The Bardonian Rosary

I received a question today from a Bardonist who isn't Catholic but was attracted by the beauty of the Rosary and wanted to know if there was a way he could incorporate it into his magical training even though he wasn't following any sort of Christian approach to IIH. As it turns out, there are actually plenty of ways to do this. The Rosary truly is a beautiful thing. Protestants are often taught (incorrectly) that saying the Hail Mary is idolatry, yet despite this, a large number of Protestants throughout history couldn't help but notice the immense beauty of the Rosary and want to incorporate it into their spirituality. This led them to develop their own forms of the Rosary, like the Anglican Rosary and the Longworth Lutheran Rosary. Non-Christian Bardonists can also develop their own version of the Rosary. In this post, I will explain how to pray what I call the Bardonian Rosary. I think in general, any Bardonist should feel comfortable with this version of the Rosary regardless of their religion, but if you don't, feel free to modify it or develop your own form of the Rosary, assuming of course that incorporating the Rosary into your magical training is something you are interested in doing. 

The Bardonian Rosary is inspired by both the traditional Catholic Rosary and Bardon's version of the Magician card. Let's consider this version of the card for a moment. 

 

In this version of the card, we see akasha in the top center, the active elements of air and fire on the right, and the passive elements of earth and water on the left. We also see the mineral, animal, and vegetable kingdoms represented on the bottom. This scheme is reflected in the following image of a set of prayer beads that follows the standard structure of the traditional Catholic rosary.

This set of beads is what is used to pray the Bardonian Rosary. As for what prayers to say while praying the Bardonian Rosary, here is what I propose. On the cross, we can say the prayer given to William Mistele by the Earth-zone spirit Eralicarison, and which he shares in this essay. That prayer is as follows. 

May the work I perform in training to be a magician serve the highest light of Divine Providence. May divine justice, fair play, and harmony shine through and within all that I do. May the words I speak, the breath I breathe, the light in my eyes, and the love in my heart transform the world around me. May my path be anointed with divine beauty.

May all who enter my life see divine peace reflected through me. May the truth of the universe, the mystery of creation, the light which sustains and shines within every created being use me as its servant. May my will be so perfected that in the end there is no distinction between the satisfaction of my desires and the work of Divine Providence on earth.

On the three HM beads (the small beads) that are part of the Antiphon Beads, we can say the following three prayers. 

Master of the Mineral Kingdom, have mercy on us. Amen.

Master of the Vegetable Kingdom, have mercy on us. Amen. 

Master of the Animal Kingdom, have mercy on us. Amen. 

On the HM beads of the fire section, we can say the following prayer. 

Lord God Almighty, please help me develop genuine faith. Amen.

On the HM beads of the air section, we can say the following prayer. 

Lord God Almighty, please help me learn how to detach from life, and please help me realize how precious and wonderful life is. Amen. 

On the HM beads of the akasha section, we can say the following prayer. 

Lord God Almighty, please help me perceive and understand the oneness of the universe. Amen.

On the HM beads of the earth section, we can say the following prayer.

Lord God Almighty, please help me transform the world for the better with my life, and please help me contribute to the world something of enduring value. Amen. 

And on the HM beads of the water section, we can say the following prayer.

Lord God Almighty, please help me accept all the suffering in life, as well as all the love. Amen.

These five substitutes for the Hail Mary are inspired by William Mistele's essay "Transcendence, Part II," which can be read here. If you do plan to incorporate the Bardonian Rosary into your training, I highly recommend reading that essay so you understand where these prayers come from.

As for the OF beads (the larger beads), you have several options. If you want a "Bardonian" prayer to say on these beads, there is a prayer uttered by the character He'ad'ra in William Mistele's screenplay The Fall of Atlantis, which can be read here. That prayer is as follows. 

May my will be in harmony with Your own – that all my actions in service to others may arise from the One Light and serve the purposes of Divine Providence.

If you don't like this prayer, you can modify it or use another one. The prayer that Saint Francis would say whenever he prayed in front of the San Damiano Crucifix also works well. I've taken the following translation of that prayer from here. 

Most High glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart.
Give me right faith, sure hope and perfect charity.
Fill me with understanding and knowledge that I may fulfill your command.

