My friend Dave wrote about Bede beads, a form of prayer beads rooted in his practice of Asatru. He introduces the topic by writing:

Prayer beads were devised to help people to keep track of repetitive devotions. They enabled one to pray while doing routine jobs and between activities. In the very earliest times, prayers were marked by dropping little pebbles one by one on the ground.

About 500 years before Christ, people tied knots in strings. Primitive forms of prayer beads were made of fruit pits, dried berries, pieces of bone, and hardened clay. Stringing cranberries for decorating Yule trees may be a prayer bead holdover. The wealthy, of course, used precious stones and jewels. Ostentation never goes out of style.

The most ancient Indo-European religion still practiced, Hinduism, uses prayer beads. Hindu prayer beads are considered by many to be the oldest prayer beads in the world. The japamala (muttering chaplet) is first mentioned in the Atharvaveda of about 800 BC. Hindu prayer beads have 109 beads: 108 for the names of the gods and a “mother” or “guru” bead that marks the starting place. These beads are made from Rudraksha, the dried fruit of Elaeocarpus Ganitrus.

Curiously enough, the Catholic rosary was developed in Germany – not the Middle East. I wonder how many Catholics know that the Bible itself, in Matthew 6:7, explicitly condemns counting prayers as a pagan practice. It seems pretty clear (to me, anyway) that repeating prayers has a solid Heathen foundation.

With these traditions in mind, I set out to develop a system for Heathens to use the runes in meditation and prayer: but I couldn’t bring myself to call it a “rune rosary”, and “Heathen prayer beads” sounds too generic. Hence the name: Bede Beads. The word “bed” means “prayer” in Anglo-Saxon, and became “bede” in Middle English. It’s the origin of the modern word “bead” – which is another huge hint that this is an ancient practice.

Beads are very useful for aiding in meditation, in prayer and even in memorization. While my creations are runic in nature and designed around the Elder Futhark, one could obviously use beads in other ways to offer Heathen prayer. Sets of 33 or 29 beads for the Anglo-Frisian Futhorc, or following the Hindu tradition a strand of beads that represents the major Aesir and Vanir. One could do the Nine Worlds and Nine Noble Virtues, even the catalogue of dwarves from the Poetic Edda.

Their use is limited only by your imagination: I’ve even noted that the smaller runic “chaplet” (pictured above) makes a nice Yule tree ornament!

Dave then provides suggestions on how to create one’s beads, the material, and possible types of prayer to use. As one who was raised Catholic and has prayed using the rosary, and who then adapted to mala beads for meditation, I’m intrigued by the application of these beads to Pagan prayer, since it is a spiritual expression I am exploring deeply these past few months.