“Awakening” is a word that is both tangibly literal and intensely metaphorical. We use it to describe that simplest and most automatic of daily acts, that of coming once again to consciousness after a night’s sleep. We also use it to describe a new consciousness of soul and spirit, one attuned to that which was previously invisible or otherwise imperceptible.
Most of us engage in the former every morning, an act both physical and utterly unmistakable. The latter we act out daily in a thousand tiny ways, mostly unrecognized at the conscious level. But just because we don’t notice it doesn’t mean that the process of transformation is not proceeding apace. The world is here to bear witness to it, even if we don’t. But it behooves us to be aware, to recognize our own growth . . . and our own stunted areas, those dark and arid zones in our minds and spirits that need nurturing to come fully awake and alive.
We can take our cues from the trees.
As I noted here yesterday, many of our peoples’ traditions include motifs of the Tree of Life. Its meaning varies, as do its origin stories and the tasks it requires of its people. But it is, fairly universally, an image of life lived in harmony. This does not mean, as some non-Native traditions that co-opt and appropriate indigenous ones for their own use frequently insist, cutting ties with everything that makes one unhappy or uncomfortable. To the contrary, our peoples have always known too well that pain is a part of life, one not to be eradicated or ignored, but to integrated into existence in a well-rounded and balanced manner. In other words, we should not actively seek to avoid pain, discomfort, grief, loss; rather, we should strive for a balanced worldview in which they have their place and their lessons to teach us, in which they exist in a healthy proportion to and in harmony with all that is good and beautiful and joyous and thoroughly alive.
The trees understand this, from root to flower to tip of leaf. It is their task to grow tall and stand strong, through day and night, heat and cold, every season and every kind of weather. The Tree of Life is their own archetype, their ideal and actualized form.
Wings understands this, too. It’s a lesson manifest in his latest work, a pair of earrings that summon the Tree of Life to stand between elemental points: earth and sky, soil and fire, darkness and light, unconscious slumber and awakening dreams. From their description in the Earrings Gallery here on the site:
A Dream for the Sunrise Earrings
Sometimes Spirit sends our most vivid dreams in the moments just before the sunrise, visions of power to guide us around the hoop from dark of night to the light of a new day. With these earrings, Wings makes visible those links between night and day, earth and sky, by way of a Tree of Life: a guardian, a soldier, a sentry, a warrior for peace and harmony. Each earring is a delicate teardrop of lightweight sterling silver, its focal point an ajouré Tree of Life cut freehand and set between elemental jewels. At the base of each tree rests a tiny round onyx cabochon, symbolizing the soil that holds the tree’s deep roots, and the night hours through which it stands watch, arising tall and strong out of the darkness with the dawn. Each earring is suspended via sterling silver jump rungs from small square cabochons set at a half-turn in a diamond shape: the image of the Eye of Spirit, of wisdom and dreams and visions, summoned here in the fiery red gaze of a newly-awakened Father Sun. Earrings hang 1.75″ in total length; upper cabochons (on posts) are 3/8″ across; teardrop pendants are 1-1/8″ long by 7/8″ across at the widest point (dimensions approximate).
Sterling silver; garnet; onyx
$425 + shipping, handling, and insurance
In this place, the dawn can be a fierce thing, Father Sun’s ascension setting the skies aflame, awash in the color of blood and fire. As the sun rises, it draws the night veil from the blackened earth, limning the trees with silver. They become ethereal spirits, awake and alive and reaching out to touch the trailing wisps of their night dreams before the they slip away on the sunlight.
It is the dreams of the dawn that stay with us throughout the day. How better to use them than to awaken our spirits, too?
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
