Everything You Need to Know About Malas

Mala beads, prayer beads, worry beads, rosaries. All of these make up a set of spiritual tools the date back to 8th century India, which has found their way into many of the world's traditions of prayer, meditation, and reflection. The thing about mala beads is that most people know little about them. Most people recognize them as something carried by Buddhist monks or worn around the necks and wrists of yogis and yoga practitioners. But do you know why? And do you know how they can be beneficial for you in your practice?The origins of some of the different beads are highly debated, and much of the history of mala beads seem to have a lot of variations to it depending on who you talk to. What I'll pass on here is what I've learned and been taught along with the more practical how-to info that can be helpful if you want to give them a go yourself.I asked on Facebook and Twitter for people to share their questions about mala beads so throughout this post I'll be answering some of those questions. 

Let's start with some terminology...

Mala - Sanskrit for "garland"Japa - Sanskrit for "repetition"Mala Beads - a string of 27, 54, or 108 beads used for meditation or intention settingJapa Practice - the meditative practice of reciting mantras or affirmations, often with the use of mala beadsJapa Mala - prayer beads used for mantra and prayer practiceI've been collecting mala beads for some years. When I was little and attending catechism classes, I really liked praying the rosary, and I liked the beads themselves. Even at the age of 8 I had a connection to this type of prayer practice and it turned out to be one of the few things in my loose Catholic upbringing that I ever felt connected to or comfortable with. During my early stages of studying Wicca, I liked things like knot spells where you would use knots on a string as markers for prayers and intentions. Later when I was in college and expanding the scope of spiritual understanding, I discovered japa practice and soon started to take an interest in mala beads. The way that I found some people would try to use them in Wicca and Witchcraft while trying to call what they were doing something other than just prayer always felt weird to me {"I'm not praying I'm casting a spell by chanting what I want."}. Personally, I feel like traditional japa practice, and uses of mala beads have little to do with Witchcraft but have a lot to do with devotional work, so in that way, they can easily be adapted to Pagan traditions. 

What are they really used for, you ask?

Mala beads serve as a tactile reminder during meditation and chanting. In many Eastern traditions chanting and prayer is done in certain numbers. By running the beads through your fingers as you chant you're able to keep track of how many times you have chanted or prayer to a specific deity, for example. If you needed to do more than one round of prayers on your mala beads a bowl of rice would be kept on and each time you made a pass through your beads a grain of rice would be removed from the bowl. You would keep praying the beads until the rice bowl was empty.Today a lot of people use them in prayer and meditation because it helps to calm the "monkey mind" that many people have to combat in meditation. While some people can easily is down and quiet the mind to focus for meditation, many others can't. So having the beads to keep the mind and hands busy can help with keeping focus.They also help us to remember to breathe during our meditations. If you're not chanting, and your goal is to just focus and clear the mind you can use them to track your breath by inhaling with one bead and exhaling as you move to the next and so on.Traditionally they would be used for the reciting of prayers for a specific intention, the names of a deity, of a mantra given to you by a teacher or guru. They they are used for all kinds of purposes, mostly revolving around intention setting {we'll get to that in a minute}. 

