03/21/2019
El Camino de Santiago 5 Decade Red Coral Rosary
Way of Saint James
5 Decade Rosary
El Camino de Santiago
The scallop shell is the most iconic symbol associated with the Camino de Santiago. It’s seen everywhere, from churches and distance markers to pavements and backpacks. But how exactly did this meager mollusk become associated with The Way?
Like many Christian symbols and practices, the association of the scallop shell with the Camino predates the arrival of St James and Christianity in modern-day Galicia. In Roman Hispania, there was a route known as the Janus Path used by pagans as a born-again ritual and ending in Finisterre. Its starting point? The Temple of Venus, Roman goddess of love. Venus is said to have risen from the sea on a scallop shell, as depicted in Botticelli’s painting The Birth of Venus, and is associated with fertility rituals practiced along the route.
Ideas and themes associated with the cult of Janus are echoed by the concept of transformation on the Camino de Santiago. The Roman god Janus, for whom the month January is named, is the god of beginnings and endings, transition and transformation – all ideas shared by pilgrimages and discovered on the Camino today, a constant source of renewal and rediscovery.
Did you know that it has been one of the most important Christian pilgrimages since medieval times? It is made on foot, with starting points in various European locations, and ends at the shrine of the Apostle Saint James the Greater, at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. That is where the remains of this saint are buried. He is believed to be the first Apostle to suffer martyrdom, in 44 A.D.
The pilgrimage to his shrine has been made continuously since the remains of Saint James were re-discovered. Even as far back as the 9th century, there are records of the arrival of pilgrims at the Cathedral of Santiago. Some people made the journey as a form of penance. Many today still take up this route as a form of spiritual retreat.
If you talk to anyone who has made the pilgrimage, they will tell you it is life-changing. But most of us will never have the ability, or the opportunity, to make such a pilgrimage.
This does not mean, however, that you can’t make this journey interiorly, through the power of prayer.
So in honor of this famous pilgrimage route, I've designed this rosary. Praying the rosary, cradling its powerful symbols in your hands, you can travel El Camino de Santiago in spirit.
Red Coral
Coral is known as the stone of peace and transformation. It’s also called Sea Garden because of how much it looks like a plant.
When you work with ocean energies, such as this stone holds, you will receive protection from negativity and evil influences.
This stone will help you release unhealthy thoughts and emotions. It will help you dispel any ugliness or weakness that you may feel so that your inner self will transform anew! It will show you how you should value the past but not hesitate to embrace the future. You should never say no to having a beautiful new world and accepting the challenges that this new world can offer! It will make you realize that it’s in your struggles and hardships that you will find the best kind of lessons and experiences. Coral will also remind you that you need to swim life’s oceans if you wish to see what’s out there in the horizon.
Catch as many waves as you can and open yourself to new experiences!
The energies of Coral will deter any kind of negative thought. It will promote honesty, truthfulness, and positivity.
