The first day of spring, and of other firsts, too. Technically, of course, the vernal equinox will not occur until 3:58 PM our time, which means that, for most of our day, at least, our travels will take us through the final moments of winter.
Yesterday’s storms have moved through; this day will dawn bright and mostly clear. For us, it will be a long one, and for me particularly, the start of an even longer journey, one whose destination is by no means assured. It seems a promising sign, though, that it should occur on this date — as though the endless delays, perhaps, held some sort of cosmic intent, the better to drive home the promise of life renewed.
At such times, it helps to have a place to hang one’s hopes.
It helps, too, to travel deep, to make the journey inward into one’s soul to find the strength needed to navigate the external paths ahead. For strength is there, and courage, too, of a sort. It may only be the kind that exists when no other option is left, that survival instinct, but it is what keeps us and our ways alive even in the face of what have been truly catastrophic circumstances.
It is a kind of bravery, a kind of power, that women know well. It is especially true of our women, thanks to the externalities foisted on us for half a millennium and more; even in cultures dedicated to peace, we have been forced to become warriors. But in our way, irrespective of gender, to be a warrior has always meant far more than taking up the fight. To be a warrior requires a willingness to sacrifice oneself in defense of others, in defense of the ancestors and elders, the children and spirits, our ways of life and our moral base. It means standing up when no one else will do so, stepping forward when there is no one else to do so.
It is what our women have always done, and it has informed and shaped the path of our survival.
Wings has always known this; indeed, he has always said that women are far stronger warriors than any man. It’s what informs his path, too, what inspires his work, what inspirits the signature series closest to his heart: the Warrior Woman series.
Wings has been creating the pieces in this collection for twenty years and more — by now, scores, perhaps hundreds of them, each unique, each possessed of its own individual animating spirit. I’ve written here before on a number of occasions about this series and how it came to be: the first, designed for his mother and he watched her own valiant battle to survive; the rest, in her memory and in honor of women generally, of their courage and strength and essential power.
And last week, he added three new entries to the series. These are of a piece, thematically — imagery to draw upon the Sacred Directions, the elemental powers of storm and light. Each is infused with the colors of fire. And each evokes the radiant light of a warrior’s heart.
We begin with the first, and my personal favorite among these three, shown above. All are found in the Pins Gallery here on the site. From its description:
A Radiant Medicine Warrior Woman Pin
The sun lights the earth with a radiant medicine. The latest entry in Wings’s signature Warrior Woman series, created in memory of his mother and to honor the courage, strength, and power of women, evokes the powers of the elements and the spirits of earth medicine. This feminine being holds the sun itself in her right hand, a radiant orb of brilliant flame-colored amber; in her left hand, the moon is adance with images of medicine in the form of Bear’s own prints. Eyes of Spirit accent her cuffs, a motif replicated in the second fiery sun that illuminates the front of her traditional dress. Above her heart rests a thundercloud, delivering cooling rains, while that water spirit, Serpent, coils over her right shoulder in the very embodiment of flowering abundance. The pin stands 2.75″ high by 2 inches across at the widest point; the cabochon is 3/16″ across (dimensions approximate).
Sterling silver; amber
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
It is a piece whose message holds great import for me now: light as medicine; medicine as light.
But there are other messages today, too; other lessons to be recalled and relearned. The second piece, shown below, reminds us of the essential role of hope, and of faith, as well. From its description:
Sun Follows Rain Warrior Woman Pin
Sun follows rain in a world in balance and harmony. Wings summons the feminine side of earthly balance with this latest entry in his signature Warrior Woman series, created in memory of his mother and to honor the courage, strength, and power of women. In this iteration, she wears the symbols of the storm, rain-bearing thunderhead patterns chasing each other down the front of her dress. Hand-stamped beads and a gorget rest above her heart; cuffs encircle her wrists. The one on her left wrist bears chased stamps in a broken-arrow pattern, reflecting the same chased design that adorns the moon in her left hand, a signifier of femininity given guidance and a direction that moves toward harmony. In her right hand, she holds a fiery red sun, a round garnet cabochon of extraordinary color, depth, and translucence. Over her right shoulder, a coiled serpent formed of sterling silver patterned wire brings the flowering abundance for which this spirit linked to the waters is well known. The pin stands 2.75″ high by 2 inches across at the widest point; the cabochon is 3/16″ across (dimensions approximate).
Sterling silver; garnet
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
But as important as faith and hope may be, they are no substitute for the work. And this is what our women have always known: to go well through life, as our teachings and our ways, the ancestors and the spirits have given to us to do, requires work. Even within the colonial constraints that now bind us, we know that in spiritual terms, at least, if we put in the labor required, the reward is a life lived in health and harmony. More physical, tangible forms are less within our immediate control, but the work we do at the spiritual level informs the outcome at the physical level.
Our teachings are wisdom, illumination, the accumulated knowledge of millennia granted to us by the spirits and handed down to us by the ancestors — and it is worth fighting for all of them. The third in this group hints at outcomes, at results, at the harmony for which we work, both as women and as warriors, for others and for ourselves. From its description:
A Healing Light Warrior Woman Pin
Our world thrives beneath a healing light. With this latest entry in his signature Warrior Woman series, created in memory of his mother and to honor the courage, strength, and power of women, Wings captures the warmth and light of an elemental medicine. This Warrior Woman holds in her right hand the carnelian fire of a red desert sun even as she summons the healing powers of Bear to bear upon the moon in her left. Around her wrists, a pair of cuffs shimmer; around her neck, two strands of beads catch the light. Her dress is adorned with the symbols of the storm and the sacred space conjoined to point to the Sacred Directions. Over her shoulder is coiled a serpent of sterling silver pattern wire, manifest as the flowering abundance he signifies. The pin stands 2.75″ high by 2 inches across at the widest point; the cabochon is 3/16″ across (dimensions approximate).
Sterling silver; carnelian
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
And a healing light would be especially welcome — today, and in the weeks to come. By day’s end, it will be spring by even official measures, and the lengthening light will gradually warm our world. We shall look to it, hang our hopes upon its rays . . . but also look inward, to find the radiant light of a warrior’s heart, to get us through the journey to come.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
