Red Bead – Spiritual Meaning and Symbolism

Red beads, as beads in general, are present in various spiritual and belief systems and used for symbolic and practical purposes.

Red beads are popular amongst those interested in spiritual practices, because of their specific energy and spiritual meaning.

The color red represents passion, vitality, strength, power, energy, and life in general.

It is associated with the element of fire and the energy of the planet Mars, the fiery planet named after the Roman deity of war, the counterpart of the Greek god Ares.

Red is the color of fire, blood, and war, but also of life, passion, and love.

Connected with Mars, its energy is burning, encouraging, and strengthening, but also destructive if not under control. Red beads embody the vital energy of the color red.

Red Beads Spiritual Meaning

You can use red beads in various ways, depending on the type of beads and their arrangement.

Red beads are present in various traditions, of which we will talk more in the following paragraphs – in African religious systems, as well as in Hinduism and related paths.

For the start, let us talk about the spiritual meaning of red beads in general.

Red beads represent energy, action, courage, strength, love, and passion.

If you are a passionate person, a red beads piece of jewelry would be a nice choice to reflect your inner drive.

Red beads are good for those who lack these qualities and need more energy in life.

Red beads enhance personal strength, awaken the flame within one’s heart, and make one feel more alive, more active, and lively.

While being the ultimate color of love, representing the idea of unconditional love, the color red also has some connotations of another nature.

It is linked with war, violence, and wrath. It is the color of blood that is spilled on the battlefield.

Red beads are associated with unbelievably powerful force in that sense.

For example, in Yoruba tradition, red beads are linked with the deity of fire and iron and the spirits of war. Red beads represent the incredible power and strength of the wearer.

Red beads could be seen as a statement of power, but also as a symbol of a passionate character.

In addition, in the spiritual sense, red beads are connected with the root chakra energy.

Red, the color of both love and war, blood and sacrifice, has immense spiritual potential.

Red is unstoppable, active, burning, and alive. Deities of the greatest strength are often associated with the color red. Red beads can be used as a symbol and a statement of such energy.

In general, any object of red color could be associated with these ideas. Of course, red beads could be nothing more than a creative fashion accessory.

However, if we enter the world of the religious and spiritual, red beads gain a deeper meaning.

Red Sangoma Beads Meaning

Sangomas are much-praised traditional healers amongst the Zulu people.

There are many similarities between diviners and healers in various African cultures. One of the similarities includes wearing beads as a mark of their specific status.

The healers are typically women, although there is no limitation when it comes to gender.

Anyone can become one if they receive a calling. The beaded jewelry they wear is a symbol of their acceptance of the calling and their connection with the spiritual world.

These beaded ones have special powers, assisted by the spirits. They can restore others’ well-being and treat physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual damage.

To do that, they perform various rituals and know how to use herbal medicines.

Sangomas treat the consequences of the activity of malevolent energies, which are called in by witches and sorcerers, for example.

They can have prophetic dreams and can predict things. Their powers vary depending on the spirit they are connected with.

In Yoruba tradition, the healers were possessed, in a way, by Orishas. The Orishas are spirits or deities sent by the Creator to help people.

Different Orishas are associated with different energies and colors, the concept which finds expression in African beadwork.

Red beads have great significance for some African peoples. The color red represents blood. In this case, red beads symbolize the blood relations with the ancestors.

In other words, red beads symbolize ancestors to whom the healer is related by blood.

The ancestral spirits play a crucial role within southern African traditions.

The red color may symbolize any blood relative, but it usually stands for the great-grandfather or grandmother.

The side of the family is not of importance, while the role of the great-grand ancestor is what matters the most because of their actual role in the organization and structure of the family and the legacy of the healers’ calling.

Red beads, thus, have an incredible power of bonding with ancestral blood relatives.

Red bead color is also associated with several Orishas, in specific designs with more than one color.

Red bead color is associated with Orishas Shango, Elegua, Oya, and sometimes Yemaya.

In these cases, at least one other color is combined with red. Apart from the healers’ beaded ornaments, red beads are also used for making African waist beads.

Red Waist Beads Meaning

African waist beads seem to be popular these days, especially amongst those interested in the spiritual power of beads.

Waist-beading is a traditional practice found in different African countries and it has to do with the concept of femininity and maturity.

Waist beads are used for other purposes, as well. They are worn as a fashion statement or for weight-control.

As is the case with other cultural uses of beads, like that of sangomas and traditional healers amongst African peoples, the color plays a role in waist-beading, as well. Each color has a specific meaning.

Waist beads always represent something, regardless of the practical use.

Red waist beads symbolize passion, strength, self-confidence, and s*xuality.

Waist beads traditionally play a role in attraction and the concept of coming of age for African women.

Red Mala Beads Meaning

Mala beads, Japa mala, or simply mala are prayer beads consisting of typically 108 beads, although there are variations.

Mala is a loop of beads of the same size, material, and color. Prayer beads are present in different cultures; in Christianity, there are rosaries.

Mala beads are traditionally used in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Their purpose is as spiritual as it is practical.

