What does a Broken Mala mean?

February 23, 2023

The Spiritual Significance of a Broken Mala: Understanding and Embracing the Process

When a mala breaks, it can be an emotional and confusing experience. However, from a spiritual perspective, a broken mala can have a deeper significance that is worth exploring. In this blog post, we will discuss the spiritual meaning behind a broken mala and how to embrace the process.

The Western and Eastern Perspectives

According to our perspective and different traditional perspectives, when a mala breaks, it may indicate that its cycle has been completed. The crystal and the mala may have served their purpose, and the breaking may be a way to transmute energy. Similarly to when a crystal piece breaks, they sustain energy and often breaking is how the energy is transmuted. The end of that crystal and its purposes arrives. Or a new beginning is waiting with another purpose.

In the Western perspective, it may seem sad at first, and we may feel sorrow. However, from the Eastern and traditional point of view, it is seen as a positive sign that the process you were going through is over, symbolizing personal and spiritual growth. It is a chance for rebirth and growth, as you have finished and released a pattern, intention, or karmic cycle.

Embracing the process

If this happens to you, we recommend taking some time to reflect on the mala's significance in your life. What was its purpose, and how do you feel about that purpose now? How has the intention you set with this mala evolved, and how do you feel now compared to before? Additionally, where are you invited to focus your energy right now?

A broken mala is an invitation to put your energy and focus into another area of your life. Feel what your intention is at this moment and notice the differences...

What did this mala mean to me?

How has the intention I set with this mala evolved?

How do I feel now as opposed to before?

Where am I invited to focus my energy right now?

A broken mala is an opportunity and teaches us to observe, honor our path and let go.

To conclude this cycle, it is recommended to cleanse the beads with Palo Santo or White Sage, express gratitude for the process, and look forward to what's to come next. If you enjoy rituals, burying your mala in a meaningful place, such as your garden… can be a beautiful way to let go.

We hope that it has been accompanying your journey, and that you have enjoyed it with all your heart and love. However, in the event that it has broken, as we have explained, let us embrace the situation with love and understanding of a higher and divine order.

Life always leads us to the teachings we are invited to integrate, which helps us to grow and evolve. We can learn valuable lessons from every experience, even if it seems difficult at first. By embracing the process, we can find peace and move forward with grace and positivity.

Do you recommend to restring a broken mala?

Sometimes we are asked if we offer to restring a mala, and we do not offer it because we firmly believe that, as we have explained before, when a mala breaks, it has a greater significance associated with the energetic field, both our energy and the process that this mala has accompanied us through.

Choosing a new mala - how to tap into a new intention

What we recommend is to reflect on the questions we mentioned earlier, and open yourself to your current situation:

How do you feel?

What energy are you recommended to open up to at this moment

What is your intention?

From there, letting go of the mind and connecting with your emotions… which mala is the right one to accompany you? You can explore our mala beads collection and personalized mala guide to find a new mala that resonates with your current energy and intention. Trust your intuition and choose with your heart. Remember to honor your path, let go of what's gone, and look forward to what's coming next.

If you have ever had the experience of a mala breaking, we would love to hear your thoughts and what you learned from the experience!

At the same time, we have to say that a mala does not often break, and it is not something usual, so don't be afraid that it will break. It's just that in case it happens, we're here to help you make sense of it.

p.s.: if you're new to mala beads and would like to learn more about them, you can read our previous blog post on What Are Mala Beads. In that post, we go in-depth about the history, meaning, and usage of mala beads in different practices.

From our hearts to yours,

YAM team