{"id":18135,"date":"2019-02-01T01:10:32","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T06:10:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=20542"},"modified":"2019-02-03T00:15:22","modified_gmt":"2019-02-03T05:15:22","slug":"book-review-santa-muerte-by-tracey-rollin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2019\/02\/01\/book-review-santa-muerte-by-tracey-rollin\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review – Santa Muerte: The History, Rituals, and Magic of Our Lady of the Holy Death by Tracey Rollin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Book Review<\/strong>
Santa Muerte: The History, Rituals, and Magic of Our Lady of the Holy Death <\/strong>
by Tracey Rollin<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\nhave always had a great attraction for the image of Death. When I\nwas eleven, I received a Dover coloring book of Medieval prints and a\nbox of watercolor paints. Many of the pictures I painted and used in\ncollages but the picture of \u201cDeath and the Maiden\u201d, I put on my\nwall after I painted it and it has been on one of my walls of\nwhatever house I have lived in ever since. <\/em>Let this sink in \u2013\nI was eleven in 1971 and I am now fifty-eight years old. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\tIn\nmy twenties, I followed the Grateful Dead. One of the highest points\nof that era was being backstage at the Barton Hall concert at Cornell\nUniversity on May 16, 1981, just days before my twenty-first birthday\n\u2013 I met the entire band, including of course, Jerry Garcia, who had\neyes that twinkled like Santa Claus. I bought this t-shirt at this\nconcert and I wore it until it was at a rag but I still have it\n<\/em>because \u2013 because of all the memories attached to it. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\tI\nwent to Mexico in the mid-1990\u2019s and while I saw mostly images of\nOur Lady of Guadalupe, I do remember seeing the garishly painted\nskulls of what I now know were images of Santa Muerte in the markets\nthat surrounded the resort town in which we were staying. I thought\nthey were interesting but I was more attracted to the images of the\nLady of Guadalupe. I loved the mosaics of Her that were built into\nthe walls of the town. I took pictures of that and one of them I cut\ndown into a small devotional picture. Later, I attached it to a\nmagnet so I could put it on my fridge, where it is today. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And of course I know about El Dias De Los Muertos \u2013 the Day of the Dead. When I was young girl, I used to read Trixie Belden mysteries \u2013 they were competition to the better-known and more popular Nancy Drew mystery books. Originally written by Julie Campbell, the sixth book in the series, Mystery in Arizona<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 which was the last mystery Campbell wrote for the series \u2013 deals with the mystery of the Mexican workers leaving without a trace to eat \u201cthe dead\u201d and \u201cskeletons\u201d and \u201cskulls\u201d. The one problem with this story is that it takes place over the Yule holiday and not during Samhain, which is when El Dias Los Muertos actually happens. But that was my first introduction to the term \u201cthe Day of the Dead\u201d and the customs that surround it, even though there were many mistakes in the entire story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nI\nalso am a suicide survivor. I have tried at least six times. The\nlast time was April 6, 2004 and I celebrate that date every year now.\n I joke that \u201cDeath doesn\u2019t want me\u201d but of course the fact is,\nif it\u2019s not your time, it\u2019s not your time. And I know better\nthan to try to die, even though I often long for Death in a most\nbasic way. I know I just have to wait for my time. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nI\nrealize now that I was looking for Santa Muerte. I realize that my\nlonging for Death is not an actual wish to die but is a longing for\nOur Lady of the Holy Death. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhen\nI heard about Santa Muerte:\nThe History, Rituals, and Magic of Our Lady of the Holy Death<\/strong><\/em>\nby Tracey Rollin, published in 2017 by Weiser Books, I jumped on the\nchance to read it. Because I had so many other books to read first,\nit sat untouched for nearly six months before I had the time to give\nit the attention it deserved. But once I cracked it open, I couldn\u2019t\nset it down. