Tuesday, 19th March 2019
I am dedicating this blog post about my Mourning Sacred Strand to a person I know who has just experienced the death of a significant family member.
Background to the Creation of my Mourning Sacred Strand
In the year 2000, my mother, my uncle, and one of my best friends all died within three months of each other. After this, I was lost in grief, floundering in how to mourn, and struggling to ‘return to normal’. During this time was one practice that helped lead me through this period of mourning. Prayer beads, or as I call them, Sacred Strands, are the basis of that practice. This practice started with the creation of two Sacred Strands – the primary of which is my Mourning Sacred Strand.
These events changed who I was as a person. Processing this grief is part of the reason I became more devoted to my religious practice. My grief also then motivated me in part to become a marriage and funeral celebrant. As a direct consequence of my experience with grief and trauma, and the associated realisation that we do mourning *really* badly, I was subsequently motivated to obtain my psychology degree and to look at specialising in grief and trauma.
I found The Pagan Book of Living and Dying by Starhawk, M. Macha Nightmare, and the Reclaiming Collective.
Inspiration for the Mourning Sacred Strand
In The Pagan Book of Living and Dying, I read about one practice that resonated deeply for me. The idea of creating prayer beads.
Prayer beads are a very universal practice across many cultures. Some of the most well known forms are those of the Mala, the Rosary, the Misbaha (Arabic: مسبحة mas’baha ), Tasbih or Sibha.
I will do more posts on all of these at a later stage – promise!
Donald L. Enstrom-Reese shared his Mourning Prayer Beads and I followed his guide on how to create my own. He is an extraordinary man, and I will forever be grateful to him for introducing me to this practice.
My Mourning Sacred Strand Creation and Evolution
The form I am sharing here is the form I used for nearly 15 years. However, over time, there were some aspects that did not suit the way in which my personal practice had evolved. Some years ago, my Sacred Strand broke, and I have been meditating upon the new form for the last three Samhain periods. This Winter Equinox, I believe this Sacred Strand is ready to be re-created. When that happens, I will share what I am able.
My Mourning Sacred Strand Prayer / Meditation
Lead in / Introduction
A special bead of any colour and design:
“I honour the multiverse in which I dwell and which dwells within me.”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
A black bead:
“I honour the black. I honour the Wild Realm of All Possibilities.”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
An indigo bead:
“I honour the indigo. I honour the Borderlands. I honour the Edge Walkers.”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
A brown bead:
“I honour the brown. I honour the Northern Clans.”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
A red bead:
I honour the red. I honour the Western Clans.”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
A yellow bead:
“I honour the yellow. I honour the Southern Clans”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
A blue bead:
“I honour the blue. I honour the Eastern Clans.”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
A purple bead:
“I honour the purple. I honour the Central Clans. I honour the Heart of the Spiral.”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
A grey bead:
“I honour the grey. I honour the Mineral Spheres.”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
A green bead:
“I honour the green. I honour the Botanical Spheres.”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
An orange bead:
“I honour the orange. I honour the Zoological Spheres.”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
A white bead:
“I honour the white. I honour Manifestation: the making and the unmaking.”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
A bead to represent deity:
“I honour the Mysterious Ones, the known and the unknown.”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
A special bead:
“I honour the Lady, She Who Sings In the Heart.”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
A special bead:
“I honour the Lord, He Who Dances.”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
A bead to represent the Ancestors:
“I honour the Ancestors. I honour all those whose lives have allowed me to live my own.”
Heart of the Sacred Strand: Beloved Dead & Ancestors
A special bead:
“I honour my mother; name of Beloved Dead.”
A special bead:
“I honour name of Beloved Dead.”
A special bead:
Continue until All Ancestors /Beloved Dead have been honoured and acknowledged.
BELOVED DEAD: these are people who we have known and loved in our lifetimes.
ANCESTORS:
- Ancestors of Blood – those people who are directly related to you, but whom you may not have known personally.
- Ancestors of Spirit / Culture / Art / Craft : these are people who may have been leaders or significant figures in fields that you feel a strong connection to.
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
Returning / Closing
A bead to represent deity:
“Farewell to the Mysterious Ones, Farewell to the known and the unknown.”
A white bead:
“Farewell to the white. Farewell to Manifestation: the making and the unmaking.”
An orange bead:
“Farewell to the orange. Farewell to the Zoological Spheres.”
A green bead:
“Farewell to the green. Farewell to the Botanical Spheres.”
A grey bead:
“Farewell to the grey. Farewell to the Mineral Spheres.”
A purple bead:
“Farewell to the purple. Farewell to the Central Clans. Farewell to the Heart of the Spiral.”
A blue bead:
“Farewell to the blue. Farewell to the Eastern Clans.”
A yellow bead:
“Farewell to the yellow. Farewell to the Southern Clans”
A red bead:
Farewell to the red. Farewell to the Western Clans.”
A brown bead:
“Farewell to the brown. Farewell to the Northern Clans.”
An indigo bead:
“Farewell to the indigo. Farewell to the Borderlands. Farewell to the Edge Walkers.”
A black bead:
“Farewell to the black. Farewell to the Wild Realm of All Possibilities.”
A clear bead:
“I dare to dwell in beauty, harmony, and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.”
A special bead of any colour and design:
“I honour the multiverse in which I dwell and which dwells within me.”
“As Above, So Below, As Within, So Without.”