Thursday 20 April 2017

Singing My Prayer Beads

Most prayer beads are recited using spoken prayers. However, I prefer to use sung prayers (chants) with my Triple Goddess prayer beads. The chants I picked for this purpose are some favourite beloved chants used at my Women's Drumming and Goddess Chanting Circle which I facilitated for 13 years here in Edmonton. But I learned these chants many, many years earlier.


For the Alpha and Omega:

To start and to complete the prayer beads ritual, I sing the beautiful chant There is a Secret One Inside three times at the Alpha commencement point and then later, three times at the Omega endpiece. I learned this chant about 25 years ago from a witch in North End Winnipeg. The chant's bead imagery is perfect for this ritual!

There is a Secret One inside:
All the stars in all the galaxies
Slip through Her hands like beads.

To hear the chant, click the mp3 link here.

For the Turquoise Separator Stones:

At each turquoise stone, I sing this chant once. We All Come From the Goddess is the first modern goddess chant ever written, composed by the Dianic witch Z Budapest in 1970. It's also the first goddess chant I ever heard and learned about 30 years ago. Its imagery of the Goddess as a vast Ocean and humans as tiny drops of rain coming from and returning to Her is so appropriate for these water-blue beads.

We all come from the Goddess
And to Her we shall return,
Like a drop of rain,
Flowing to the ocean.

Here is a short rendition of the chant so you can hear what it sounds like:



For the Maiden, Mother, Crone Beads:

I sing the appropriate verse of the Triple Goddess Chant for every bead of its corresponding Goddess sequence. In other words, each verse is sung nine times in succession. Not only does each verse honour one aspect of the Triple Goddess, it also incorporates the moon phase imagery for that aspect.

1. For each bead of the Maiden sequence:

Holy Maiden Huntress
Artemis, Artemis --
New Moon,
Come to us!

The Greek Moon Goddess Artemis is the twin sister of the Greek Sun God, Apollo. She is forever unmarried and untamed, living wild in the forests of Mount Olympus with her band of female huntresses, all wearing short tunics and short hair. Uh-huh, sistah! Her Roman equivalent is Diana.


2. For each bead of the Mother sequence:

Silver Shining Wheel
Of Radiance, Radiance --
Mother,
Come to us!

This verse invokes the power of the Full Moon rather than a specific Goddess.


3. For each bead of the Crone sequence:

Ancient Queen of Wisdom
Hekate, Hekate --
Old One,
Come to us!

Hekate is the Greek Goddess of the Crossroads, so ancient that She predates the deities of Mount Olympus. She was the only one willing to help Demeter find her daughter Persephone who was abducted by Hades. Hekate alone was powerful enough to descend to the Underworld and return again, leading Persephone back to the surface.


I learned ever-so-slightly different words for this chant than the ones used in the following video. Traditionally, chants are taught by oral tradition, passed from one person to the next, within circles or gatherings and so small differences in words and music sometimes arise.



This concludes my series of posts about my Triple Goddess prayer beads. Bright Blessings to you for persevering through them, LOL!

[Prayer beads photo by My Rare One, 2017]

37 comments:

  1. This whole series has been pretty interesting. It's been fun getting to know more about the beads, and what they mean to you.

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  2. I loved thiese posts. The unity of nature and the energy/wisdom/power of the feminine is a wonderful focus. How different from the world today!

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  3. Thanks for the info; I know about prayer beads, but didn't know this much, all the intricacies in design and arrangement.
    And then the chants, too.
    Lovely series of posts.

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  4. now I must admit chants scare me a bit... just promise you won't chant at the break of dawn or in the wee nightly hours especially not during a full moon :) ... I know, I'm such an Antichrist...

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  5. Wonderful series and I loved to hear the chants.

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  6. These chants are beautiful! Great series.

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  7. This was cool and the chants are beautiful. Thank you for sharing them with us.

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  8. Well now I know all about your prayer beads. Thanks, Debra!

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  9. A very beautiful set of posts, Debra. Thank you for sharing your devotional habit with us. It is inspiring!

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  10. Thank you for sharing and enriching my day! You have inspired me xo

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  11. Thank you for your concern and kind words, dear Lady Debra...

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  12. It's so great that youtube has a wide range of pagan videos and music. Thanks for the history lesson and how to use the prayer beads. I have my own set too. They come in handy when I need to quiet my mind.

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  13. This is so fascinating to me. Especially the singing/chanting. This is way cooler/more interesting than anything I was raised with. It was usually just holding a rosary and feeling the Catholic Guilt™ sear through me like white hot fire.

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  14. This has been such a fabulous series of posts!! Love Z!!! One of the very first books I ever read starting out on my Path was Grandmother Moon. One of the best books ever written!

    I was named after the Goddess of the Hunt :) My parents just tossed an extra "n" in the mix for kicks and giggles....

    Thank you for sharing!

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  15. Thank you for the education!

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  16. I'm going to have a set of beads made and learn the prayers..I really love this...thanks soomuch.

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  17. Thank you for the triple posts... and the wealth of knowledge that came with them.

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  18. I will come back to listen to these as Tim is watching something. He just moved the office around so we can get the big heavy-arse air unit in. Well, not today, it's pouring. Anyway, loved reading about your prayers and chants. Be back for the music.

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  19. This is a wonderful post and I love the beads. Thank you for sharing all of this.

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  20. All this is so amazing! Goddesses are the best. I especially like Artemis! I still can't get over the beads. They are spectacular.

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  21. That was really interesting. It's always good to learn about other things. Awesome. Love the chants!

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  22. awesome post! My name is Greek from Cynthus, or Mount Cynthus from the island of Delos. Cynthia is one of the names of the moon goddess Artemis and refers to her birth on Mount Cynthus. My husband likes to call me 'goddess of the moon' .... which I'm good with - LOL

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  23. Beautiful chants..Loved this series..very informative..Thanks for sharing..

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  24. Love the chants. Thanks for the post

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  25. Thanks for sharing, very interesting.

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  26. Beautiful Debra!! Thank you for sharing all of this! Blessings!

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  27. Thanks for sharing, Debra! The chants were calming. I'm glad that you have found a spiritual path that works for you. I'm still searching. Wishing you and your Rare One a lovely weekend!

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  28. I would love for several of us to get into a circle and drum onto some swine who is back spamming.

    And yes...I met my guy online :)

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  29. You know I have to be a little careful about reading blog posts like this as I'm a Bible Bashing Baptist. I'm amazingly narrow minded for a tranny ain't I? :D

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  30. @ LL Cool Joe -- Oh, but you're my favourite BBB!

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  31. What an interesting series of posts Debra.
    I loved listening to the beautiful voice on the MP3 link.
    Keep shining my lovely friend.
    Peggy xxx

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  32. thank you for sharing something really so interesting and beautiful with us my friend!!!
    i am captivated by these prayers ,specially the first one!

    your prayers has spiritual effect which enchants the soul and uplift it magically .
    More blessings to you dear

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  33. I've refused to say the Rosary since I was nine but somehow seem to have ended up with my grandmother's rosary beads . Just holding them can be soothing .
    The chanting is beautiful and fascinating but , as with the Rosary ,I prefer to meditate on my own .

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  34. This series has been interesting. An aspect I never gave much thought to....
    Thank you! ♥

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  35. Such a beautiful practice! Thank you for sharing it with us!

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  36. Debra, I bet I'm the only one you know! Ha!

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