108 beads + 1

The most common of mala bead configurations is the 108 bead mala. But in truth the beads are 109 beads. The 109th bead is called the guru bead or meru bead {meru meaning "mountain"}. This is the center bead which can vary greatly from mala to mala and tradition to tradition. Some use a specific style of bead with a tassel hanging off it, often with the tassel color either representing a specific deity or intention. In other configurations of beads the guru bead may be a specific type of gemstone which would signify the intention and purpose of the mala beads.  The guru bead is a very important bead since it represents either your own guru or teacher, your deity, or your Higher Self {all depending on your tradition and views} along with your intention. When praying with your mala you never cross over your guru bead. When you start your meditation you start at the first bead to the right of the guru bead. You then go through all the beads until you get to the last bead before your guru bead. You can stop there, hold your guru bead and say a prayer to your deity, say a prayer for your teacher, or set an intention and then stop your meditation.In some traditions it's common practice to do a second round to bring you back to the point where you started your meditations. If you were going to do this you would turn your mala so that the last bead is now on the right again. It's basically a flip; so if your thumb is holding the underside of the last bead to the left of the guru bead you would turn the beads over so your thumb was now on top. This puts what was the last bead as the first bead again and you're now working the beads from the other side. It's a little confusing until you try it or see it done.Some malas can have a different number of beads; the two other common configurations are 27 and 56. These often make up a type of mala called a wrist mala. [su_box title="Reader Question" style="glass" box_color="#17c79d" radius="5"]How do you hold them? Is there a specific way that's supposed to be done?[/su_box] There is a traditional way to hold them. The beads are held in the right hand as the left hand is seen as impure in some traditions {you could also think of things like "left hand path" as being a possible factor in deciding which hand to use}. The beads are held and worked through the thumb and the middle finger. The index finger is extended and never touches the mala beads. The index finger is related to the ego, something which ideally is kept out of prayer, meditation, and devotional work. To move through the beads the thumb lightly pulls each bead through or over the middle finger with each prayer, affirmation, or mantra that is recited.  

 Beads and Seeds

The materials that make up a set of mala beads set the intention of what the beads will be used for. It's not uncommon for an avid japa mala practitioner to have different sets of mala beads for different intentions. I'm almost embarrassed to tell you how many sets I have, but they each do carry their own energy and intention. We'll talk about how a set of mala beads are traditionally empowered, but first you have to pick out your beads!The beads or seeds that make up your mala will help with setting your intention. Pick something that resonates with the purpose of your work and the energy and intention that you wish to draw into your life. Common Materials Rudraksha - Rudra means "Lord Shiva" and Aksha means "teardrops", making Rudraksha "Tears of Lord Shiva". It is said that Lord Shiva went into a deep trance meditation for the well-being of all living creatures of the earth and when he finished and opened his eye tears fell to the earth. These tears were in the form of seeds which grew to trees, later being called the Rudraksha tree. The seeds used for mala beads are the dry seed capsules of this tree. This makes rudraksha malas sacred to Shiva but also helps in healing the heart center and balancing the chakras, promoting inner peace, as well as granting knowledge, power, and enlightenment. This is one of the most popular and traditional materials used for making mala beads.Sandalwood - an aromatic wood that is very calming and soothing, helps to promote humility and the ability to focus the mind for meditation. Sandalwood beads are not cheap and are becoming harder and harder to source. Be cautious of sandalwood malas that are sold cheaply; many times these are not true sandalwood beads and are simply another type of wood that has been treated with sandalwood oil or perfume to give it the sandalwood scent.Rosewood - actually red sandalwood, these are sacred to Lord Ganesh and are used for work to remove obstacles, protect from negativity, and healing work that involved the blood and circulation; carries a very warm and protective energy.Lotus Seeds - used for work involving spiritual growth and the ability to rise above obstacles, especially while on the path to spiritual enlightenment.Bodhi seed - seeds from the Bodhi tree; these represent the Buddha's enlightenment which was attained while sitting under a Bodhi tree; represents spiritual promise, dedication, and faith.Gemstones - like selecting crystals or gemstones for any kind of work, use the color and properties of the specific stone to help in picking out the best one for your intention.  Guru StonesSome malas will be made of one of the woods or seeds listed above but will have guru stones made of a specific gemstone rather than a tassel or larger bead of the same material. With these kinds of malas, pick one with a crystal or gemstone that resonates with your main intention or that is sacred to the deity you are working with. When it comes to tassels, the color can vary, which provides you with an opportunity to pick out a mala with a tassel color that resonates with your intention. [su_box title="Reader Question" style="glass" box_color="#17c79d" radius="5"]What prayers, chants, mantras, or affirmations should I use with a set of mala beads?[/su_box]This question came from a few different readers and it's a good one! It's also a very personal one. If you were working with a guru or teacher they would traditionally give you a mantra to use in order to help empower you on your journey. Your mantra would change over time as you grow spiritually. Most people don't have a guru or teacher working with them, they just know what they are looking to bring into their lives, so really you are open to picking whatever words or phrases you feel will be most beneficial for you and fitting to your chosen mala.The use of affirmations like "I am wise", "I am strong", "I am powerful", and so on is more of a modern practice. Traditionally the japa practice would be to honor a deity or to help with self-realization process. When you're not working in a traditional practice you are more free to do what you wish. I personally use affirmations, deity names, and the occasional traditional mantra, like Om Mani Padme Hum. There is no real hard and fast rule of what to use if you aren't holding to a specific traditional practice or working with a teacher. 

