Once upon a time Shirley Jackson wrote a strange book, The Haunting of Hill House teeming with a recognizable knowingness - perhaps you know the feeling - of belonging to a haunted house, of being a haunted house. Of being born to Endless Night. 

Eleanor, the main character in the book, speaks to a child in the story who refuses to drink a cup of milk because it doesn’t have her stars at the bottom. While the girl’s mother tries to talk her into drinking the milk:

“Eleanor looked up, surprised; the little girl was sliding back in her chair, sullenly refusing her milk, while her father frowned and her brother giggled and her mother said calmly, 'She wants her cup of stars.'

Indeed yes, Eleanor thought; indeed, so do I; a cup of stars, of course.

'Her little cup,' the mother was explaining, smiling apologetically at the waitress, who was thunderstruck at the thought that the mill's good country milk was not rich enough for the little girl. 'It has stars in the bottom, and she always drinks her milk from it at home. She calls it her cup of stars because she can see the stars while she drinks her milk.' The waitress nodded, unconvinced, and the mother told the little girl, 'You'll have your milk from your cup of stars tonight when we get home. But just for now, just to be a very good little girl, will you take a little milk from this glass?'

Don't do it, Eleanor told the little girl; insist on your cup of stars; once they have trapped you into being like everyone else you will never see your cup of stars again; don't do it; and the little girl glanced at her, and smiled a little subtle, dimpling, wholly comprehending smile, and shook her head stubbornly at the glass. Brave girl, Eleanor thought; wise, brave girl.”

I was thinking of this passage when stringing this ‘thread of stars’ instead of drinking from a ‘cup of stars’ - I wanted to wear them. I wanted to hold them in my hands and also feel them in my blood simultaneously - the felt sense that they are within and also without - the strange marriage also, that the stars I’ve chose are Onyx, made in the deep earth - the duality of above and below, with the wearers body as a kind of intermediary - a wearing of both the Underworld as well as the cosmos.  

Likewise, I was also thinking of Ariadne’s Labyrinthine thread - of finding one’s way out of a spiral, or finding the center with a thread of the universe - the thought of someone beloved on the other side holding one end, while you hold the start, the key, the way in. 

This strand is composed of star cut onyx, and tiny hollow sterling silver 'Pearl' beads that have been hand oxidized and lightly polished. It measures approximately 50 inches long from end to end, including clasp.

This 'Opera Length' makes it perfect for wearing doubled up as well as at its full length. Designed to compliment other Onyx jewels in the Mourning/Ritual bead line it also layers beautifully with other BloodMilk necklaces. Its light weight also makes it perfect to use for meditation or ritual practices. 

At its closure is our larger, double sided Endless Night clasp cast in sterling silver. At the 'heart' of the strand is our larger, double sided Endless Night Key. You can find information about the Endless Night Key HERE. 

Onyx:

Onyx is best known for being a natural stone that acts as a kind of 'psychic armor' against the negativity of others. It is also used to sooth grief and heartbreak. It's a wonderful grounding stone and stone of self mastery, enabling its wearers to have mental and spiritual focus.

These beads 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. 

Each bead has been hand selected for its quality.

 **IMPORTANT***:

This strand is handmade to order, just for you, with care and focus. Please allow approximately 5 weeks for creation before shipping.          

*Length note: Because individual bead measurements vary slightly, total strand lengths are approximate within a few millimeters in either direction. Please reach out via email if you have any questions about this. 

Please visit the Policy Page to make an educated and informed purchase HERE.

Please email any questions to bloodmilkjewels@gmail.com for a timely and kind response.