IMPORTANT: This listing is for a One of a Kind jewel that cannot be replaced. We recommend Express Shipping with signature required upon delivery to make sure it arrives safely into your hands. 

This ring is Ready To Ship and will leave the studio in 3 - 5 business days. 

PLEASE NOTE: This ring is a size 7.75. As this is a one of a kind ring and the gemstone is irreplaceable, we are unable to resize it.

Life cast cat claws and paw bones are carefully collaged around a fine cut square tourmalated quartz.

The Witch’s familiar is a phenomena that is distinctly a British import; called ‘Imps’ by Witch-finders and were usually considered to small animals such as ferrets, hares, and the ubiquitous cat, often black but not restricted to such; in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth we read of a brindled cat mewling significantly and there is also the gray Grimalkin faery cat of Scottish witch lore. The familiar could also be a bird, such as the  crow or raven, or amphibians: toads were historically associated with witches and still are today. However, none are as well known in the collective imagination as the Cat, often seen beside the witch of fairytale, folklore and horror alike. Depicted riding astride the witch on her broomstick or nearby her while she concocts potions in her cauldron, these fantastical depictions are not far from what accusers in the witch trials believed familiars were capable of, assisting the witch in all manner of malefic endeavors such as riding to the Sabbath together, using her familiar to curse or hex her neighbors or undertake other tasks for the witch in her stead. In many cases, women, often those who were anti-social loners, elderly, living alone, or otherwise occupying the fringes of society in some way, were more apt to keep small animals for companionship. This unfortunately marked “innocent” women as witches during the witchcraze that swept Europe and parts of the US simply for being devoted cat people, as many people are today, for similar reasons. 

Whether or not people keep cats today for use as vessels for familiar spirits, Cats have a long history of being revered as powerful creatures. In ancient Egypt, the cat was worshipped as a Goddess, most famously in the form of Bastet (or Bast) in the prosperous and sacred city of Bubastis (now known as Tell Basta). There, the lives of cats, as elsewhere in Egypt, were protected, their deaths were honored by mummification. There are immense cat cemeteries in Egypt, a mixture of beloved pets as well as possible sacrifices to the goddess Bastet, highlighting the importance of the creature to both the everyday lives and the religious practices of the ancient peoples of Egypt from which so much culture stems. 

Diana, Roman Goddess of the hunt is also associated with cats and their lunar aspects. While this is not one of her primary animals, the famous depiction of her at Ephesus shows her with cats. Due to their nighttime proclivities, and especially the way their eyes grow larger and luminescent, cats have long been associated with the moon. Their ability to see in the dark links them to the Spirit world and the realms of the hidden. 

*Details* :

- 24 mm from top to bottom

- 20 mm wide

- Sits 9 mm off the finger 

- Solid Sterling Silver  

- Hand oxidized to achieve our favorite shade of stormy gray and then highlighted to reveal the bright luminous silver beneath

- Set with one 11 mm fine cut square tourmalated quartz

Black Tourmaline Quartz:

Black Tourmaline Quartz is a variety of clear quartz with naturally occurring needle-like inclusions of black tourmaline. Quartz is a considered the 'Master Healer, and is known for its propensity to improve memory and bring clarity to the consciousness. In this way, it is also a helpful tool in meditation. Black Tourmaline Quartz is well known for its protection qualities, acting as psychic armor against negativity and psychic attacks.

This jewel is hand cut and therefore may have small signs of the carver's hands along the edges. This has not been fabricated by a machine, it has been made by hand and therefore isn't uniformly perfect. The photographs accurately portray the quality of the stone. 

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