If the Thunderbird holds the force of the storm, the War Eagle carries the power of the sun.
It is this power upon which our warriors call when it is time to do battle: the force and fire of Father Sun, who illuminates our path, showing us which cause and course of action is right and just, and who instills in our hearts the flames of courage and bravery. In a time when we are now visibly tested, asked to stand up, to step forward, to rise up, to resist, we need all the guidance and illumination we can get.
We have spent much time in recent weeks talking about the need to stand for what is right, the need to engage in lives of active resistance; in the week just past, we have focused largely on finding the strength and courage to do so from within.
But sometimes, we need a little help. Guidance, inspiration, a bolstering of our courage, call it what you want, and it can be many different things at once, but sometimes other spirits have much to offer us. So it is with the War Eagle, who serves simultaneously as role model and counselor, leader and protector, messenger and guide.
It was this set of dynamics that inspired Wings’s design, and the name that goes with it, of today’s featured work. From its description in its section of the Bracelets Gallery here on the site:
The War Eagle Coil Bracelet
The Golden Eagle, the largest of the indigenous raptors that serve as messengers and guides, is known as The War Eagle. It is he whose presence instills courage in the hearts of the warriors, he who lends his powers of swiftness and accuracy to their efforts. Wings honors the great spirit bird with this coil in the colors of his feathered cloak: Small copper barrel beads at either end meet white-lip heishi, which is interspersed with lengths of African opal in bright golden yellow and rusty peach shades. Stretching up toward the center, brilliant, intense nuggets of translucent orange amber connect on either side with black-lip heishi, each length bisected at its center by a “wing” in the form of a fanned teardrop-shaped abalone nugget bead. At the center, like Eagle’s craggy face and beak, a series of highly-polished black obsidian chips stand out from the coil’s body. Memory wire expands and contracts to fit nearly any size wrist. Designed jointly by Wings and Aji.
Memory wire; copper; white-lip heishi; black-lip heishi; yellow and peach African opal; amber; obsidian
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
It’s a tribute to a spirit of the sun in the colors of the sun: fiery gold and amber and copper buttressed by an earthy black that is nonetheless itself made of flame. It’s a work to keep one’s feet firmly grounded and ready to fight, even as the spirit soars ahead to take a more assertive role.
It’s a work to inspire, but also to inspirit: to lend us the strength and bravery of the War Eagle, and to to remind us that we carry itts power within our own souls.
~ 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.
