THREE KINDREDS PRAYER BEADS
A Druid Devotional

This version of the Prayer Beads is more Druid in content, honoring the Three Kindreds: The Ancestors, spirits of the ancient dead; The Earth Spirits who share this world with us; and the Gods, or the Shining Ones.

It is best to string your own beads. Follow the instructions below, which is the same procedure for the Goddess Prayer Beads, but substitutes Gold for Silver, because Druid spirituality is Sun oriented rather than Moon oriented.

• 13 white 8mm beads for the Gods & Goddesses
• 13 red 8mm beads for the Earth Spirits
• 13 black mm beads for the Ancestors
• 1 silver 10mm bead representing the Sun
• 52 silver spacer beads (class "E" 6/0) representing the Sunlight.
• Nylon thread clear, monofilament

You may begin and end stringing anywhere in the loop, but the tie-off is less visible in the midst of the black beads.

The gold Sun bead is separated from the white God/Goddess beads by four (4) gold spacer beads. Each white God/Goddess bead is followed by one gold spacer bead, but the thirteenth bead is followed by four (4) spacer beads. Then come the red Earth Spirits beads, each followed by one gold spacer, but the 13th bead is followed by four (4) spacers. Then come the black Ancestors beads, each followed by one gold bead, but the 13th is followed by four (4) spacers.

And so we are back at the gold Sun bead.

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.

Prayers are said on each bead, while meditating on the mysteries of the Three Kindreds, and the experience of human life.