Although this prayer comes from the Franciscan tradition, which is a Christian tradition, I think it can be said by any Bardonist. The being it is addressed to is the same being that Bardon calls Divine Providence. If you are a Hindu Bardonist and would prefer a Hindu prayer, you can use the Pavamana Mantra. If you are a Druid Bardonist, you can use the well-known Druid's Prayer that appears in, like, all Druid rituals (Grant O God thy protection...).

The traditional Catholic Rosary ends by using the Salve Regina as a closing prayer. Needless to say, this is not a universal prayer. If you would like a more universal or "Bardonian" prayer to use as a closing prayer, one option is the following prayer that was written by William Mistele and can be found here.

Almighty living God, maker of heaven and earth, you have given us breath and life, sight, sound, taste, smell, and the ability to touch and to feel.

You have given us the sun that we might foresee and comprehend the final end, the radiant light we will one day become. You have given us the moon that in the touch of its silvery serene rays on our skin we might feel within our souls an absolute contentment at peace with the universe.

You have given us the stars and constellations, Pleiades and Orion, Aries to Pisces and many more that we might perceive the unfolding of beauty and wonder, in every moment new light and life appearing before our eyes.

You have given us the emptiness of space that contains all the stars and galaxies that like unto you, Oh Creator, we might understand what it is to create from out of nothing, to be perfectly enlightened, to embrace everything that exists, every speck of dust and every being that appears time past, time present, and time future.

You have given us the seas, the streams, the mountains, the forests, the flowers, the volcano, lightning striking, clouds, rain, and surrounded us with all manner of living beings that we might observe and learn through experience one by one the consonants and the vowels with which your voice sings—may our voices become like unto yours—may we create beauty like unto the beauty you create—may we accomplish such work on earth.

Surrounded as we are by the glory of the universe, may we attain in our motives and in our intentions the fulfillment of the purposes of love—sooner rather than later may we cast off selfish desire and become love itself in human form.

To this end, grant us the power and the wisdom to dissolve the negative actions of those who seek to destroy. Grant us the ability to take away from the evil doer his skill that enables him to flourish and to harm others.

May we understand through the power of love the deepest secrets and the threads that wind, combine, and compose the innermost being of every living creature mortal and divine; may the power of friendship, understanding, and love turn darkness into light, malice and vice, ill will and hatred, greed and selfishness into chivalry and nobility.

May we find those who have fallen into an abyss of loneliness and separation—may we reunite and rejoin those who are lost and isolated from mankind—may they find in us and may we be to them a friend who walks forever by their sides.

Almighty living God, may we be so able to let go and to flow here in this present moment where time past and time future join that we become like unto you and see what you see through your eyes. May we learn to feel with such receptivity and such depths of compassion that we become like unto you and so able to feel what you feel in your heart.

Almighty living God, bring our soldiers back from war. Let justice and peace fill the earth. May wars be no more. Grant us your power to, in any instant of time, unite heart to heart and soul to soul with any other person on earth—that in so doing no human being is any longer able to forge in secret the desire to dominate and to control others.

May we never fear battle and may our vigilance never become tame; but rather may we recognize and be fully aware that every great battle in life is first fought within the heart. May we meet each other in our dreams and there speak openly of our innermost visions of what we wish the world to be. And knowing each other from within, learn to work together in harmony—dreaming each other’s dreams, seeking to meet each other’s needs, and in the end, as our love becomes complete, may we see and may we greet in every person we meet ourselves in another form.

Almighty living God, grant my petition for peace—let there appear on earth now in this generation those who are free of all fear, whose minds are so clear and souls are so pure that malice and evil dissolve in their presence as if it was never here.

With all my heart, my soul, my mind, and strength I implore and humbly ask of you, let wars be no more. Let peace and justice fill the earth.

Amen. 

As you might have noticed, this prayer is kind of long, so feel free to shorten it or modify it in any way you see fit. I say my own version of this prayer every day, although not as part of the Rosary since I am Catholic and am basically comfortable with the traditional version of the Rosary.

