Spirit

Native American bead artisans always include a Spirit bead. It is imperfect, out of place, and disruptive to the pattern.

It is said Great Spirit cannot enter anything that is flawless, for without a defect there is no place to come in through.

The spiritual philosophy behind indigenous beadwork also includes a belief that the time it takes to make the piece beautiful honors the spirit world. 

In A Primer: The Art of Native American Beadwork, Z. Suzanne Aikman, of Eastern Cherokee descent, writes, “Each piece should include an intentional mistake, or Spirit bead. The reason for this is that we are but human and cannot achieve perfection; if we attempt perfection in a piece it could be bad luck.”

In another ancient tradition, Hindu mala beads used for prayers are seeds of the lotus flower which grows out of the mud before unfolding into a beautiful blossom, clean and pure. No mud, no beauty.

Imagine if our faults are the very places spirit is waiting for us to reveal, if our messy darkness is the very circumstance through which it will enter. Seeking perfection, will we miss divine?