Dear reader,

When I was a little kid,  my father gifted me a children’s book, By the Light of the Silvery Moon. It wasn’t as popular as Where the Wild Things Are was and still is, but it has a similar theme; a young child gets in trouble with her parents and escapes under the hedge outside her house into another world. Eventually she finds her way back home, to where she belongs. 

Lately I’ve been thinking about these stories and how there might not be a way back ‘home’ for some of us, those who always have felt like outsiders, slightly out of step with the frantic pace of the world and its horrors, more content to live on the edge of things, in our other worlds. Of course there is a melancholy to this; the possibility of being misunderstood, questioned, or even threatened in these increasingly intense times. Our homes are the ones we build ourselves, we choose our family or exist in more solitary situations. 

This ring, featuring a two headed snake ( a personal symbol for me of the other, the outsider ) nestles its two heads together above its tail’s end. Tiny and tactile tears, reminiscent of our grief moths and grief snake bangles, are featured on either side of the ring for rubbing / touching in times of anxiety or meditation. 

Much like one of my oldest rings, The Belonging to the Darkness ring, this is a ring of laying claim to yourself, while also being designed to exist as a ceremonial band. Comfortable on the finger, it can easily be worn daily and features a jeweled Onyx faceted tear.

A life cast snake has been manipulated to create this two headed serpent ring. 

This ring represents an eternal commitment to a person, an idea, a spiritual belief, or, most importantly, to one’s self. Over the course of history, jewelry has been used as tokens of remembrance, as symbols of love, as talismans and amulets. This ring is imbued with all of these functions and it is up to the wearer to activate which particular function they feel the intuition to commemorate. 

Details:

- Solid Sterling Silver 

- Sits approximately 6.5mm off of the finger 

- 8 x 13mm fine cut pear garnet

- Oxidized to achieve our signature shade of stormy gray and then hand finished to reveal the shining silver highlights underneath

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 and cuts of the stones. 

***IMPORTANT***

This jewel is handmade to order, just for you, with care and focus. Please allow approximately 6 weeks for creation before shipping.                   

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

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