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Of course I Googled Tracey Rollins. Her website is here: http:\/\/traceyrollin.com\/<\/a> She looks to be about twenty or maybe thirty years younger than me \u2013 at any rate, she looks young enough to be my daughter. I mention this because on her website and in Santa Muerte<\/strong><\/em>, she talks about her Catholic childhood, and I too, was raised as a Catholic. But being older than Rollins, my Catholic childhood would have been a bit different \u2013 I remember the Latin Mass and when the \u201cNew\u201d Mass was introduced \u2013 and we have a different background, since she was raised in New Mexico by a German immigrant mother and I was raised in Western New York in a predominantly German-Polish community; my personal ethnic background is German-Scots-Irish-French. But as I read, I could identify on so many levels that I felt that I was conversing with someone who had been down many of the same roads I had been. A soul sister, as they say on the streets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nI\nthink one of the things I liked best about this book is that it is so\nwell-grounded in history. Rollins talks extensively about all <\/em>the\nroots of Santa Muerte \u2013 the Aztec roots, the European Pagan roots,\nthe Catholic Sainthood roots, as well as the African Orisha roots. \nLike her better-known counterpart, The Lady of Guadalupe, Santa\nMuerte is definitely a New World goddess! There is so much to love\nabout Santa Muerte. She doesn\u2019t care who you are or where you are\nfrom. In fact, if you are poor, addicted, homeless, abused, on the\nrun, living on the streets or in the shadows, working in bars, or in\npolicework or EMT work, or doing construction work or any other kind\nof dangerous work, Santa\nMuerte is your guardian saint. How many times have you been in a\nterrible place and that scary face turned into the most caring person\nyou ever met? That homeless person who shared her coffee with you or\nhelped you find your way home? That\u2019s Santa Muerte. She\u2019s in\nthe subways and the streets and the shelters. She\u2019s the nurse who\nseems so tough but is the softest touch on the floor. She\u2019s the\nold woman you never notice until you need her. She\u2019s the face of\nthe ultimate mother \u2013 Death. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThere\nare seven aspects to Santa Muerte \u2013 seven colors for seven aspects.\n White is purity. Blue is daily living and relationships. Green is\nethics, justice and law. Gold is wealth. Red is sex and passion. \nPurple is magic. Black is negation and dissolution. But Rollins\npoints out that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven within the seven colors of Santa Muerte, there is some variation and substitution. One common variation is to replace the gold aspect of Santa Muerte with a yellow or amber aspect that is primarily dedicated to healing. Some practitioners use pink version of Santa Muerte instead of the red aspect for spells involving love and affection instead of lust. There exists a brown version of Sante Muerte, chosen specifically for invention in earthly matters and for the manifestation of the practitioner\u2019s desires. Some claim she is the mistress of all practical business matters, splitting this away from the blue aspect and this isolation its knowledge and empathy-enhancing qualities.\u201d (Rollins, 82). <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\nRollins\ntells you how to choose a color for properly resolving your problems\nbut she also advises getting a Santa Muerte statue that displays all\nher seven colors, at least for your first statue, especially when you\nare setting up an altar to Her. Chapter Six is dedicated to the art\nof creating a proper Santa Muerte altar. Anyone who has set up any\nkind of altar will be familiar with many of the aspects of\naltar-building; however, there are a few details to remember when you\nare working with Santa Muerte. First of all, she likes Florida\nWater. I always thought Florida Water was a brand of cologne that\nyou bought in Florida \u2013 my grandmother always brought back a bottle\nwhen she went to Florida every winter \u2013 but it\u2019s the name of a\nscent formula that was first produced in 1808 and has always remained\npopular (Rollins, 99). For some reason, the spirits of the death\nlove the scent of Florida Water. Rollins includes a recipe for\nmaking your own Florida Water on page 100. Most of the ingredients\ncan be found in any major supermarket or pharmacy. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nOf\ncourse you need candles \u2013 it is possible, nowadays, to find Santa\nMuerte novena candles in the Goya aisle of your supermarket with the\nother novena candles \u2013 I thought they were just happy skull candles\nfor El Dias De Los Muertos, but now I know better. The next time I\ngo to the large Tops supermarket on the West Side of Buffalo, I am\ngoing to get myself one. But if you can\u2019t find a candle with the\nimage of Santa Muerte on it, you should be able to find one with the\nseven colors. I\u2019ve seen those for several years now and I just\ndidn\u2019t know what they meant. I\u2019m going to get one of those, too\n\u2013 and do a seven-day novena, meditating each day on each aspect of\nSanta Muerte. