Yesterday, we looked at indigenous art as a representative form: allowing the spirit to speak through symbolism, to tell its own story without translation or embellishment. It followed up on one of the themes of our Monday Photo Meditation for the week, in which we looked at the steady consistency of a powerful female spirit whose presence affects our lives in very tangible ways, even on those nights when she does not show her face to us.
Sometimes, these themes collide, merge and meld, in a way that can only be described as a wedding of synchronicity and serendipity.
We’ve looked at Wings’s various signature series here many times before, including a post here a scant two weeks ago that explored, among other things, the series that is perhaps closest to his heart; the Warrior Woman series. They are pins, and occasionally pendants, made in the form and shape of a powerful female spirit. The first was a gift for his mother, to honor her own strength and courage; since she walked on, he has continued to create them in her memory, and in honor of all women. They all share commonalities, but each is unique.
It’s been a while since he’s created one.
There’s no particular reason for that, beyond the press of time and other tasks. He’s had a number of highly specialized commissions in recent months, and they must take priority. But a week or so ago, he received a commission for a Warrior Woman pin, and he decided that the moment was right to make a few more at the same time. Today’s featured work is the first of those, and it’s one that carries the weight of special symbolisma dn extraordinary feminine power. From its description in the Pins Gallery here on the site:
The Path of the Stars Warrior Woman Pin.
In some traditions, the Sky Woman walks the path of the stars. Here, Wings pays tribute to spirits of her kind by way of the latest entry in his signature Warrior Woman series, created in memory of his mother, and in honor of women. Hand-stamping creates her regalia, a necklace of stardust beads and a traditional dress adorned with symbols of power: a pair of matched thunderhead symbols that reach to Sacred Directions, both cardinal and ordinal, and evoke the sacred space, each with a whirling vortex representing the Four Winds at the center. In her right hand, she carries the Skystone itself, a small round gem of blue so deep that it’s nearly indigo; in her left, she holds the moon, four stars scattered across its face. Over her shoulder, Serpent rests, his body formed from diamond-shaped facets that invoke Eyes of Spirit. On the reverse, Wings’s hallmark rests inside an overlay in the shape of the Morning Star. Reverse shown below.
Sterling silver; Sleeping Beauty turquoise
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
There are actually a wide array of stories across Indian Country that involve female spirits of the stars and skies. Some are extraordinarily powerful — Grandmother Moon and the Morning Star come immediately to mind — but there are others, too. Some are positively frivolous, cautionary tales about silly girls who fall in love with spirit beings rather than humans, and are sentenced to a life in the skies, separated from their people. Others are tales of tragedy and its transcendence. The story of the Sky Woman, a figure that appears and reappears in various forms throughout the Algonquin family of nations, is one such, at least in some tellings of it.
But these spirits’ greatest power, perhaps, is in the example they set for young human women of the peoples to whom the stories belong: apocrypha and allegory, yes, lesson and warning, but also the affirmation of the inherent power as women, as beings of spirit and stardust.
Sometimes, we need a tangible reminder of the spirit that dwells within us . . . and of the fact that we, too, in our way, can walk the path of the stars.
~ 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.
