We were not able to watch the rise of yesterday evening’s full moon; there were too many clouds lingering around the peaks. The evening before, we were able to see it transcend the ridgeline, a giant pearl tinted with amber and rose from the trailing bands of cloud reflecting the fire of the setting sun. Last night, it finally freed itself from the stormclouds’ web about four hours after moonrise, but by then, of course, it was high in the sky, small and snow-white and almost blindingly bright.
But in my people’s way, this is the Spirit Moon, one to illuminate the cold hours of the long dark. It’s a winter moon for a new world, medicine of light and balance for the new year to come.
Today’s featured work embodies this Grandmother spirit in all her faces and phases, the turning of the moon as a symbol of feminine strength and power when so much of the rest of the world disintegrates beneath the force of the cold. It’s one from the signature series that is perhaps closest to Wings’s heart, one that has run for more than a quarter of a century — scores, perhaps hundreds of individual pins (and occasional pendants or combinations thereof), each unique, each true to its own identity and animating spirit.
The version of it featured here today is one of only two remaining in current inventory, and this one is especially apt for this moment when the moon remains near-full, as icy white as the snow that blankets the ground, yet filled with a fire all her own to light our path in these still-long hours of wintry dark. From its description in the Pins Gallery here on the site:
The Turning of the Moon Warrior Woman Pin
We find guidance in the turning of the moon, and in the light of the stars that direct our path in the dark hours. With this latest entry in his signature Warrior Woman series, Wings welcomes our Grandmother’s glow and the illuminating light of other guiding spirits. Cut freehand of sterling silver, this Warrior Woman wears a dress accented with eleven stylized arrowhead motifs, ten of them paired to form a cascade line of Eyes of Spirit. The same symbol traces a counterclockwise route around the crescent moon in her left hand, following that night orb’s natural path. Over her right shoulder coils a serpent, a motif of abundance, scales formed of flowers pollinated by a kaleidoscope of butterflies at the end, busy following their own prescribed path. In her right hand, she holds a miniature of the moon itself: glowing rainbow moonstone refracting radiant blues and icy translucent white. Pin stands 2.75″ high by 2 inches across at the widest point; the rainbow moonstone cabochon is 3/16″ across (dimensions approximate).
Sterling silver; rainbow moonstone
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
She will rise a bit later tonight, and she will be the slightest shade off perfectly round, but to the naked human eye, she will still appear full. Her shape is reflected in this work’s regalia, orbiting at the center of the arrow points that form Eyes of Spirit down the front of her dress. Those same points trace a path around the crescent in right hand, a different version of the moon, while the gem in her right reflects not only the light but the form she assumed last night.
The mix of silver and rainbow moonstone are as icy as the edge of the winds these days, but the serpent coiled over her right shoulder, formed of pattern wire in an Art Nouveau floral design, hints at the growth, and the warmth, to come: It is not, after all, spring that is the true season of renewal and rebirth, but these long months of winter medicine that allow the world to rest, to heal, to be reborn and grow enough to receive the seeds of spring.
And so, at the appointed hour this evening, just before sunset, we will be waiting and watching; we honor her arrival, her presence, her strength and her gift of light. It’s a winter moon for a new world, and we can feel the Earth already stirring, already thriving beneath our Grandmother’s glowing gaze.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
