Pagan Prayer Beads: Magic and Meditation with Pagan Rosaries

This book is basic, to the point, and very informative. It is filled with personal insights and examples which give energy to the subject. The book presents a a brief history of malas or prayer strands and then techniques for making them as well as magical elements to consider when designing them. It also gives patterns for meditation/prayer strands which the author and associates have designed and created. Also included are chants or meditations for several of the designs presented in the book. Over all a very useful tool for creating meditation tools for yourself or others. A wonderful introduction into a fascinating subject.

This book is a fantastic resource for anyone who has ever considered designing his or her own prayer beads but had no idea where to start, how to work with beading wire, or which types of beads correspond to the specific purpose and/or intent. Different styles and techniques are shown (symmetrical/asymmetrical, for example) and explained in enough detail to help you through, but not enough that it becomes a substitute for your own ideas. The tone and language are uplifting and encouraging. The only thing I'd change about the book if I could would be the images. As beautiful as the images are, it would be so much more helpful to someone with little to no understanding of color correspondences to actually see specific colors in use. Even without the color images this is now one of my new favorite books - I will definitely be going back to it when I'm ready to start working a bit more with the beading wire.

PAGAN PRAYER BEADS: MAGIC AND MEDITATION WITH PAGAN ROSARIES comes from a beading expert who covers the meditative qualities of Pagan rosaries - and is the first book to do so. New Age libraries will find it an excellent and unique survey which provides explanations and keys to understanding the rituals associated with different kinds of rosary beads, covering everything from making and stringing a rosary to using it properly. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

Pagan or not, many of us see the benefits of using rosaries, malas, or prayer beads to aid in mediation, contemplation, or prayer. However, Pagan Prayer Beads illustrates that the usages of these items need not be so narrow. Prayer beads can be used in formal and informal spiritual rituals and acts but they can also be used to symbolize special connections to specific deities, to the ancestors, to memorialize loved ones, or as a remembrance of a special occasion. Essentially, your creativity is your only limit when it comes to the usages of prayer beads. In this book the emphasis is on creating prayer beads that suit your particular personality, spirituality, and needs. Throughout the text, the authors offer plenty of ideas and photographs of bead designs as well as information on animal, deity, and colour symbolism that the reader might find useful while creating his or her own prayer beads. The book also includes a variety of easy to understand step by step designs that those new to beading can follow if they aren't really ready to create their own unique prayer beads.

I'm an experienced beader, but have never ventured into making rosaries. This book is great for folks who know their way around beads, and probably for beginners too. The authors give practical advice and suggestions, as well as creative ideas for personalizing your rosary. They give detailed information about what materials to use (beads, stringing materials, crimps, etc) and good descriptions of how to make the different designs. My only minor complaint is I wish the pics had been in color (such beautiful designs, and I'm sure they would have looked even better in color), and some pictures of the actual process of making them would have been nice, especially for beginners. But overall a great book that I would definitely recommend!