrespectful about this, for it is my experience that the Northern gods, at least, do not generally stand on ceremony with Their followers unless there’s a damn good reason. Therefore, I feel comfortable addressing Them in a familiar sort of way, although I do generally refer to each of Them directly as “my Lady,” “my Lord” or by whatever other title of respect seems appropriate. So then, I asked myself recently, why am I fooling around with the beads at all if what comes afterward is the “real” praying?
What I’m really doing with my beads is more along the lines of meditation about the nature of the gods rather than speaking to Them. In other words, it’s a contemplative activity. When I say these prayers, I typically think about each god or goddess as I recite (out loud or silently) the line connected with His or Her bead, and I consider the connection between that deity’s personality and/or story, and the qualities I seek to foster in myself. For example:
In the name of Utgard-Loki, Sorcerer-King, may I know when to speak and when to remain silent.
I actually don’t have any kind of relationship with Utgard-Loki and I’ve never prayed directly to Him, but when I recite the above line I consider how, according to Gylfaginning, His cunning was evidently greater than that of both Thor and Loki combined — no small feat. I also think of what some of my more experienced friends have said of Utgard-Loki — that He is less crude and boisterous than those He rules, but His intelligence and reserve make Him more dangerous. As someone who is sometimes guilty of carelessly shooting my mouth off about things, I could stand to learn discernment. My approach to the rest of the bead prayers about other gods is much the same, even for deities I’m closer to, such as Loki and Hela.
I do find that after saying this set of prayers, I am in a much more receptive state of mind to receive true insight and perhaps even actual communication from Them than I might be otherwise. I also have an easier time speaking from the heart without letting myself get distracted. Sometimes, as I’m diligently praying through my beads, one of Them will issue the equivalent of an “ahem!” at which point I will stop and listen to what They have to say. So yes, the prayer beads are a very useful tool, besides being pretty and sparkly. There are many ways to draw closer to the world of the gods.
Hrafn has written an interesting series of essays about using Northern Tradition prayer beads on his blog. linked from the sidebar to the right.
Happy June!
I’ve made a couple of meditation strands, but haven’t used them very often. I like the way you describe your practice, and may borrow some of it to try.
I highly recommend using beads for prayer and meditation — it serves as a useful mnemonic if your pantheon happens to have lots of deities in it, it gives you something to fiddle with while contemplating, and if you leave them somewhere you’re going to see them everyday, it’s a silent reminder of their purpose, just in case you’re a forgetful type, like myself
Seriously, though, doing the bead prayers really helps me to focus and center myself, even when I’m stressed and upset, which is when we need such things the most.
I love having prayer beads, but I don’t use them in that more common ‘rosary’ way, with set prayers or repetitions for each bead. I just use them as a jumping off point for the type of “real praying” you were talking about – speaking with the gods directly as if They were right next to me. Which of course I can do on my own, but the beads are a good way for me to make sure I am addressing all my gods and spirits at least briefly on a regular basis (with a lot of different relationships going on simultaneously, it is sometimes hard to keep that balance).
I resisted doing prayer beads for a long time (didn’t want to just jump onto a fad), but am really glad I ended up making them.
I’ve never regretted having mine
I’m all for anything that gets us Pagans to pray more, whether it’s beads or some other tool.
G. gifted me with a set of Wodinic prayer beads at my wedding in December. I almost have them memorized, but they’re very comforting to hold and say quietly at night.
It took me forever to memorize all of mine. Sometimes I still get the prayers for Ran and Aegir’s daughters confused
I’m still working on memorizing mine, hence why I started this “ring around the prayer beads” on my blog: a way of making sure I would rehearse them.