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nOther\nitems commonly found on a Santa Muerte altar are apples, aloe,\nbutterflies, a black mirror, a bowl of dirt, a bowl of salt, a bowl\nof water, and a censor for burning incense. Santa Muerte likes the\nscent of rosemary incense, myrrh and sweet grass. And naturally she\nwants candy \u2013 sugar skulls if you can get them<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will want a statue of Santa Muerte but if you can\u2019t get one, a picture of her will do (Rollins, 104).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\nThe\nnext two chapters are about two rituals that are commonly associated\nwith Catholics: praying the rosary and a novena. Within the Catholic\nChurch, these are specific kinds of prayers that produce powerful\nresults if done with the proper devotion and dedication; however,\nthese kinds of devotional prayers are not exclusive to Catholics, as\nRollins points out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meditation beads are actually a common spiritual accessory. They have been used for thousands of years by people following a variety of spiritual beliefs worldwide. For instance, many Buddhists, Hindus, and
Sikhs employ a long 108-bead strand of prayer beads referred to as mala beads. They are often used to count repetitions of short prayers called mantras, or the names of gods or saints\u2026Muslims also use medi-
tation beads, called misba?ah. <\/em>These beads are used to recite the ninety- nine names of Allah. Catholics use chaplets and are famous for their use of the rosary, but the use of meditation beads has spread to some
Protestants denominations as well. (Rollins, 137). <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\nLike\nmost Catholics, I can\u2019t remember actually learning to pray the\nRosary. It seems like I have always known how to do it, although\nwhen I was very little, I used to pray the \u201cOur Father\u201d to start\nit off instead of \u201cThe Apostle\u2019s Creed\u201d. By the time I made my\nFirst Communion at the age of seven, I was praying it properly like a\ngood little Catholic girl. My mother instructed me to pray the\nRosary whenever I was angry or upset with one of my brothers or\nsisters and that seemed to be most of the time. She also told me to\npray the Rosary when I was unable to sleep, since I have been an\ninsomniac since a young child. I was usually able to fall asleep\nwithin chanting a few decades of \u201cHail Marys\u201d but some nights, I\nprayed through the entire circlet and stared into the darkness. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhen\nI decided that I had enough of patriarchal religions and really threw\nmyself into learning everything I could about Goddess religions,\nWicca and Paganism, one of the things I really missed was praying the\nRosary. I rewrote the prayers to reflect my new views. \u201cThe\nApostle\u2019s Creed\u201d became a recitation of the names of my favorite\ngoddesses. The \u201cOur Father\u201d became \u201cOur Mother\u201d. \u201cHail\nMary\u201d remained pretty much the same, although I changed \u201cthe\nLord\u201d to \u201cthe Lady\u201d and left out the name of Jesus after\n\u201cblessed be the fruit of thy womb\u201d. The \u201cGlory Be\u201d uses the\nMaiden, Mother and the Crone, instead of the Father, Son and the Holy\nSpirit. It took a while to get used to saying these prayers like\nthis but now I\u2019m so used them like this that I can\u2019t say them any\nother way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nRollins\nhas alternate prayers for the Santa Muerte Rosary as well. All\n<\/em>the prayers have been changed \u2013 not one is in any way, form or\nshape like its original. They are all dedicated to Santa Muerte. \nHere is an example of one, meant to take the place of the \u201cHail\nMary\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I call upon Santa Muerte, the Holy Queen of Death,<\/em>
Who commands all influence and authority.<\/em>
Please grant me your power and your protection,<\/em>
Blessing me and keeping me now and always.<\/em>
Amen. (so mote it be, etc.) <\/em>(Rollins, 149). <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\nRollins\nrecommends using rosaries that are dedicated to Santa Muerte. I\nfound them easily when I Googled \u201cSanta Muerte Rosary\u201d. There\u2019s\na lot of them on Etsy. The most popular colors are red, white, and\nblack, or rosaries with all seven colors. They run anywhere from $10\nto $40. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe\nnext part of the book concerns novenas. Novenas are a set of prayers\nthat are said over a certain amount of days \u2013 nine days, twenty-one\ndays, forty days, even fifty-four days. Rollins writes, \u201cThe\npurpose may be something as simple as praying for the souls of the\ndead or something more specific such as asking a particular saint for\nhelp.\u201d She continues, \u201cPerforming a novena is actually an\nancient, pre-Christian habit\u2026Although the term originally (and\ncorrectly) refers to prayers over nine days, it has also become more\ngeneralized to mean a series of prayers said every day for an\nextended period.