In the summer of 2020, I went to a Vedic astrologer consultation. He recommended I activate my Venus (an area I know I have had trouble with all my life) by wearing white opal. I thought that was easy enough and I purchased a ring with a beautiful opal stone, and began wearing it. Before I knew it, I was reading about gems and making my first attempts to create mala beads. They were a disaster.
Eventually through plenty more trial and error I found the right supplies and technique to be able to create prayer bead sets that are beautiful, durable and affordable too. I decided that I am going to stick to a system, in addition to creating beads based on stones that attracted me. The system that I naturally gravitated toward is one where there is a color and stone type associated with each day of the week by virtue of the day’s association with a planet. For more on this concept, click here.
After I created all the prototypes for each day of the week, I started wearing them accordingly. I was conscious and aware of the energy that each planet represents astrologically and mythologically. That kind of mindfulness while wearing each bead set every day of the week allowed me to structure my days in a way that was in tune with the planets, so to speak. There was also an element of paying homage to each energy that each planet represents.
I quickly noticed that this helps me get more balanced. I won’t lie – this is in no way some form of “magic pill” or even a tool for coping with daily issues and stresses. However, it was a tool to point me in the direction of simply being conscious of what was going on in my body and mind. On Wednesdays I noticed I was indeed more active in communicating with people. On Saturdays I was particularly calm and structured and disciplined (that’s my personal association with Saturn). Tuesdays were the best. I do have a lot of Mars energy in my chart, and when Tuesday came along, I wore my red stones and every work meeting I attended went well, tasks got completed, I was efficient and active. Fridays were the toughest for me. I have a Venus affliction and I have suffered from it way before I was aware of it. So I had to work on that aspect. And indeed, wearing a mala that to me represented Venus with all it’s luxury and beauty – it allowed me to open my heart more easily to love and joy.
And so I proceeded to apply this system in my life for several weeks. I was diligent. I am generally not good with such things, but this time I really tried. And I discovered that I was able to learn a lot about myself and how I react to different situations and emotions. I was able to do that because I started my days with a conscious thought about what I can expect from it, not in terms of schedule and tasks, but in terms of energy. And it prompted me to examine these energies more closely, a deeply internal journey. And the corresponding mala for each day was a good reminder. I also made a point to choose a mantra each day, and even if I didn’t dedicate the time for meditation on a given day, I went to bed with the thought of what this mantra symbolizes. Eventually, I gave up on doing this diligently, but I could clearly see the benefit of this experience.
This is why I decided to share it with the rest of the world. In particular, I discovered that I enjoy working with the stones, meditating with them, sleeping with them under my pillow (which did help me remember my dreams better), exploring and reading about the vast world of mantra meditation and gemology as well. Creating these beads was such a joy for me that it became clear I could do it often and regularly. I created a number of pieces for friends and family and all were received well. So here I am now, ready to do this as often as possible, and for the rest of my life. That’s the way I see it, and I am grateful to the universe for bringing me this experience along and pushing me to learn a new skill that I can joyfully share the fruits of with you!
Deya Prayer 