The Blessing Cord

No idea comes out of the void. The inspiration for this blog series came from the Atlantean rosary work of Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki that my love Christopher Penczak was working with this year. I watched him get so much from the rosary, but I don’t resonate well with the ideas of Atlantis. I wanted to create my own contemplation cord that could be used by witches and ceremonial magicians.

I was inspired by the witch’s cord which classically was forty knots. I had a great conversation with Christopher where he shared an idea for a contemplation cord using the forty beads and dividing them into the four elements and ten Sephira of the Qabalah. During the time of our conversation I was listening to the elemental blessing books by Sharon Shin. In the story there were elemental blessing coins that people used to guide their lives. I took all this information and integrated it into my blessing cord. Focusing on the elemental blessing of the sphere I created one or two word blessings that would guide the expression of the meditation on each cord.

To to join in this practice you will need to create a blessing cord and time to devote to doing the meditations. I have also included in the blogs some contemplation questions for you to think about during the week of each bead.

To make the blessing cord you need beads of multiple colors to resonate with the ten Sephira. I chose to do slight variations with the beads for each element but that is optional. You could also do some research and use crystal beads that resonate with the Sephira of the Tree of Life. I Used glass beads because they came in a variety of colors and shapes so I could delineate the element and the sphere. I also added one more bead to the forty to be the bead where the cord joins, making it like a mala. In mantra yoga the last bead in the mala is called the merku. It is not chanted upon or crossed over in chant work. It is supposed to be where all the energy of the mantra raises is stored. I liked the idea of this and since this cord was to bring about more wisdom from the Qabalah I put a small ceramic skull bead at the end of mine.

You need four beads of each color and a last bead of your own. The colors are white/clear, gray, black, blue, red, yellow, green, orange, purple, and brown. The forty-first bead can be any one you like that symbolizes this work to you. The beads are strung starting with one of white/clear and moving through the colors as they are listed above then starting over after brown. I decided to put knots in-between each bead to keep them separate but it isn’t necessary. Tie the two ends together then string them though the last bead. Tie again and add a tassel, if you like.

The other requirement for this work is to do the meditations. You need to get yourself into a meditative state and out of a meditative state. To do this I have used the Temple of Witchcraft’s method of counting down and counting up from meditative state. If you have another one you enjoy using go ahead, but realize you may need to modify it to use with the meditations. This work can attune us to the cabalistic sphere and the elements, so grounding after the meditation is a must. These energies can unbalance us even though we are focusing on the blessings of each.

The following is how to count yourself down into meditation, to count back up to waking consciousness, and a grounding exercise.

Meditative Countdown

Imagine waves of relaxation flowing from your head down to your toes. Focus your attention on each muscle group as you relax. Let any tension flow out of your toes and into Mother Earth to be recycled. Relax your mind and imagine all your thoughts are clouds being blown away by a gentle breeze. When you have a clear blue sky in your imagination, relax your heart, letting any emotions or stresses flow away. Let the light within your heart and your spirit protect and guide you.

Now we are going to count down into a meditative state by counting down from 12 to 1 and imagining it on the screen of our mind. Bring up on the screen of your mind the number 12. You can draw it or just imagine it appearing like a movie screen. Now it fades and you write 11 on the screen of your mind. Draw 10 on the screen of your mind. Getting more relaxed with each number. Draw 9 on the screen. Draw 8 on your screen. Draw 7 on your screen. Draw 6 on your screen. Feeling a deepening relaxation. Draw 5 on your screen, draw 4, draw 3. Draw 2 on the screen, draw 1. You are now in a meditative state where all you do is for the highest good.

Release your screen and count down from 13 to 1, just listening to the numbers and going deeper: 13, 12 ,11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. You are now in a journey state and ready to safely explore.

Continue with the meditation of the bead. When finished use the count-up to waking consciousness.

Count-up to Waking Consciousness

Begin to count yourself up to a waking consciousness by counting first 1 to 13: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13. Begin to wiggle your toes and hands as you begin to come fully back. Count yourself up again from 1 to 12, coming more back into your body with each number: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. You are now fully awake and refreshed.

Sweep your hands down from your head down towards your knees intending to give yourself clearance of any energy that is not for your highest good. Say either out loud or in your head. “I give myself clearance and balance. I cleanse away all that does not serve. I am in complete alignment with all of my parts.”

Grounding Exercise 

Visualize a cord of energy, about a foot thick, leaving the base of your spine and dropping deep into the core of the earth. Feel the pressure of gravity all around you. This gravity is now pulling only on that which does not serve your highest good. All unbalanced and unharmonious energy is pulled by this gravity down your grounding cord and into Mother Earth for recycling. Nature abhors a vacuum, so new fresh balanced energy flows up the cord into your body.

This whole series I am hoping to turn into a Book at the end much like the 21 Days of Reiki.  This new blog will have a meditation up each week on Wednesdays to use with the cord. Blessed be!