I awakened this morning in full dark — no moon, no stars to be seen. Now, some small time later, the dawn is here, but the light is not: Snow clouds have once again amassed themselves overnight, delivering only a slight dusting thus far, but shielding the sun’s face entirely from view.
The whole world outside the window, earth and sky as one, is the color of lead.
It’s fitting, I suppose, in a week as otherwise dark as this. A scant two days from now, the whole world will change, materially, in ways that too few have bothered to contemplate. And on that day, both the light and the wisdom it represents will be suddenly in very short supply.
It has been clear for some time now that there will be no one to save us. Our peoples have always known this, but the descendants of those who provided our first genuine existential threat steadfastly refuse to learn this lesson. Now, though, it will be brought home, and thoroughly, to everyone: The path is dark, and we have to find the light for ourselves.
We can’t do it alone, of course. But neither the ancestors nor the spirits ever intended that we should. We can always call upon their wisdom for illumination and guidance.
And it is precisely these spirits upon whose power Wings has drawn in creating today’s featured work. From its description in the Necklaces Gallery here on the site:
The Light Spirit Necklace
Here, the light is a living thing, a spirit being all its own: one that dances through our days as a child of Father Sun, aided by the powers of the elements and the four directions. Wings gives life to this spirit being in an extraordinary figurative piece wrought in sterling silver and ethereal labradorite. The upper oval cabochon, which forms her head, is of the blue-green form of the stone, evoking air and water; her body is a teardrop lit with golden brown, the colors of earth and fire. She wears a tablita headdress in the traditional stair-stepped shape. At its center rests a stylized Morning Star formed of arrows pointed to the Four Sacred Directions; the star is flanked by a pair of flowering sun symbols, themselves reaching to the cardinal points. The reverse is excised in an ajouré geometric shape that hints at both the sacred directions and the guiding Eye of Spirit, also flanked by stylized freehand motifs of the cardinal points. The teardrop-shaped lower pendant similarly features an ajouré oval on its reverse, so that the stones may rest against the wearer’s skin. Both pendants are set into scalloped bezels trimmed with twisted silver, against a subtle outline of stampwork in sunrise symbols to emphasize the power and effect of the light. The two-piece pendant connects via an adjoining hinge, allowing the work to move and dance in the light; changes in background changes the hues of the stones slightly, allowing the figure to move along the spectrum. The entire piece hangs from a hand-made bail hand-stamped in matched thunderhead patterns that point to cardinal and ordinal points simultaneously, and is suspended from a necklace composed of graduated combinations of sterling silver rondel and round beads, tapering to lengths of round Florentine-finish silver beads, and ending in short segments of glossy gray hematite rondels. The whole pendant, including bail, hangs 5.75″ in length and measures 2-5/8″ across at the widest point; the upper cabochon is 1.75″ across by 1-5/8″ high; the lower cabochon is 1-7/8″ long by 1″ across at the widest point (dimensions approximate). Reverse shown at the link. Second in Wings’s new series, The Light Collection; coordinates with the Light In the Storm cuff bracelet found in our Bracelets Gallery. Joint design by Wings and Aji, in honor of Griffin, who was our spirit and our light.
Sterling silver; labradorite; sterling silver beads; hematite beads
$2,800 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Due to size, weight, and value, extra shipping charges apply
This is one of my favorite works, one that catches the light of Father Sun, holds it, transmits it to wearer and observer alike. Blues and golds, greens and browns: no matter how gray the day, how dim the path, it radiates warmth and light and color.
It may not be enough actually to cast light upon the path in the days ahead. But it reminds us that the light is there, however veiled by clouds and shadow. It is our task to look for it, to hold fast to it . . . and then to send it outward. For it is in sharing our light with others that we create a world bright and warm and wise.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
