We are entering, now, the dark days of winter, even as we approach the incremental return of the light. This is the hard season, especially in a place such as this: short days and long nights, impossibly deep cold and a wind that cuts to the bone. No matter the task, it seems more difficult at this time of year, and the temptation is great to seek detours and shortcuts everywhere we go.
Some alternate routes are fine; they make navigation possible without depriving us of the guideposts and experiences we are meant to meet along the way.
Others are less benign.
Our peoples have always known that the way will be beautiful, but it will also be difficult at times, physically challenging, mentally taxing, emotionally laborious, and even — especially — spiritually demanding. Colonial culture has a tendency to try to synonymize “balance” with “ease,” and nothing could be further from the truth. Harmony does not just happen: It is the product of seeking wisdom and illumination, putting them into practice, and putting in the work to sustain their effects.
It means following the path even when times are hard, when the way is dark and the winds cold, for the way of the hoop is the way of the light.
On this day, two days out from the shortest day of the year and the same two days out from the light’s gradual return, Wings has created a work to remind us of this fundamental lesson of existence. It’s a deeply personal piece, one that evokes themes of identity and self even as it shows us that we can take hold of the path that is given to us, walk it in harmony and beauty, provided that we are willing to put in the work. From its description in the Necklaces Gallery here on the site:
The Way of the Hoop Necklace
Our peoples call it by various names: the path, going well through life, the Good Red Road — different means of describing the way of the hoop. It’s the way of our ancestors, given to us by the spirits, a sacred path that, if walked carefully, with a good heart and a strong spirit, will grant us a life of harmony and balance. Wings gives form and shape to the journey, and to our own very personal stake in traveling it, with this necklace, a pendant wrought in the shape of a hand, overlaid front and back with hand-made coils of fiery copper. The pendant is cut freehand of solid sterling silver, thumb and fingers articulated clearly and expressively. On the front, a dual coil formed of a slender length of warm glowing copper is soldered securely into place, the large coil over the palm and the smaller one extending atop the fingers. On the reverse is a second, smaller pair of coils both wound and aimed in the opposite direction, the larger one over the back of the hand and the smaller one extending upward toward the wrist. The hand itself hangs from a hand-made sterling silver bail, lightly flared and hand-stamped in a repeating pattern of conjoined thunderhead motifs, creating a symbol that points to the Sacred Directions. The pendant is suspended from a shimmering chain of solid sterling silver. The pendant, including the bail, is 1-1/8″ long by 1-1/16″ across at the widest point; the bail itself is 1/2″ long by a 1/2″ across at the widest point; the chain is 20″ long (dimensions approximate). Reverse shown immediately above.
Sterling silver; copper
$825 + shipping, handling, and insurance
I love this piece for its constituent elements, silver light and copper fire. But I love it, too, for what it represents. For our peoples, particularly, the path that we are now given to walk is one that was altered by force — not a shortcut by any means, but a detour of strikingly long proportions, filled with obstacles and dangers lurking on all sides. Those dangers magnify themselves when time and weather and season put health and safety at risk; winter closes in around us, cutting off the way and sending us fleeing for more immediate shelter from storm and night.
It’s hard to get up again each morning, to dress to ward off the icy winds, to trudge outside and take up the trek again, a journey of work and the seeking of wisdom, of hoping to catch up with the light. This piece reminds us that the light is not something to catch; it’s right here with us on the journey, if we keep to the way of the hoop and keep eyes and minds and hearts open to the light’s own work.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2018; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
