** This ring is limited based on the small quantity of stones we have in the studio and we do not know if they'll be available again in the future. 

Please either leave your ring size in the notes section while going through the check out process or reach out to us after placing your order to confirm your ring size. We can not begin creating your ring until your ring size is confirmed. 

Psychopomps in myth are entities who assist in ferrying the newly dead to the Underworld; these can be in a “human” form such as Hekate or Hermes, or in animal form, such as sparrows or owls. Here, we’ve resurrected a much beloved and coveted ring from my earliest days, and reimagined it, adding life cast bat bones, marrying them with the same life cast sparrow claws from the first ring. These immortal sterling silver  “remains” cradle a fine cut gemstone of your choice, and echo a kind of traditional “engagement” ring, as the first iteration was meant to serve as a devotional ring to yourself, a declaration of accepting all of the sharp, inky, messy parts of yourself: your rage, your sadness, your bluntness, your inability to mask at all times, your awkwardness at social gatherings, your inability to say the right thing when you “need to”, your habit of saying the wrong thing on accident, of accepting that sometimes your hair might be out of place, that you might not pass, that you might stumble or bump into a piece of furniture in front of everyone, that you might use filler words too much when you speak, that you didn’t graduate from college like everyone else you know, that you feel incapable of climbing out of debt no matter how hard you try, that you can’t quite seem to feel good any day of the week, that you can’t quite seem to ‘get it right’. This first ring meant accepting these things, wearing a ring that meant belonging to all of the parts of yourself, saying ‘yes’ to every little part, no matter how much society says ‘no’.

Many years later, this newer version of this ring means all of these things, and it also means you have permission to change too, you have permission to face these things and to chip away at any of them and any of them I missed, and you have support too, you have a guide, a guardian, something to touch and turn on your finger to know you’re not alone, that I believe magic is real and you’re allowed to believe that too, in whatever way that word resonates for you. 

It’s my wish that you’re not alone. That you feel safe and protected, whether it’s with this ring or not, whether it’s with the pages of a book, with the kinship of others, with the hug of a friend or loved one, with just being seen and heard, with knowing you can be, with knowing someone else feels the same way and is working on it too, is also just accepting the same things about themselves too. 

Belonging to themselves, and belonging to each other. Helping each other cross thresholds.

Highly detailed cast sterling sparrow claws have been combined with bat bones to create this ring which is then oxidized to our signature gloomy grey and finished to reveal the highlights beneath. The sparrow claws are a detailed reincarnation of a real pair cast, and now made immortal.

Bats and their cast wing and leg bones have long been a component I’ve used in my visual library as a way of creating a personal visual language. As nocturnal creatures, I feel a kinship with their natural predilection for the night time hours, but I’m also interested in how they use sonar to ‘see’, how as a metaphor bats as liminal creatures also remind us to look closer with our other senses, a way of ‘seeing the unseen.’ It’s my hope and intention that pairing them with other chthonic imagery and myth further adds to the visual meaning I’m aiming for, creating a collage of personal ideas while also tethering these physical jeweled objects to the spirit of the bat ( and other natural objects in the case of other jewels in my collection ) and to the spirit of the myths I’m invoking.

Details:

- Solid sterling silver 

- Sits 7.5mm off of the finger

- Approximately 22mm at its widest

- 7.5mm hand cut fine cut round gemstone 

- Last image features this ring with other jewels from our Limited Katabasis offerings.  

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.

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.                   

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