\u201d (Rollins, 151). \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nNovenas\nto Santa Muerte are said over the course of seven days, instead of\nnine days, focusing on each of her colored aspects each day as a gift\nof Death. For instance, perhaps on day one you focus your prayers on\nNi\u00f1a Blanca, Sweet Sister Death, your prayers will help with\npurification, illumination, initiation, cleansing and protection\n(Rollins, 172). Rollins lists favorite offerings of Ni\u00f1a Blanca,\nwhich are incidentally all white: white candle, flowers, and\ncandies. And then there are three whole pages <\/em>of prayers for\nNi\u00f1a Blanca. Rollins repeats this for every aspect of Santa Muerte\n\u2013 Ni\u00f1a Violeta, the Royal Queen, Ni\u00f1a Azul, the Gracious One,\nNi\u00f1a Dorada, Lucky Lady Death, Ni\u00f1a Roja, Queen of Passion, Ni\u00f1a\nVerde, the Just Judge, and Ni\u00f1a Negra, the Mother of Tears. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nI\nwould think that finishing a novena to Santa Muerte \u2013 reciting all\nthese prayers and meditating fully on the aspects of all these Queen\nMothers \u2013 would bring an enlightenment to the practitioner that is\nquite powerful. Although I have never been a devotee of Santa\nMuerte, I plan to start a devotion to Her. Her promises are\npersuasive. There\u2019s no \u201cfluffy bunny\u201d bullshit with Santa\nMuerte. If you want it, you can get it with Her \u2013 no matter what\nit is. The motive doesn\u2019t matter. Rollins writes. \u201cSanta\nMuerte is notable because she is not concerned with the underlying\nmotivations driving the requests of the devotees.\u201d (Rollins, 3). \nWhile we should always be concerned with our own <\/em>motives, it\nis refreshing to discuss a deity who doesn\u2019t care about human\nmotivation whatsoever and does whatever She wants to do because\nthat\u2019s what She <\/em>does. And when you think about it, when\ndoes <\/em>Death care about human motivation or about anything that\nhumans do anyway? Death laughs at humans. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn\nclosing, I have to say that I can\u2019t recommend this book enough. \nIt\u2019s wonderfully researched, beautifully written, and without a\ndoubt, a book I will be referencing and reading again and again in\nthe months and years to come. I am so <\/em>glad that Santa\nMuerte: The History, Rituals, and Magic of Our Lady of the Holy Death<\/strong><\/em>\nby Tracey Rollins was sent to me and I had the chance to read it and\nwrite about it. I hope everyone reading this goes right out and\nfinds it in their local library, bookstore, or orders it online. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brightest Blessings!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Santa Muerte: The History, Rituals, and Magic of Our Lady of the Holy Death on Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About\nthe Author:<\/strong>\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Polly\nMacDavid<\/strong> lives\nin Buffalo, New York at the moment but that could easily change,\nsince she is a gypsy at heart. Like a gypsy, she is attracted to the\ndivinatory arts, as well as camp fires and dancing barefoot. She has\nthree cats who all help her with her magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her\nphilosophy about religion and magic is that it must be thoroughly\nbased in science and logic. She is Dianic Wiccan and she is solitary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\nblogs at silverapplequeen.wordpress.com<\/a>.\nShe writes about general life, politics and poetry. She is writing a\nnovel about sex, drugs and recovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Book Review Santa Muerte: The History, Rituals, and Magic of Our Lady of the Holy Death by Tracey Rollin I have always had a great attraction for the image of Death. When I was eleven, I received a Dover coloring book of Medieval prints and a box of watercolor paints. Many of the pictures I painted and used in collages but the picture of \u201cDeath and the Maiden\u201d, I put on my wall after I painted it and it has been on one of my walls of whatever house I have lived in ever since. Let this sink in \u2013 I was eleven in 1971 and I am now fifty-eight years old. In my twenties, I followed the Grateful Dead. One of the highest points of that era was being backstage at the Barton Hall concert at Cornell University on May 16, 1981, just days before my twenty-first birthday \u2013 I met the entire band, including of course, Jerry Garcia, who had eyes that twinkled like Santa Claus. I bought this t-shirt at this concert and I wore it until it was at a rag but I still have it because \u2013 because of all the memories attached to it. I went to Mexico in the mid-1990\u2019s and while I saw mostly images of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I do remember seeing the garishly painted skulls of what I now know were images of Santa Muerte in the markets that surrounded