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Cast immortal in sterling silver, bat wing and leg bones molded from the real thing, are composed into a beautiful setting cradling a Rose Quartz coffin cut jewel. 

This specific collection of Rose Quartz stones are very pale with almost no inclusions. They are some of the highest quality stones we have ever witnessed and we do not know if we will be able to offer this specific tone and clarity again. 

Because these stones are somewhat limited, we are not able to accommodate requests for specific stone color preferences**

The title of the ring comes from my favorite two lines of a poem by John Keats, 'Ode to a Nightingale':

"Darkling I listen; and, for many a time

I have been half in love with easeful Death,.."

For me personally, this 'death' is represented by our 'Shadow Selves' or the aspects of our personality that are considered dark or unwanted by either ourselves or society. As children we learn how to suppress the parts of ourselves that are unacceptable through our parents or others. However, these parts are never eradicated, instead they are slipped into the coffins of our psyches like secrets. Often aspects of our shadow selves will sneak out of this protective encasing and will rear their intense heads when we least expect it, or, these aspects are parts of ourselves that we choose to face and integrate into our adult personalities. Working and accepting our shadow selves is what Carl Jung describes in his writings on inner alchemy as the 'Nigredo' phase, the phase in which we confront the most dark aspects of ourselves in a quest for wholeness.

In 'traditional' alchemy, the 'Nigredo' phase is the phase in which all ingredients used to obtain the 'philosopher's stone' are burned, purified, blackened; in a sense, killed, in order for new life to spring forth. 

This ring is also a nod to 'Dracula', a movie that when it came out influenced my ideas on romance. I know the actual novel is different than the movie, but the bat bones here represent the creatures of the night, creatures that are often shunned by society much like the Vampire, and much like our shadow selves. 

This ring is also a nod to Victorian Mourning jewelry. After the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria fell into a deep grief that was shared by the nation. This led to mourning rituals being instilled in society, which had many intricate rules such as wearing black and then purple for set periods of time, wearing the hair of your beloved in lockets and rings, taking portraits of the deceased etc. 

This ring is in a sense, a talisman to remember your shadow, remember that all parts of yourself however dark and shadowy are worthy of acceptance, even if they are filling the coffin that's tucked away in the pit of your psyche.

This listing is for one Medium coffin ring with a Rose Quartz coffin shaped jewel. 

Details:

- Solid Sterling Silver

- 18mm tall

- 15mm wide at it's widest

- It stands 8mm off of the finger 

- Last image shows all three rings together for size comparison 

According to fossil evidence, Rose Quartz, known the world over for its beautiful pink coloring, is at least 35 million years old, with records dating back to 600 B.C.. During that time, it was given amongst lovers, family and friends as love tokens. It was also used in beauty rituals as far back as Ancient Egypt where evidence of it as facial masks has been found in tombs amongst grave goods. Metaphysically, it is best known as the master 'love stone', used in love spells, helpful in matters of self-confidence, anger, disappointment, and seemingly always mentioned in tandem with "healing" - a word so dense with promise it makes me both hopeful and strangely put off. I feel a bit lonely in my discomfort; I've never been one to only seek beauty in its traditional forms and it seems like Rose Quartz is the fairest of them all -the glittering prom queen who about to have a bucket of blood poured on her.

My favorite lore around this stone concerns the Goddesses Isis and Aphrodite / Venus, which are all connected by similar attributes and were conjoined when the Romans annexed Egypt. The Egyptian Goddess Isis, one of the most revered deities over time, is believed to have used Rose Quartz "maintain her eternal youth and divine beauty" and therefore influenced the beauty culture ( see above ) in ancient times. Aphrodite is the Greek iteration of Venus, with whom she is often syncretized - sharing many overlapping traits: such as her beauty, passion and pleasure, love, and fertility. Each Goddess was considered to be a standard of ideal beauty and representative of love, yet also each was associated with the enemy of love - death. Isis, in a gruesome yet romantic gesture, collected the disembodied pieces of her murdered brother/husband Osiris, and resurrected him - becoming impregnated with Horus simultaneously. This myth was revered in Ancient Egypt, fertility rituals around Osiris' resurrection abounded.

For the Greeks, one of the most popular myths centering Aphrodite is also a genesis tale for Rose Quartz in and of itself : Aphrodite fell in love with the beautiful mortal Adonis who was killed by a wild boar ( perhaps a jealous Ares in disguise, or sent by Artemis as punishment ). As he lay dying in the forest, Aphrodite came to his side, herself also bleeding after becoming tangled and wounded in a bramble bush. Their co-mingled blood is thought to have fallen on Quartz, ever after giving Rose Quartz is pink hue. Adonis, like Osiris, was also resurrected in some tellings and his tale was also associated with grieving rituals in connection to the natural cycles of life.

Personally, I've struggled both with writing about Rose Quartz as well as pairing it with my jewelry. It's a stone that has long been deeply connected with the romantic aspects of love, healing, forgiveness, beauty and well-being - but for me, I've shied away or have had discomfort with each of these notions and descriptors. Each of them has also been, for me, tangled up with grief and death - shadow feelings. However, while I think Rose Quartz often lacks its shadow in popular descriptions of it - I think it's powerful for these exact reasons. As much as it is beautiful, it is often turned to as a balm during our worst moments - the ugly and horrific times of heart brokenness; representing our hearts in all their nuance - capable of the beauty of love but also the madness of loss. In this way, it illustrates the tensions between beauty and horror I unconsciously & consciously seek in everything. It is a phoenix, burning down like the Tower into ashes but also comforts us while we rise from the rubble. It is a fierce shield that guards us, but it is also has a soothing gentleness. In this way each Rose Quartz jewel carries a dual aspect of 'psychic armor' both the energies and medicines of the snakes and bats that form the gloomy silver settings of the jewels, and Rose Quartz, a beautiful balm that assists us during our darkness moments, a reminder of the sweet-bitterness of being alive on this timeline.’

The coffin 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. Please allow approximately 5-6 weeks for creation before shipping.                   

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If you have further questions, we are always here to serve you in a kind and timely manner: via bloodmilkjewels@gmail.com