They maintain the focus and concentration of the one who recites mantras, for example, or is used for counting repetitions while performing a spiritual practice.

With the popularization of Eastern practices, such as yoga, meditation, etc., mala beads also gained more popularity outside of their place and culture of origin.

The choice of mala beads depends on the color and material, which have to do with the spiritual energy and symbolism of mala. What about red mala beads?

Red mala beads symbolize power, passion, carnal energy, love, and desire.

In terms of Hinduism, they are associated with kundalini, the divine feminine energy residing at the base of the human spine.

It is in connection with kundalini yoga, meant to release the aforementioned energy.

The color red awakens the first, that is, root chakra, which is responsible for our feeling of stability, security, and survival.

The root chakra is central to the process of kundalini energy balancing.

Red mala beads are thus an excellent choice if one practices yoga, but also in everyday life.

They help you balance your energy and potential. Red mala is especially good for people who do not have enough strength, motivation, or courage.

This mala can help one awaken and maintain the energy needed.

Red mala beads could be made of various gemstones. Some of them are carnelian, jasper, garnet, ruby, and agate.

Red Beads Color Combos

The energy of red beads combines well with that of other colors.

In some African religious systems, bead designs with more than one color are associated with spirits, deities, and their different qualities.

Here are some of the powerful red bead color mixtures.

Red and White Beads Meaning

Red and white sangoma beads meaning has to do with qualities of Nguni spirits, associated with protection, power, and war.

Diviners who are in connection with these spirits wear red and white beads.

The Orisha of fire and iron, Shango, is also associated with red and white beads. He is the creator of lightning and thunder.

In an astrological sense, this spirit resembles the sign of Aquarius. The sign of Aquarius embodies the vision, rebellion, and big changes.

Red and white beads spiritual meaning derives from these ideas.

Another Orisha whose eleke, the bead string, contains red and white, but also blue color, is Yemaya, the goddess of ocean waters. She embodies the principle of motherhood.

Red and Black Beads Meaning

Red and black are two striking colors, in a symbolic sense. Red represents blood, war, love, passion, and life force, while black stands for power, elegance, mystery, and death, amongst else.

In African traditional beadwork, red and black are the beads of Elegua.

Elegua is the messenger Orisha, the one at the crossroads between the world of the spirits and the visible, material realm.

He has qualities similar to Mercury or Hermes in Greco-Roman tradition. Elegua’s beads are red and black, and also white.

In African traditions, the red and black color symbolizes the connection and communication with the spirits of ancestors.

As said, the red color represents blood relations. Red also stands for the sacrifice connecting the practitioner with the spirits of ancestors.

Black, in this case, symbolizes death, but in a figurative sense. For a healer initiated to the calling, black represents the death of the old self.

Red and Purple Beads Meaning

The Orisha Oya governs the weather. This Orisha is associated with clairvoyance and psychic powers.

Her energy is that of love. The bead strings associated with Oya feature red, purple and rainbow beads.

Red and purple beads are associated with fire, regeneration, mystery, passion, transformative processes, and rebirth, as Oya has similarities with the qualities of the magnetic and powerful Scorpio sign.

Red Bead Bracelet Meaning

A red bead bracelet would have similar spiritual properties as a red mala loop.

It could be made of the same red gemstones as a mala. The red bead bracelet represents passion, drive, energy, courage, love, motivation, personal strength, and power.

A red bracelet made of beautiful precious or semi-precious stones could benefit your overall state of being.

Red color enhances personal potential and increases life force, vitality, and motivation.

Red is the color of attraction, desire, and love. A red bracelet could both represent and channel those concepts and energies.

A red bead bracelet could be worn as a lucky charm when you need some additional spiritual flame and fuel.

Red Bead Necklace Meaning

Red bead necklaces have great cultural significance in Benin. Benin people wear necklaces made of red coral to express their royal status.

The tradition of wearing red coral beads in Benin seizes back to ancient times.

They use a unique type of red coral to make the jewelry. Their necklaces made of red coral signify dominance, power, and royal status.

Furthermore, the rulers of the Benin kingdom are adorned with regalia of power made of red coral.

Those include red beaded necklaces, beaded bangles, shoes, and a crown made of red coral beads.

Red coral beads are also a part of the Benin bridal costume.

Red beads in Benin tradition are limited to the ruling class, but on special occasions other members of the society use them.

Red bead necklaces do not have to be made of red coral, of course.

A beautiful, luxurious ruby necklace would symbolize power and high status, for example.

Whatever the personal choice and intention, a red bead necklace makes a powerful statement or serves as a perfect channel of life energy, depending on its form, shape, size, and material.

Red Beads in a Dream

Dreams about red beads are associated with the concept of power, passion, desire, and personal strength. Drive, energy, and life force.

The color red is also associated with aggression, violence, anger, and war.

The interpretation of the red beads dream depends on what you do with the beads in your dream.

If you wear them, it signifies personal power or your need to enhance it, grow it, and strengthen yourself.

Collecting red beads in a dream may have to do with trying to put yourself together, steadily and slowly, after an experience that hurt you emotionally.

It could also have something to do with the work on your impulsiveness and rashness.

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