the resort town in which we were staying. I thought they were interesting but I was more attracted to the images of the Lady of Guadalupe. I loved the mosaics of Her that were built into the walls of the town. I took pictures of that and one of them I cut down into a small devotional picture. Later, I attached it to a magnet so I could put it on my fridge, where it is today. And of course I know about El Dias De Los Muertos \u2013 the Day of the Dead. When I was young girl, I used to read Trixie Belden mysteries \u2013 they were competition to the better-known and more popular Nancy Drew mystery books. Originally written by Julie Campbell, the sixth book in the series, Mystery in Arizona \u2013 which was the last mystery Campbell wrote for the series \u2013 deals with the mystery of the Mexican workers leaving without a trace to eat \u201cthe dead\u201d and \u201cskeletons\u201d and \u201cskulls\u201d. The one problem with this story is that it takes place over the Yule holiday and not during Samhain, which is when El Dias Los Muertos actually happens. But that was my first introduction to the term \u201cthe Day of the Dead\u201d and the customs that surround it, even though there were many mistakes in the entire story. I also am a suicide survivor. I have tried at least six times. The last time was April 6, 2004 and I celebrate that date every year now. I joke that \u201cDeath doesn\u2019t want me\u201d but of course the fact is, if it\u2019s not your time, it\u2019s not your time. And I know better than to try to die, even though I often long for Death in a most basic way. I know I just have to wait for my time. I realize now that I was looking for Santa Muerte. I realize that my longing for Death is not an actual wish to die but is a longing for Our Lady of the Holy Death. When I heard about Santa Muerte: The History, Rituals, and Magic of Our Lady of the Holy Death by Tracey Rollin, published in 2017 by Weiser Books, I jumped on the chance to read it. Because I had so many other books to read first, it sat untouched for nearly six months before I had the time to give it the attention it deserved. But once I cracked it open, I couldn\u2019t set it down. Of course I Googled Tracey Rollins. Her website is here: http:\/\/traceyrollin.com\/ She looks to be about twenty or maybe thirty years younger than me \u2013 at any rate, she looks young enough to be my daughter. I mention this because on her website and in Santa Muerte, she talks about her Catholic childhood, and I too, was raised as a Catholic. But being older than Rollins, my Catholic childhood would have been a bit different \u2013 I remember the Latin Mass and when the \u201cNew\u201d Mass was introduced \u2013 and we have a different background, since she was raised in New Mexico by a German immigrant mother and I was raised in Western New York in a predominantly German-Polish community; my personal ethnic background is German-Scots-Irish-French. But as I read, I could identify on so many levels that I felt that I was conversing with someone who had been down many of the same roads I had been. A soul sister, as they say on the streets. I think one of the things I liked best about this book is that it is so well-grounded in history. Rollins talks extensively about all the roots of Santa Muerte \u2013 the Aztec roots, the European Pagan roots, the Catholic Sainthood roots, as well as the African Orisha roots. Like her better-known counterpart, The Lady of Guadalupe, Santa Muerte is definitely a New World goddess! There is so much to love about Santa Muerte. She doesn\u2019t care who you are or where you are from. In fact, if you are poor, addicted, homeless, abused, on the run, living on the streets or in the shadows, working in bars, or in policework or EMT work, or doing construction work or any other kind of dangerous work, Santa Muerte is your guardian saint. How many times have you been in a terrible place and that scary face turned into the most caring person you ever met? That homeless person who shared her coffee with you or helped you find your way home? That\u2019s Santa Muerte. She\u2019s in the subways and the streets and the shelters. She\u2019s the nurse who seems so tough but is the softest touch on the floor. She\u2019s the old woman you never notice until you need her. She\u2019s the face of the ultimate mother \u2013 Death. There are seven aspects to Santa Muerte \u2013 seven colors for seven aspects. White is purity. Blue is daily living and relationships. Green is ethics, justice and law. Gold is wealth. Red is sex and passion. Purple is magic. Black is negation and dissolution. But Rollins points out that: \u201cEven within the seven colors of Santa Muerte, there is some variation and substitution. One common variation is to replace the gold aspect of Santa Muerte with a yellow or amber aspect that is primarily dedicated to healing. Some practitioners use pink version of Santa Muerte instead of the red aspect for spells involving love and affection instead of lust. There exists a brown version of Sante Muerte, chosen specifically for invention in earthly matters and for the manifestation of the practitioner\u2019s desires. Some claim she is the mistress of all practical business matters, splitting this away from the blue aspect and this isolation its knowledge and empathy-enhancing qualities.