It is in our nature, we humans, to seek talismans, spiritual shields, proof against the powers that exist beyond our ability to harness and control. Sometimes, we resort to mere shibboleths, incantations that serve to soothe the havoc in our spirits simply by force of repetition.
Other times, we require something more tangible.
It’s why cultures the world over resort to worry beads, worry stones, amulets, what our own peoples would call “Medicine” given corporeal form.
One of those forms is a literal shield, what our peoples call a “medicine shield.” For some, they are ordinary shield, usually made of thick and sturdy hide stretched over a hoop and lashed together with sinew . . . given additional force through the adornment with painted symbols and attached feathers, shells, or beads, arrayed in ritual patterns that invoke the protective powers of the spirits. Today, absent the physical combat that marked our peoples’ quest for survival a scant century ago, their use is metaphorical, our warriors symbolic and spiritual.
The battle is no less real for all that.
The existential threats we face today are more subtle, but no less tangible. For some, the chances that they will spill over into a need for true physical defense, a return to a much older war, grow closer by the day. In this new year, as storms approach — storms of weather and storms of war — we know the importance of arming ourselves spiritually for the challenges that lie ahead.
In today’s featured piece, Wings invoked the imagery of the medicine shield, distilling to wearable size and shape. It captures the colors of the world outside the window on this dawn, the black and blue of the gathering storm, lit all around by the faint silvery glow of a veiled sun upon the snow. It invokes the power of the directions and the winds that keep their gates, all spiraling toward powerful central vortex. From its description in the Necklaces Gallery here on the site:
Dance of the Whirlwind Spirits Necklace
When the winds come from the Four Directions to meet at the center of all that is, they summon the spirit of the whirlwind to dance in the vortex of the storm. Wings summons all of the spirits in this work, a large, heavy talismanic medallion of solid sterling silver, hammered by hand and lightly domed in repoussé fashion. A symbol of the Four Sacred Direction in a flaring stylized cross shape rests atop the medallion as an overlay. Each spoke is marked with a single cabochon of cobalt-blue lapis lazuli, the color of the rain; they spin inward toward the vortex at the center, embodied in a large round onyx cabochon of mysteriously glossy depths. The hand-made bail is accented with tiny hand-stamped hoops, the shape of the spiraling wind itself. The pendant hangs from an alternating strand of round sterling silver and lapis lazuli beads, with small square lapis and round onyx beads stretching toward either end of the strand, each end terminating in two tiny Florentine-finish silver beads. Pendant is 2-1/8 inches long (including bail) by 2-1/4 inches across; beads are 19 inches long (dimensions approximate). Close-up view of the pendant shown below.
Sterling silver; onyx; lapis lazuli
$1,500 + shipping, handling, and insurance
I have worn this piece around my own neck; I can attest to its strength. It is both talisman and amulet: a work of power on its own, and one that holds the powers of other forces within it.
It is a medicine bag wrought in silver and stone, precious metals and jewels stitched together in a protective pouch.
In this new year, one whose geopolitical dynamics and an accelerating spiral of climate change may prove pivotal for human existence, it’s wise be prepared: Yes, we must be ready to let the light in . . . and to raise a shield against the storm.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
