Tonight, we may perhaps have a shot at glimpsing the waning moon. It’s been days since our grandmother has showed her face to us: Until yesterday, the night skies have been shrouded in snow, and even last night, only the stars put in an appearance.
After so many stormy veiled nights, if we are fortunate enough to see a crescent ascend this evening, it will seem as rare as a blue moon.
A couple of years ago, I wrote here about the phenomenon of the blue moon — then, in the context of Wings’s photography, using our Grandmother as his subject. As I noted then, the phrase has some specific definitions, none of which get at any possibility of a moon that is literally blue. The first, of course, is simple the most commonly known version of the expression, a metaphor for something exceedingly rare. But there are more technical explanations, too:
According to one version of the story, a blue moon occurs anytime a second full moon appears in the same calendar month. Not all that rare, in the scheme of things, and of course, neither the second nor the first moon in any given month appears in shades of blue.
The same is true for the other accepted definition of the phrase, that of an extra full moon in a single calendar quarter, or season. Usually, there are three full moons per season, which would lead one to assume that it’s the appearance of a fourth that qualifies as “blue.” Oddly, some sources define it otherwise: as the third full moon of the four. But whether third or fourth, again, there’s no blue to be found, whether you’re looking for ice blue or indigo.
To the extent I use the phrase at all, it’s in its first, metaphorical sense. But once in a while, the earth conspires to give us that which we know the sky does not hold.
In light of our theme this week of wisdom, and particularly its more feminine forms, there was really only one choice for today’s #ThrowbackThursday post. Ironically, it’s a throwback of less than a month; it’s a work that was completed in the final week of December, a special commission by a dear friend who has become a collector, of sorts, of Wings’s work. Like many of those who could reasonably called collectors, she doesn’t exile his work to a shelf or display case; she wears it, and regularly, too. And sometimes she’ll commission a special design, something with particular symbolism and meaning for her, symbolism that she can wear against her skin.
Such is the case with today’s featured work.
It began with a message from her, seeking something, probably a cuff, that incorporated the symbolism of the moon. I believe it’s significant to her own spiritual tradition; either way, its power holds special meaning for her. As she described the symbolism she wanted to me, I thought immediately of a particular stone that Wings had recently acquired: one of a pair that were similar in cut and appearance. The smaller of the two was still very large, perfectly sized for a big, bold cuff (the larger is so enormous as to be best suited to a big belt buckle or bolo). I took a photo of it and sent it to her, and she was taken with it immediately.
And so the extraordinary lapis lazuli cabochon in the photo above, one of truly stellar quality and color, became the centerpiece for the bracelet that Wings would design for her.
The cuff itself needed to be fairly sizeable to handle such a large stone, but he wanted to keep it simple, feminine, and elegant. He began with a medium-gauge sheet of silver, cut to length. He hand-scored either edge and either end to create a border, then chose a thunderhead stamp, one that doubles as both a symbol of rain and therefore of abundance and, inverted, as a representation of the old “kiva steps” design found in Pueblo pottery and other art. He placed a single image of the thunderhead at each of the Four Sacred Directions, at the top and bottom center of the band, and at the center of either end.
He then chose two other stamps, both of them able to serve, on their own, as celestial symbols. The first was a flowing crescent, itself like a waxing or waning moon, chased along the border all the way around the band. He then took the smaller stamp, a tiny round orb that functions both as full moon and as sacred hoop, and placed it in a repeating pattern at each conjunction of crescents. It produced an effect not unlike the phases of the moon, visible in a continual orbit interrupted only by the occasional thunderstorm.
He then oxidized the band and buffed it, giving it a silky Florentine finish that glowed like the moon’s own light.
Then it came time to turn what was a spare and beautiful into something that held sacred symbolism.
The “blue moon” remained solidly in the forefront of his creative mind as he worked, but he began with the smaller stones. He took two medium-sized rainbow moonstone cabochons and offset them on a diagonal at either side of where the center cab would sit. This repeated the “moon phases” imagery of the stampwork on the band, luminously icy full moons separated by a brilliant blue moon on the wax or on the wane. It gave the piece an air of mystery and a feel of infinity: a feminine spirit of the skies, older than time itself and just as wise, assuring us by her presence that the earth will spin on its axis, the days will come and the nights will go, and all will renew itself continually, a part of life’s sacred hoop.
But Wings wasn’t done.
He had a supply of small round rainbow moonstones, too, some of which were astonishing in their intensity of color and brilliant adularescence. He chose eight, then scattered them down either side of the band, small dancing orbs of sparkling light: moondust, the small bits of light that hold ancient wisdom and the illumination of the cosmos.
And it was, in fact, this that gave the work its name: Dust of a Blue Moon. It’s a reference not only to the motif of the moon itself, but to the rarity and value of the wisdom found in the dust of an ancient light.
It’s perfect symbolism for a woman who is herself a rare spirit.
~ 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.