\u201d (Rollins, 82). Rollins tells you how to choose a color for properly resolving your problems but she also advises getting a Santa Muerte statue that displays all her seven colors, at least for your first statue, especially when you are setting up an altar to Her. Chapter Six is dedicated to the art of creating a proper Santa Muerte altar. Anyone who has set up any kind of altar will be familiar with many of the aspects of altar-building; however, there are a few details to remember when you are working with Santa Muerte. First of all, she likes Florida Water. I always thought Florida Water was a brand of cologne that you bought in Florida \u2013 my grandmother always brought back a bottle when she went to Florida every winter \u2013 but it\u2019s the name of a scent formula that was first produced in 1808 and has always remained popular (Rollins, 99). For some reason, the spirits of the death love the scent of Florida Water. Rollins includes a recipe for making your own Florida Water on page 100. Most of the ingredients can be found in any major supermarket or pharmacy. Of course you need candles \u2013 it is possible, nowadays, to find Santa Muerte novena candles in the Goya aisle of your supermarket with the other novena candles \u2013 I thought they were just happy skull candles for El Dias De Los Muertos, but now I know better. The next time I go to the large Tops supermarket on the West Side of Buffalo, I am going to get myself one. But if you can\u2019t find a candle with the image of Santa Muerte on it, you should be able to find one with the seven colors. I\u2019ve seen those for several years now and I just didn\u2019t know what they meant. I\u2019m going to get one of those, too \u2013 and do a seven-day novena, meditating each day on each aspect of Santa Muerte. Other items commonly found on a Santa Muerte altar are apples, aloe, butterflies, a black mirror, a bowl of dirt, a bowl of salt, a bowl of water, and a censor for burning incense. Santa Muerte likes the scent of rosemary incense, myrrh and sweet grass. And naturally she wants candy \u2013 sugar skulls if you can get them You will want a statue of Santa Muerte but if you can\u2019t get one, a picture of her will do (Rollins, 104). The next two chapters are about two rituals that are commonly associated with Catholics: praying the rosary and a novena. Within the Catholic Church, these are specific kinds of prayers that produce powerful results if done with the proper devotion and dedication; however, these kinds of devotional prayers are not exclusive to Catholics, as Rollins points out: Meditation beads are actually a common spiritual accessory. They have been used for thousands of years by people following a variety of spiritual beliefs worldwide. For instance, many Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs employ a long 108-bead strand of prayer beads referred to as mala beads. They are often used to count repetitions of short prayers called mantras, or the names of gods or saints\u2026Muslims also use medi- tation beads, called misba?ah. These beads are used to recite the ninety- nine names of Allah. Catholics use chaplets and are famous for their use of the rosary, but the use of meditation beads has spread to some Protestants denominations as well. (Rollins, 137). Like most Catholics, I can\u2019t remember actually learning to pray the Rosary. It seems like I have always known how to do it, although when I was very little, I used to pray the \u201cOur Father\u201d to start it off instead of \u201cThe Apostle\u2019s Creed\u201d. By the time I made my First Communion at the age of seven, I was praying it properly like a good little Catholic girl. My mother instructed me to pray the Rosary whenever I was angry or upset with one of my brothers or sisters and that seemed to be most of the time. She also told me to pray the Rosary when I was unable to sleep, since I have been an insomniac since a young child. I was usually able to fall asleep within chanting a few decades of \u201cHail Marys\u201d but some nights, I prayed through the entire circlet and stared into the darkness. When I decided that I had enough of patriarchal religions and really threw myself into learning everything I could about Goddess religions, Wicca and Paganism, one of the things I really missed was praying the Rosary. I rewrote the prayers to reflect my new views. \u201cThe Apostle\u2019s Creed\u201d became a recitation of the names of my favorite goddesses. The \u201cOur Father\u201d became \u201cOur Mother\u201d. \u201cHail Mary\u201d remained pretty much the same, although…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18135\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}