Here is my thought on the Rudraksha beads. There are two aspects to this:
- Use on its own, as an amulet/magickal object
- As a tool in Mantra practice
The first one seems to be relatively new, popularized by sectarian Puranas composed from the fifteenth century onward. These ascribe magical properties to the Rudraksha bead itself, where one places a bead on the altar and receives certain benefits. The number of lines (faces as they are called) is the key factor here, the fewer the lines, the more magical the object is. For example, the five-faced Rudraksha is the most common one (and also the most recommended one in older scriptures) while the single-faced one is rarer and gets sold for a large sum of money (I have seen these listed for like USD 20k). 90% of the expensive forms unfortunately are fake, while some vendors in Nepal (which is where these beads grow) do offer a certificate of authenticity (no way to authenticate their authentication except for a word of mouth reputation).
IMHO, the magickal properties of Rudrakshas as a standalone magickal object are pretty overrated and driven more from commerce than their real occult value. Several nineteenth-century manuals, all traceable to Nepal (where these beads grow), hype the bead and it is clear it is driven by a commercial agenda. Sri Yantras are the new Rudrakshas of this decade - they are sold everywhere without a clear understanding of its uses and risks.
Now the second aspect - its ritualistic use, this does go back to near pre-historic times to the time of ancient Pashupata ascetics devoted to Shiva. Several artifacts uncovered from the ruins of Harappa show these ascetics adorned in Rudraksha necklaces, bracelets, etc. while performing their rituals. Mantra manuals frequently recommend using the Rudraksha beads as the rosary for getting success (Siddhi) in mantra practices. I mainly use Rudraksha for reciting all my mantras, clear quartz for a few mantras, and snake bone rosary for a select few mantras. Rudraksha is the best rosary to use for mantras that are recited for spiritual ascension.
To summarize, the Rudraksha as a standalone magickal object is pretty overrated, especially if you need to pay a big price for it. Whatever vibration one feels from it probably comes more from faith of people on it (egregorous) rather than its own inherent magickal value. I have some Rudrakshas that I got from a student who is from the erstwhile Nepal Royal family (which sadly got massacred a few years ago) - six faced (representing Subrahmanya, Shiva’s son), nine faced (representing Chandi), twelve faced (Vishnu), sixteen faced (representing the Great Goddess Shodashi, the culmination of Indian Tantric school), etc. Frankly, I have noticed nothing special about these beads. One of these exudes a very strong vibration - but that is because this was used for rituals by a past ruler of Nepal for 61 years while he recited thousands of mantras for Nepal’s patron deity Guhyeshvari (a form of Kali), and the vibration really is due to his energy and not the bead itself.
I would rather use a gemstone or buy one of Dream’s fields for the same price, which would be of a better value.