The waning moments of the indigo hours, the dawn star glows large and low in the still-dark sky. The forecast predicts snow by tomorrow night, but for this day, the air hold such perfect clarity that the late stars seem still to dance within our reach.
It is one of the gifts of winter, this clarity: the ability to see farther than at other seasons, to feel, with greater perceptiveness, the great vastness of the cosmos we inhabit.
It is not only us; the animals feel it, too. The dogs bark at spirits only they can see, giving chase with hackles raised; the horses follow them, too, dancing along the fenceline in agitated pursuit.
We travel the downward slope of autumn now, although the weather of its successor season has long been with us already. In less than the cycle of the moon, year’s end as Mother Earth reckons it will be here: the Solstice, the shortest day of the year, and the longest night. Although the outside world reckons time and season differently, it will be a line of demarcation, one that assures us, even as we enter the deepest cold of winter, that summer is even now returning.
Other beings understand this better than we; we humans get too caught up in the discomfort of individual moments to remember the beauty and promise of the longer view. But two of those beings, powerful spirits both, in their own ways, inhabit today’s featured work, instantiating these opposing and yet complementary elemental powers, proof that summer needs winter in the same way that day needs night. From its description in the Necklaces Gallery here on the site:
The Dawn Horse and the Night Bird Necklace
The Dawn Horse and the Night Bird are spirits of air and sky, medicine beings here to guide us and protect us on the path throughout our days. Wings summons both spirits onto a miniature medicine shield: a big, bold, beautiful necklace that is wearable art and protective amulet simultaneously. The shield is cut freehand from sterling silver of a substantial gauge, arcing to follow the shape of the sky. Across the center between two hand-stamped Morning Stars races the Dawn Horse, an Indian paint pony stretched in full gallop, his spirited tail flying free behind him. The horse is cut freehand of sterling silver, hand-stamped to delineate features and pinto coat, then overlaid securely. Blossoms edge the perimeter like rays of morning light, with a single hand-stamped in each corner. On the reverse, the Night Bird, of the Hummingbird Clan, hovers in mid-air to drink from a night-blooming flower. Hummingbird and flower are both cut freehand from sterling silver; the little bird’s bill, features, and feathers are brought into focus via hand stampwork, the flower’s delicate petals, vine-like stalk, and tiny leaves are cut freehand of a single piece, hand-stamped, and overlaid opposite the hummingbird. The shield’s reverse is edged on all sides with hand-stamped crescent moons, signifying the glow of night. Atop the shield is a hand-wrought bail hand-stamped in a simple directional-arrow design. The pendant hangs suspended from a glowing strand of sterling silver beads burnished to an aged patina. Pendant hangs 2.5″ long from top of bail to center bottom of shield; ends of shield are 1-7/8″ long; pendant is 3.5″ across; beads are 20″ long (dimensions approximate). Close-up views of front and reverse of pendant shown at the link.
Sterling silver
$2,225 + shipping, handling, and insurance
It is no accident that Wings summoned these spirits into existence in a space the takes the form and shape of a shield. They are as protective, in their way, as they are full of promise. Here in this place, we know well the importance of a long, hard, cold winter; it is the snow, after all, that provides the water the land needs in summer. Cold and dark are necessary to warmth and light: Together, they create a world in balance, one that assures us that time and season will pass in health and harmony.
And so, despite the clear sky and early dawn light, even now the clouds have begun to amass low on the western horizon. If the forecast holds, we may have as much as five days of intermittent snow to come. Like the Dawn Horse and the Night Bird, these days of opposites assure us of the essential well-being of the world around us.
And so, as the sun crests the southern slope of the easterly peak, we welcome the light . . . and hope for the snow tonight.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2018; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
