Circle Beads

Circle Beads

This prayer method was developed by Donald Engstrom, a Reclaiming Teacher, and is presented in The Pagan Book of Living and Dying, co-written and edited by Starhawk, M. Macha Nightmare & The Reclaiming Collective (Harper 1997), pp. 40-44. This is an excellent and highly recommended book. Copper Stewart learned the practice from Midian.

Engstrom writes, "I usually sit in my most comfortable chair, breath deep, and ground. I speak my prayers out loud as I slowly move the beads through my fingers one at a time." On construction of a set, he says "I string my prayer beads as I would a necklace. Some folks do not connect the ends, allowing the beads to create spirals, zigzags, and other patterns. I have seen many different colors and textures used to represent many different directions, beings, and prayers. I find that using repetitive pattersn, words, colors, and so on is very effective. I try to remember, when I design a set of prayer beads, that poetry and prayer go together."

I have been using this method as a regular morning centering/devotional practice and find it very helpful. I have adapted prayers from Engstrom, Midian and M. Macha Nightmare. This is a highly adaptable prayer form. I have also added beads of personal relevance and have deleted beads that do not resonate with me. Links to the prayers used by Midian and Macha are included below. I have called these "circle" beads because, in the way Engstrom, Midian and I use them, one casts a circle, invokes the Gods and spiritual allies, and closes the circle. Macha appears to use the beads as a tool for working with the aspects of deity and I may make a second set following her model, using them in my case to inhance my work with the Goddess Gaia. I include a photo of my set (above) and the prayers I use for each bead. I have used large wooden beads, about the size of a nickel, and have painted them with colors and symbols appropriate to the meaning of each bead. I have strung them in a circle on hemp (for me, it is important to preserve the symbolism of the circle. I also suspect that a connected strand can contain energy more effectively than a string).

To create beads of your own, look at the models provided by me and by the folk I've linked to. Then simply choose or create beads that reflect the kinds of prayers you'd like to utter when you use the beads. Instead of using all the colors I do, you may want to use only the five elements/directions, invoke angelic powers, use a medicine wheel model, or invoke the stations of the kabbalistic tree of life or the Norse world tree. As Engstrom suggests, you may want to string the beads in sacred space--perhaps while reciting the prayers or other words of power. It wouldn't hurt to charge and consecrate the beads. I'd be glad to answer any questions. Just email me!

Copper's CircleBead Prayers

I honor the diversity of life in which I dwell and which dwells within me.

I honor the Keeper of the Threshold, the Guardian of Boundaries.. I honor Sri Ganesha.

Bead of Intention (state prayerful/magical purpose of this recitation).

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor the black. I honor the wild realm of all possibilities.

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor the indigo. I honor the Borderlands and the Edge Walkers.

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor the yellow. I honor the Guardians of the East, providers of clear thought and of the air that is my breath.

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor the red. I honor the Guardians of the South, providers of health and of the blood that flows in my veins.

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor the blue. I honor the Guardians of the West, providers of cleansing and of the waters that bring all life.

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor the brown. I honor the Guardians of the North, providers of stability and of the Earth which is my homeplace.

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor the purple. I honor the Guardians of Spirit, providers of sustenance through desire and enlightenment.

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor the grey. I honor the mineral realms.

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor the green. I honor the botanical realms.

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor the orange. I honor the zoological realms.

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor the pink. I honor Manifestation: the making and the unmaking.

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor the Spirits and Keepers of this Land. I honor Turtle Island; May balance be restored. I honor Appalachia; May the mountains be safe and whole.

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor my ancestors and the Gods of my ancestors, known and unknown from throughout the world.

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor my spiritual allies and helpers. I honor Jeanne D'Arc.

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor the Earth Mother. I honor Gaia.

I honor the All-Mother. I honor Isis of Many Names.

I honor the Transforming Mother. I honor Kali Ma.

I honor the Lord of the Greenwood. I honor the Horned God.

I honor the Lord of Poise. I honor Shiva.

I honor the Liberator, the Queer God who loves me beyond all reason and without limitation.

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

I honor my Beloved Dead. May we be together again in Paradise.

I honor Sharon Kay Neal Stewart. May your youth and faith remind me of value of life. May your pure spirit work through me and call to mind the lasting power of small actions.

I honor Sufi. May your great love, friendship and trust ever warm my heart and teach me to extend compassion and equality to all sentient beings.

I honor Charles Oley Stewart. May your love, strength and knowledge of the old ways inspire me for ever. Show me how to live in balance, to love my family, and to be responsible for my own life.

I honor my Beloved Dead. May we be together again in Paradise

I dare to live free and grounded. I dare to embody truth, balance and beauty.

Farewell to the pink. Farewell to Manifestation.

Farewell to the orange. Farewell to the zoological realms.

Farewell to the green. Farewell to the botanical realms.

Farewell to the gray. Farewell to the mineral realms.

Farewell to the purple. Farewell to the Guardians of Spirit.

Farewell to the brown. Farewell to the Guardians of the North.

Farewell to the blue. Farewell to the Guardians of the West.

Farewell to the red. Farewell to the Guardians of the South.

Farewell to the yellow. Farewell to the Guardians of the East.

Farewell to the indigo. Farewell to the Borderlands and Edge Walkers.