The Planchette became one of the earliest jewels I made in sterling silver back in my Etsy days, the first one was cast and set with its glass 'eye' in 2010. After all these years, it remains, for me, a metaphorical image & one that holds both my imagination and my heartsblood, as I continue to weave it into jewels 13 years later as a way of tethering myself to the past.

The history of the planchette has been obscured by its more "modern" connection to Ouija Boards. It was first used as a writing device in the Victorian Spiritualist era that mediums could use for Spirit communication during séances. It was made of wood and was larger in size than the versions that accompany Spirit boards. The 'eye' of the first versions held pencils and casters were attached to the bottom. Spiritualist mediums  held their hand or hands lightly on them during séances messages from Spirit were physically written out. This form of the planchette predates its connection to the Ouija board and its printed alphabet by decades.

Here ~ it becomes the centerpiece for another kind of Victorian embellishment ~ the bow of our Seance Room skeleton key. Nestled in the center lies a secret planchette symbolizing a portal for messages, akin to the way the Victorians used Planchettes over a hundred years ago. The way, perhaps, some of our ancestors visited sanctuaries thousands of years ago in search of meeting the healing God Asklepios in dreams, to seek messages of cures while dreaming, for wounds that never heal ……physical wounds & psychic wounds alike ~ the ones that strike us with grief that vary across the spectrum. This is what the planchette has become for me ~ not just the ferrying of messages between worlds ~ but the promise of the messages themselves ~ of sleeping & dreaming of loved ones who whisper to our sleeping selves. The hope of communication ~ of continuing our relationships with those who are gone, however that may feel/look or be like for you; ‘hearing’ our loved ones & how that may heal you ~ how this healing may not come for many months or years if ever fully suturing comfortably~ & how also, it may not be a linear healing ~ how it may open up as unexpectedly as your grief does. 

The planchette is a promise to me, a hopeful thing ~ a lit candle, a held hand, a letter slid under a door I long thought locked forever. It’s their voice in a dream, it's their words you will wake up remembering.

A tiny jewel shaped tear dangles below the ornate portal made in collaboration with my husband, Aaron Horkey, a physical metaphor of: waking up with evidence of a message that came while you were asleep ~ or something to toggle between your fingers when feeling lost in a moment of reverie, or melancholy, or when you're floating outside of your body and need a tether to bring you back home. 

Details:

- 24 mm at its widest 

- 32 mm from top to bottom ( including jump ring )

- Shown on Miguel with a 20 inch chain

- Pendant, chain, jump rings, and clasp are all solid Sterling Silver, hand oxidized to achieve our favorite shade of stormy gray and then highlighted to reveal the bright luminous silver beneath

Garnet:

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. Please allow approximately 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