The air has been smoky for several days, the product of a wildfire at El Rito, said to have been sparked by lightning just over a week ago. As daytime temperatures approach the ninety-degree mark, it makes for days that feel heavy and oppressive: hot, bright, and hazy, with winds that steal one’s breath for their own.
But even with the haze, dawn is still beautiful. In wildfire season, it’s the point at which the air is clearest, much of the smoke kept at bay between the mountains’ lower slopes, the peaks limned in the golden light of the sun, overhead a spectrum of turquoise and indigo, the no-longer-quite-full moon a silver orb hanging in the western sky.
And in the dwarf blue spruce, Grandmother Spider’s web shimmers like woven strands of diamonds in the early morning light.
It is, for the moment, when the dream of the dark hours is birthed into a vision for the day, a time when hope still holds sway and the process of “coming true” feels possible.
The haze will move in overhead soon enough, of course — indeed, that process has already begun. It will soon be impossible to take a wholly-unobstructed breath; eyes will sting; a headache will burn over the brow. Getting through the day will be work in and of itself; ordinary tasks will feel more onerous. Not much space will be left for dreams, much less for vision.
And yet, as Spider Woman herself knows so well, dream’s hope and vision’s promise are never self-fulfilling; they require work. Hard work. It’s something our women, spirit and human alike, have always known: The most perfect dreams and ethereal visions do not come true by magic; they require us to put in the work to bring them to fruition, and we must do so through the haze of both ordinary and extraordinary obstacles.
It’s a lesson the modern world must learn anew each day, it seems.
It’s also a lesson that brings to mind today’s featured work, one that embodies that process and product of preternatural dreaming that we call vision — verb and noun simultaneously, act and achievement, work and result. From its description in the relevant section of the Bracelets Gallery here on the site:
Vision Coil Bracelet
Visions are sources of wisdom and guidance, of prophecy and power. In our cultures, they are to be sought, and heeded, too. With this coil bracelet, Wings summons the symbolism of visionary worlds and the guidance they offer us in creating a better world for the generations yet to come. At either end, four smooth-polished nuggets of sky-blue Sleeping Beauty turquoise anchor the hoop. Flowing inward like drops of light-spangled water are long lengths of clear blue amazonite, separated from strands of sodalite nuggets in the deep blue of the storm by four smooth roundish orbs of labradorite, each a small moon that holds the rainbow’s own light. Seven glowing Eyes of Spirit at the center, each a diamond-faceted oval of smoky quartz, represents the visions source. Taken together, it links earth and water, air and light, with the sky realms where the spirits dwell, and whence come the visionary wisdom that guides us on our path. Fourth in The Wisdom Collection of The Seventh Fire Series. Designed jointly by Wings and Aji.
Memory wire; smoky quartz; sodalite; labradorite; amazonite; Sleeping Beauty turquoise
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
It also serves as a reminder that not all of the haze is naturally-occurring, nor are all obstacles of spontaneous origin. Some smoke comes not from a lightning strike, but from a machine that manufactures smoke and mirrors, holding out the false promise of easy success if only we are willing to burn it all down, to stand by and support not accident, but deliberate arson.
Our peoples know the nature of the conflagration better than most. We are here in spite of it, and only because our ancestors put in the work that would give life to their vision and ensure our survival.
As the haze moves in and the air becomes oppressive, it’s time to take as deep a breath as possible, protect one’s body and spirit as much as possible, and plunge into the work. After all, our vision is tomorrow’s life. We have a duty to our children yet unborn to make it come true.
~ 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.
