Fourth, the mainstreaming of Paganism has decreased the need for Pagans to define themselves by what they aren't. This has meant a lessening of wholesale rejection of the practices of other religions.

There are several reasons why people use prayer beads. First, prayer beads provide a sense of calmness and peace. When you use prayer beads, you feel closer to the gods. Also, prayer beads help you focus your thoughts during meditation. Finally, prayer beads give you a sense of spirituality and connection to nature. We also have the stories written down in the Middle Ages by monks. These present both problems and benefits, however. When people in Irish stories swear by the gods my people swear by, are they repeating an ancient Irish oath, or are they simply saying the sort of thing that the monks figured Pagans would say? We don't know. This sort of reference is inspiring, however; if not in substance, at least in style. Maybe these monks were on to something. Wiccans often use prayer beads because they are an easy way to incorporate their spirituality into their everyday lives. Pagan meditation beads can be useful for any witch or occultist looking to deepen their relationship with the gods. Though I read books on neo-Paganism, I also read books by and about ancient Paganism even more, and one thing I encountered over and over was prayer. All of the Indian Vedas were prayers. Characters in Greek tragedies prayed at the drop of a corpse. Cato provided texts of Roman prayers. And this was just in the Indo-European cultures. Spreading my net wider, I found prayers in the Americas, Africa, the South Pacific, China, Japan—everywhere people held to religions. And not only in the Abrahamic religions, as seem to be believed by many neo-Pagans.I grew up in a religious tradition where prayer was expected. We said prayers at night. We said prayers before meals. We went to church on Sunday, where there was organized prayer for adults and children alike. As a young adult I took confirmation classes where we learned meanings and techniques for prayer. I guess I took it for granted that people knew what prayer and contemplation were. They look similar to Christian prayer beads. However, they differ in one important way. Instead of having Jesus Christ at the center, pagan prayer beads feature symbols of pagan deities (or they may be simple so they can be used for any deity’s prayers). And may the blessing of the earth be on you, soft under your feet as you pass along the roads, soft under you as you lie out on it, tired at the end of day;

The main thing is to simply start praying on a regular basis. In addition to the ordinary benefits of prayer, the more you pray the less weird prayer will seem to you. This northern branch of Germanic religion, developed from the 1st century BCE, was mostly transmitted through an oral culture. As I move into fall, teach me balance. Let me know the wonders of both sounds and silences, rest and action, the temporal and spiritual. As I walk the Path of Beauty, keep my eyes on the horizon, but my feet grounded in truth. So be it.” Pagan Prayer for the Season of Winter According to a 2014 Washington Post article, Iceland seems to be a flourishing center of modern-day Norse paganism. The article stated that the Asatru Association, founded in 1972, a small religious sect devoted to Norse gods, had as many as 2,400 worshippers in its ranks.

Simply put, Paganism involves the veneration of nature and multiple Gods and Goddesses. It is often conflated with witchcraft, though not all Pagans consider themselves witches, nor do all witches consider themselves Pagan.

This prayer shall be recited over a basalt scarab, which shall be set in a gold setting, and it shall be placed inside the heart of the man (i.e., the dead) for whom the ceremonies of "opening the mouth" and of anointing with unguent have been performed. Heathens have many halls of the dead depending on what occurred during the person’s life, the most obvious being Valhalla, ruled by Odin, and Folkvangr, ruled by Freyja. OtherworldI have added commentaries to some of the prayers to explain the Pagan deities, images, and myths, and to indulge in a little theology. These commentaries also show the connection between myths, images, theology, and prayer, thereby helping you in the construction of your own prayers. I decided to forgo an explanation of neo-Paganism itself, however. There are already enough books out there that do that; I don't have much new to say on the basics. I will say, however, that I believe that Paganism is defined by its rituals rather than its beliefs, so readers will find my thoughts on the subject in the prayers. If you aren't familiar with the basics of neo-Paganism, don't worry; if you read the prayers and my commentaries, you will find the explanations you need. In other words, beads of the same color are separated by one spacer. The three sets of beads and the larger Sun bead are separated by four spacers. Thirteen (13) beads are used in each set to signify the thirteen months of the lunar year. The gold spacers represent sunlight issuing from the Sun bead throughout the Three Kindreds of Ancestors, Earth Spirits, Gods & Goddesses. Other common themes across the Pagan spectrum include a high reverence for the ancestors, a focus on a Goddess, the shunning of traditional religious dogma and avoidance of proselytism.

Ancient Ones, bend down your ears to hear my prayer. The world is quiet and resting. So to bring peace to my soul, and to the spirit(s) of ________, [insert any names of people who have passed over] who await reincarnation. Take any restlessness, any worry, and cover it in a healing blanket of snow. Yes, and it’s simple! You don’t have to be a beading expert to honor your gods this way. You can make your own string of prayer beads to fit the number of prayers you wish to do for your deities. All it requires is some knot work, string, and beads. Determine how often you want to pray. Some witches prefer to pray every day, while others prefer to pray once a week. The fundamentalist church where I grew up taught that scripted prayers were soulless and useless. They didn’t even like the Lord’s Prayer – they said it was intended to be a template for extemporaneous prayers, not something to pray over and over again. Of course, public extemporaneous prayer is hard, so they ended up falling into their own clichés and repetitions that were a weak parody of good scripted prayers – but at least they weren’t Catholic. As a witch practicing folk witchcraft, I found much of this book unrelateable. It is a well-written book and the author has done a fine job of creating this work. It’s detailed, well researched, and carefully organized. It’s got a wealth of prayers to call upon depending on the need. And if my path was the same as those whom the book was written for - Wiccans, Pagans, and polytheists - this book would be a great reference to have in any personal library.

I dig the whole take-care-of-your-surroundings belief of Paganism. I think the Earth is a pretty big deal and deserves some respect. But I'm not convinced it's inhabited by fairies. I'd like to believe it, though. Prayer beads offer a way to embrace your mystical practice on a regular basis. You can use them to connect with the spirits and gods. And when you do so, you’ll find that they have a positive impact on your spiritual growth.