Celtic Priestess Botanical Rosary
Celtic Priestess Botanical Rosary
This one-of-a-kind handmade rosary was inpired by the Celtic goddesses. There are 19 moss agate crystals on either side of the central bead to represent the 19 priestesses of Brigid and moss agate symbolises new beginnings, which The Morrigan reminds us are part of the life and energetic cycles of birth, death and rebirth.
This rosary contains 71 beads of three types: 38 moss agate crystals, 28 handmade beads from multi-coloured roses grown in Surrey and 5 handmade air clay beads painted in rose dye and gold.
The word rosary refers to the garlands that were traditionally woven from roses and offered to the Virgin Mary in the springtime. But long before Mary, those same garlands were made as offerings to other goddesses by many other names. Roses were offered to Venus, the Roman goddess of love and fertility, whose emblem was also a circle with a cross pendant. Before that, they were offered to Isis, the Great Mother of the ancient Mediterranean world. The rosary is an enduring, multi cultural symbol of the divine feminine and our own connection to the divinity within us.
The rosary can be worn, placed in an altar and/or used for prayer/intention setting.
The rose beads are lovingly made using a slow, intentional process. First, I choose the flowers, or they are given to me out of love - in this case these are David Austin roses from my wonderful friend Kelly who has a beautiful garden in Surrey.
I go on pilgrimages to collect sacred well water - for these beads I used water from the sacred, healing Lady Well in Devon.
When the flowers are ready, I blend the petals with the well water, before purifying the pulp using gentle heat.
Once cooled, I drain the clay of liquid multiple times and save the dye for paint. I smooth out the clay and allow it to sit for up to a week, before rolling it out into beads and then baking them.
Each rosary takes over two weeks to make and is infused with love, ritual and ceremony - and the divine feminine spirit of the land in the UK.
The rosary comes with a hand-dyed altar cloth, hand-dyed jewellery bag to hold the necklace, a prayer card and crystal.