Inspired by our ‘Belonging to The Darkness” ring series which embodies themes from the Persephone myth, this version is an update of the original 'Belonging to the Underworld' ring and features an antique setting married to two bat wing bones.

Bats and their cast wing and leg bones have long been a component I’ve used in my visual library as a way of creating a personal visual language. As nocturnal creatures, I feel a kinship with their natural predilection for the night time hours, but I’m also interested in how they use sonar to ‘see’, how as a metaphor bats as liminal creatures also remind us to look closer with our other senses, a way of ‘seeing the unseen.’ It’s my hope and intention that pairing them with other chthonic imagery and myth further adds to the visual meaning I’m aiming for, creating a collage of personal ideas while also tethering these physical jeweled objects to the spirit of the bat ( and other natural objects in the case of other jewels in my collection ) and to the spirit of the myths I’m invoking.

This ring is akin to an "engagement" ring, created in homage to the goddess Persephone, wife of Hades and Queen of the Underworld. Personally, it represents a way of showing a commitment, a belonging to something or someone, an idea, a specific period of time in your life, an emotion, and more potently, to the notion of belonging to yourself. This ring can also symbolize elements / aspects / memories that we are looking to let go of but still want represented in our lives: a symbol of self acceptance despite there being aspects of oneself that's undesirable or repressed. For me personally, it's a symbol of my ongoing journey of accepting my melancholia & ( at times ) paralyzingly sensitivity. It's a symbol of being strong & vulnerable. A symbol of meeting your shadow and allowing it to stay.

Details:

- Sits 10mm off of the finger

- 7.5mm fine cut round garnet

- Cast in sterling silver, oxidized to achieve our signature shade of gloomy gray and hand finished to reveal the highlights beneath

Garnet is seemingly named for a few things, the most interesting and well known being that of the Pomegranate, named for either its glowing red color or its relational look to the seeds within when polished. This has tied it to the myth of the Goddess Persephone in some of its lore, who is as inseparable to the Pomegranate and its fateful seeds as Eve is to the apple of Eden. This association, admittedly, is what first drew me to Garnet, but its long and storied history, spanning many cultures and parts of the world is as fascinating as just about any other gemstone of my acquaintance. I also fell for its uncanny beauty, which  like a glowing ember one can wear on the skin, appears alive like fire does. 

As an ancient gemstone, the Egyptians knew of its power and beauty, which seems to be the seal of magical authenticity on the stone as it was found not only amongst grave goods but also within the settings of talismans wrapped in the layers of mummies to protect the body on its journey to the afterlife. I imagine it being present with its wearer before the weighing of the heart, as it’s a stone closely aligned with the heart ( akin in this way, to Rose Quartz. ) 

Created under extreme pressure and temperatures in the darkness of the subterranean realms, Garnet persists and thrives under these difficult circumstances - suggesting strength and personal resiliency. It’s also, like the Phoenix, associated with fire and its transformative properties, rising from extremely high temperatures. It’s considered to be a stone of creativity, as it’s ‘blood’ colored and associated with fire and the heart, ( as mentioned above) suggesting a quickening of the blood, a call to creative action, passion.

This passion also extends to both romantic and platonic relationships, the stone was given to strengthen bonds between friends and lovers due to its association with the Persephone myth in a strange nod to how Pomegranate seeds kept Persephone bond to the Underworld for part of the year/ being returned to the Upper realms for Spring/Summer, ( this also made it a traveler’s stone) as well as for its color being similar to heart’s blood. 

Another interesting bit : in the Medieval Ages it was considered to ward off Melancholy and also, interestingly, to be the material that Dragon’s eyes were made of. 

All in all, Garnet is a wildly magical and highly potent stone, beautiful, ancient and intense; a personal raging fire to keep close- to remind you that you belong to the land of the living. To quicken the blood when feeling otherwise. 

These jewels are hand cut and therefore may have very slight differences in size and may have small signs of the carver's hands along the edges. These are not fabricated by a machine, they are made by hand and therefore aren't uniformly perfect. The photographs accurately portray the quality of the stones and the cuts. 

***IMPORTANT***:

This jewel is handmade to order, just for you, with care and focus. Due to the influx of orders during the beginning of our Garnet Release, please allow approximately 6 weeks for creation before shipping.  

Please visit the POLICY PAGE to make an educated and informed purchase HERE.

Any questions: Please email: bloodmilkjewels@gmail.com