Supplication for Health

I wrote this Prayer after getting my first set of Anglican Prayer Beads; I prefer to recite it when I’m having a particularly hard time dealing with any of my Chronic Illnesses- which is ultimately the reason I wrote it to begin with.

It should honestly go without saying (though I suspect people need it spelled out anyways) that this prayer is obviously not asking for me to literally be healed of my illnesses- nor saying that they are bad. They are, after all, chronic and permanent, and there is nothing wrong with being disabled or chronically ill at all... But I do personally find it both comforting and mentally fortifying to recite whenever I find myself struggling with them. And that is, to me at least, the major purpose of prayers such as these.

Some portions of the prayer are a combination of several charms located in Volume II of the Carmina Gadelica (particularly the Lasting Life grouping of charms), with minor further inspiration from the Book of Common Prayer. Each stanza has then been structured in a way that allows it to be recited with the traditional structure of the Anglican style of Rosary.

Opening Crucifix

By the grace of the Trinity-

The Gods and UnGods who guide me,

The Fae who relinquish me,

And the Ancestors who created me.

Invitatory

Glory be to thee, oh Anointed Ones-

O Brighid, O Airmedh,

Healer-women of the Túatha–

Bestow upon me fullness in mine need;

Give unto me thy Spirit, that I may be well.

First Cruciform

Take mercy upon me, thy daughter;

Go ye out, and place a charm about mine body.

First Week

From damage,

From deficiency,

From stain,

From frailty,

From defect,

From unhealth,

And all manner of ill.

Second Cruciform

Go, and place a charm about mine body,

That every manner of unhealth shall cleave from it.

Second Week

Without hardship,

Without lingering,

Without discomfort,

Without malfunction,

Without sluggishness,

Without complication,

And leave free of all blemish.

Third Cruciform

Go, and place a charm about mine body,

So there be not the least of unhealth upon me.

Third Week

From the crown of thy head-

From hair to eyes,

From ear to mouth,

From neck to breast,

From back to hip,

From mound to knee,

And to the soles of mine feet.

Fourth Cruciform

Go, and place a charm about mine body,

That mine body may be one and whole again.

Fourth Week

Without ache,

Without strain,

Without fatigue,

Without injury,

Without wounds,

Without impairment,

And free of mine suffering.

Invitatory

By the grace of those most generous,

Who take within thine arms, the sick and weary.

Closing Crucifix

Glory be to thee, O Healer-women of the Túatha,

That I may be without the blemish of unhealth upon me.

I’ve segmented the prayer headers above roughly based on the names of beads in the Anglican Rosary that way it’s easier to see where each stanza should be prayed in comparison to it.

Like with all my prayers, while each stanza is different, there is a certain repetitive nature to them, as I find it aids me in remembering the virtues between them. I also find that it forces me into a slower, more meditative state overall while praying- and Praying the Rosary is largely meant to be a meditative, heavily reflective and contemplative method of prayer in the first place.

The prayer should be recited up the “tassel”, or the hanging piece holding the Crucifix- then around as many times as desired (Anglican tradition suggests that three rounds should be made). Once you’ve completed the rounds, the prayer returns down the “tassel”, skipping the first cruciform, and ends again on the Crucifix.