Prayer Garden

A physical prayer garden is a simple and aesthetically pleasing set of groundworks - often, but not always, situated beneath the clear sky and amongst natural landforms. Paths are laid out as labyrinths or other traversible diagrams among these groundworks, with each path subdivided to encourage pausing and reflecting on a particular aspect of a given spirit's doctrine. Larger 'stations' will be placed at various locations along the path to encourage longer reflection or to represent major aspects of the doctrone. Plackards, inscriptions, or other markers may be used to direct the visitor in their meditation, but these intrusions into the senses of the visitor should be kept to a minimum so as to not disrupt the visitor's meditative 'emptiness.' Similarly, ambient sounds should be soft and either naturalistic or soothingly musical in nature - again, to avoid breaking the meditative state the visitor is attempting to achieve.   A mental prayer garden is similar in structure and content to a physical prayer garden, but in the metaphorical sense of the term. Long, repetitive prayer cycles whispered or spoken into the silence of one's own mind replace the labyrinth of a physical garden. Unique snippets of the Ancestral Codex or visualizations of events therefrom replace the stations. A mental prayer garden is not considered 'complete' until the practitioner memorizes the relevant prayers and passages so that they can be called upon during meditation rather than interupting meditation with referrence. Mandalas or other ritual objects may be used to aid in recall, however, such as etchings in the shape of the appropriate prayer garden's path layout on the back of an orison coin rubbed during meditation, a fabric banner emblazoned with a labyrinth pattern, or a patch of raised stitching on the carpet in a private corner of one's berth.   Often, the 'walking' of a prayer garden can be enhanced by furnishing one's ritual space with incense and pleasant music to help bring one into a state of mindfulness as well as to counteract distractions in a similar sensory mode. More often, however, efforts are undertaken to make a prayer garden as free from unnecessary distractions as possible. Artificial ritual spaces, such as might be found in the confines of a starship or space colony, will typically be furnished with decorations to evoke a natural setting and little else. Virtual reality headsets may be used to furnish these conditions when the space might not otherwise allow; some find the light pressure of these devices upon ones head distracting, but others can use the constancy of this sensation as a point of focus.

For many of its adherents, Ancestral Patronism is a henotheistic religion: while there are many ancestral spirits one might call upon for support, typically only the beliefs and practices of one or two will 'speak' to a given spiritual speaker. A prayer garden is, thus, typically oriented towards the doctrine of a specific spirit, though physical locations are generally open to the whole of the faith commuity regardless of their chosen spiritual patron or matron.

Walking a mental prayer garden is a common practice that can be carried out almost anywhere and at any time, and, thus, one may encounter practicioners undertaking it almost everywhere one goes in Protectorate space. Void Priests develop elaborate mental prayer garden practices to help them retain deep knowledge of the Patrons' and Matrons' teachings; the distinction between this meditative practice and official church gatherings can blend together when a musical component is added into the ritual.   A physical prayer garden is a more ostentatious affair and might be visited on more specific occasions (anniversaries, changes in life circumstances, etc). A public park might feature several prayer gardens dedicated to different local spirits, with more well-known spirits being assigned larger plots to accomodate larger groups of worshipers. In the latter case, walking a prayer garden is as common as visiting a public park and may be undertaken more casually.