Goddess Rosaries

As with many other religions, Neo-Pagan paths, including Goddess religions, are often syncretic . That is, we combine traditions from various spiritual paths, cultures, time periods. So the emergence of the "Goddess Rosary" among Goddess folk should come as no big surprise. Interest in both the rosary beads and images on them, such as a goddess figures and pentacles, and the prayers said with them, seems to have increased recently, probably helped along by internet sites and blogs where we can see what other people are doing so easily. What may be somewhat surprising, and pleasing certainly to me, is the use of Goddess rosaries among Christians. Maybe not so surprising among Gnostic Christians , but certainly an amazing grace among Lutheran women at Ebenezer Lutheran Church in San Francisco, who conduct a Goddess rosary prayer every week and make their own Goddess rosaries that include Goddess figurines. They have a picture of one such rosary on their website and quote a variation of the "Hail Mary" by Goddess author Carol Christ.

You can imagine how this is going over among conservative and even apparently mainstream Christians. You can’t imagine? Well here are a few links– they are so, ah, incensed, that though they began about a year ago and they still continued last month:
Catholic blogger at Sentire cum Ecclesia
Lutheran blogger at Cleveland Confessional Lutheranism, "A Goddess Rosary! Lord Have Mercy!"
Christian, sect unspecified:
--Posted last Christmas Eve: Weapons of Mass Destruction . Blogger is talk show host.
--Posted on Feb. 1 2007 on Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear. Post title, "Luke 11:35"
--Posted on Feb. 8 2007 on Beggars All: Reformation and Apologetics. Post title: "Goddess Lutherans :The sifting of Christianity Through Feminism," by James Swan, who describes himself as a part-time seminary student. Swan concludes:"One cannot sift Christianity through feminism. Christianity comes with a particular vocabulary." And I conclude, that vocabulary includes calling God only by male names.

Praise to the ELC women for not allowing these uninformed comments to deter them from their blessed path.

Though associated in modern times with Roman Catholicism, according to a number of the sites advocating Goddess rosaries, there is a long tradition of rosaries and/or prayer beads in many different spiritual paths. Here are a few sites I came across in the first 3 pages of a Google search for: goddess+rosary OR rosaries:
Links where you can buy Goddess rosaries
http://herchurch.org/id8.html
The Lutheran women’s group discussed above.
http://www.sacredgrove.com
Calls them prayer beads. Custom made.
http://www.lunaea.com/shop/rosaries.html
Designed by Lunaea Weatherstone, former editor of SageWoman. Rosaries include Goddess pendants/medals, including "Our Lady of the Bagel," that strongly resembles traditional Madonna and child.
http://www.crystalmoon.com/cmc/beads.htm
Crystal Sage’s site. Uses pendants (medals). Custom orders available.
http://www.apocalpyse.org/~hilda/ssd/ourmother.html
Willendorf rosary with suggested prayers
http://fluidartist.com/pagandesign/prayers
Pagan rosary how-to-use, including prayers.

Links with Goddess/Pagan Rosary Prayers (no beads):
http://paganrosary.com Pagan rosary how-to
http://www.pathcom.com/~newmoon/1rose.html Celtic Pagan prayers with how-to

Of course, I couldn’t resist getting into this:
Adaptations of Hail Mary & Lord’s Prayer, written for Goddess Rosaries
by Judith Laura
(Variation 1)
Hail Mary, full of grace, you are with us.
Blessed are you and blessed are we, your children.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, be with us now and always.
So be it.

(Variation 2)
Hail Goddess, full of grace, you are with us.
Blessed are you and blessed are we your children.
Great Goddess, Mother of God, be with us now and always.
Blessed be.
So be it.

(Variation 3)
Greetings Goddess, full of life, you are with us.
Blessed are you and blessed are we, your children.
Dear Goddess, Mother of all, be with us now
and always blessed be.
So be it.

"Our Mother"
Our Mother, who fills the Universe, blessed be thy name.
Thy time has come; thy good be done on Earth as it is in Spirit.
Bring forth the grain of our daily bread,
and teach us to forgive ourselves as we forgive each other.
And protect us from oppression, that we may live forever in freedom.
So be it.

TAGS:life Goddess spiritual feminism Pagan Goddess rosary women and religion