The rosary is one of the most readily identified symbols of Catholic faith yet hold this circle of beads from the loop with its cross dangling down and it reveals the first of its many secrets: The rosary forms a symbol for woman that is far older than Christianity.

Bead practices are ubiquitous around the world and lead us back to the spiritual ways of our ancestral grandmothers, gathering nuts and seeds to sustain their communities while murmuring protective prayers, spells, and mantras to guide those they love through life and death. Unlike meditation practices derived from hunting behaviors that privilege stillness and silence, the rosary is a story that invites us to tell our story, listen and bear witness to each other’s joys and sorrows, and reopen the channel of conversation with our plant and animal allies in the natural world.

Perdita and Clark will explore the pagan roots of the traditional rosary and its origins in the rose garlands once offered to the Great Mother. We’ll discover how powerful worry beads can be, and have been for tens of thousands of years, and how having something, and someone, to hold on to can infuse our lives with rest and renewal, courage and compassion.

In almost every one of Her modern apparitions, the Lady has invited everyone, regardless of religious background or belief, to pray the rosary with Her. Together, holding on to each other and to Her, we will find our way back to the garden of the earth.

About Clark and Perdita

Clark Strand and Perdita Finn are co-founders of The Way of the Rose, an inclusive fellowship of rosary friends dedicated to the Earth and to the Lady “by any name we wish to call Her.” Strand is the author of numerous books and articles on spiritual practices, including Seeds from a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey and Waking Up to the Dark: Ancient Wisdom for a Sleepless Age. Finn is the author of The Reluctant Psychic and the forthcoming Take Back the Magic: Getting to Know the Dead. They live with their family in the Catskill Mountains.  

To learn more about the work of Clark Strand and Perdita Finn visit www.wayoftherose.org.

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