Traditional Empowerment of a Mala

Empowering a mala can be done in different ways depending on your preferences, your traditions, and your practices. There is a really simple and wonderful way that is traditionally used in Buddhist traditions for empowering a mala.Once your mala and your intention is chosen you decide on your prayer, mantra, or affirmation that will be used with it. In order to charge your mala with this specific intention you would use your chosen mantra or affirmation every day for 40 consecutive days on the same mala. As of the 41st day the mala is considered charged with your specific intention and can then be worn or carried like a talisman to radiant and attract this specific energy.Once a set of mala beads is charged with a specific mantra, if a different mantra is used with them, that original energy it is charged with is "erased" or "reset". This is one of the reasons why it's a good idea to have different malas for different intentions since each set will work with one specific thing.   [su_box title="Reader Question" style="glass" box_color="#17c79d" radius="5"]What should I do with my mala when I'm not using it? What's the best way to store it?[/su_box]An empowered mala is often kept in a sacred place when it's not being used, worn, or carried. Many people will place them around the neck of a Buddha statue or the statue of another deity that they may be working with or whom the beads are dedicated to. You can also keep them in a special box or cloth bag and keep that on your altar or in another sacred space. These are sacred tools, so like any other sacred or magickal tool it should be cared for with respect. [su_box title="Reader Question" style="glass" box_color="#17c79d" radius="5"]What are your thoughts on wearing malas as jewelry?[/su_box]Wearing malas as jewelry is one of the ways to draw on its power outside of prayer and meditation. I love wearing my malas as jewelry because they serve as a constant, sacred reminder of a specific intention that I have set. But again, they are sacred tools, even if they are being worn as jewelry, and should be treated like any other kind of magickal or sacred jewelry. Just like you might not let people grab at your pentacle necklace or the crystals you wear outwardly as jewelry, don't let people start grabbing for your mala beads. People will be drawn to your beads if you wear them as jewelry because, for most people, they will be quite unusual. They'll be all the more curious if you are wearing a mala that has genstones on it as well. As long as you're treating your mala as sacred and you're keeping in mind the real purpose of it, there's not problem with wearing it like jewelry. [su_box title="Reader Question" style="glass" box_color="#17c79d" radius="5"]What's the best way to care for a mala? Do they need to be smudge or cleansed?[/su_box]Like an other tool that will be used for prayer, energy work, and sacred practice you will find over time that it needs a little refreshing and cleansing. If you are wearing your mala out and people touch it a good deal, you'll want to cleans it. Using a singing bowl and using vibration to do the cleansing is my preferred method, especially if there are gemstones involved in the mala. This resets the dominant oscillatory rate of the stones back to their natural DOR, making them as energetically pure as possible. For woods and seeds you can use the same method or you can use smudge or incense as well.In general be mindful of how you use and wear your mala. Don't wear it in the shower or bath or when you go swimming. Don't wear it when you sleep, and if you're going to be doing any heavy physical activity like exercise or yoga, either take it off {which is idea} or make sure that it is securely tucked into a shirt or wrapped around your wrist. I know a lot of people like to wear their mala while doing yoga, which is fine, but it depends on how rigorous your yoga routine is. Even wrapped around your wrist, if too light, you can easily snap the string your beads are on while doing any positions that have you flexing your wrists and putting weight on your hands.  If you're curious about where to get some of these beautiful malas, visit my two favorite places online for gemstone malas that can be worn as jewelry:[wc_spacing size="40px"]

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