Of course while praying the traditional Catholic Rosary, one contemplates various "mysteries." In the past, the Joyful Mysteries (Pillar of Mercy) were contemplated on Mondays and Thursdays (watery/magnetic planets), the Sorrowful Mysteries (Pillar of Severity) were contemplated on Tuesdays and Fridays (fiery/electric planets), and the Glorious Mysteries (Pillar of Mildness) were contemplated on Wednesdays and Saturdays (air/earth/neutral planets). In 2002, John Paul II added what he called the "Luminous Mysteries." Although there is certainly value in contemplating these new mysteries, they break the extremely profound esoteric structure of the Rosary, so Christian Bardonists typically don't use them. For non-Christian Bardonists, William Mistele's writings often contain quotes from the elemental kings and queens. When you are on the water section of the Bardonian Rosary, you can contemplate a quote from Istiphul or Amue. When you are on the fire section of the Bardonian Rosary, you can contemplate a quote from Pyrhum or Orudu. When you are on the air section of the Bardonian Rosary, you can contemplate a quote from Cargoste or Capisi. When you are on the earth section of the Bardonian Rosary, you can contemplate a quote from Musar or Erami. If you are a Christian Bardonist and praying the Bardonian Rosary, you can also come up with your own Elemental Mysteries to contemplate. For example, when you are on the water section of the Bardonian Rosary, you can contemplate John 4:13-14. When you are on the earth section of the Bardonian Rosary, you can contemplate Matt. 21:42. The scriptures of other religions like the Qur'an and the Puranas have quotes and stories relating to the elements, so Muslim Bardonists, Hindu Bardonists, and Buddhist Bardonists should all be able to come up with their own Elemental Mysteries to contemplate when praying the Bardonian Rosary. You can even contemplate events in William Mistele's stories and fairy tales that relate to the elements. 

So, that's the Bardonian Rosary. If you want to incorporate the Bardonian Rosary into your training, you have the option of doing something really fun, which is looking for a rosary to help you keep track of your prayers. If you care primarily about durability, Rugged Rosaries specializes in durable rosaries. If you care primarily about aesthetics, the Catholic Company has many beautiful rosaries. If you happen to have flowers saved from a funeral or wedding, you can have those made into a rosary with the help of this company. There are hundreds of options out there. I am a Star Wars fan as well as a Potterhead, so I think of the process of choosing a rosary as a bit like the process of building a lightsaber or buying a wand. In the Star Wars universe, whenever a Jedi builds a lightsaber, he has to take various factors into account, such as the type of crystal, the length of the handle, the type of metal to use for the handle, etc. Similarly, whenever you buy a rosary, you have to consider the type of beads (wooden, metal, glass, etc.), the type of centerpiece, the type of crucifix, the size, etc. Just as every lightsaber is unique, every wand in the Harry Potter universe is also unique, and a twelve inch hawthorne wand with a dragon heartstring core definitely has a different feel than a nine inch oak wand with a phoenix feather core. There is a saying that the wand chooses the wizard, and this saying is applicable when it comes to rosaries. When you buy a rosary, you should choose one that really speaks to you. For some people, that might be a rosary with mother of pearl beads, a Miraculous Medal centerpiece, and a floral crucifix. For others, that might be a rosary with Czech glass beads, a custom centerpiece containing a picture of Bardon or quote from William Mistele, and a Pardon Crucifix. A Bardonist who likes to do pull-ups while introspecting may be fine with a heavier rosary with stainless steel beads, but a normal Bardonist might prefer a lighter rosary with wooden beads. The possibilities really are endless, especially since there are many people on Etsy who make custom rosaries, and since you can always make your own if you are an artsy person. If you plan to carry your rosary around with you in your pocket though, I'd definitely recommend a more durable design. We all know that things didn't go well for Ron Weasley when his wand broke in CoS, or for Darth Maul when Obi Wan Kenobi sliced his lightsaber in half. For me, paracord rosaries are the way to go, but that's just my preference. 

As one final note, I want to mention that in his discussion of the Malkuth temple, Rawn Clark states that one can return to this temple after the initial working to carry out follow-up work. Since this temple pertains to the elements, and since the Bardonian Rosary pertains to the elements, you can incorporate the Bardonian Rosary into your follow-up work. It should be fairly easy to come up with simple ways to do this, and with some creativity, you can come up with some very effective methods of using the Bardonian Rosary to balance yourself in ways inspired by the lessons you learn while exploring the Malkuth temple. I know I've spent a lot of time doing this. You can actually create a set of prayer beads for each of the eight temples, but a discussion of that topic will have to wait until another time.