The Hive. Onyx

The Hexagon is the shape used by bees to create honeycomb, an interlocking and efficient geometry. The strongest shape found in nature, the hexagon balances weight and the distribution of stress evenly. This strength and interconnectedness can be applied to devotion, as a physical representation of a strong foundation and scaffolding between romantic partners and friends. It can also been a talisman for the industriousness and intelligence of bees when considering a devotional commitment or  practice. Historically, bees and their hive were an important part of the family. To “Tell the Bees” is considered an ancient practice, traced as far back as Hellenistic Greece, perhaps even earlier. Hives and bees were an important part of life as honey and beeswax were valuable goods - beeswax provided a clean burning material for candles to bring light into small dark places - an apt metaphor for lighting the way in dark times and dark spaces. The oracle site at Delphi was said to have been created by bees; even the Pythia were referenced as 'bee oracles'. While much has been written about how the Pythia's trance-like states were induced, one possible theory links their prophecy to the consumption of 'mad honey.' Known in Turkey as deli bal where it was ( and is ) harvested, and meli chloron or 'green honey' in Ancient Greece. It behaves as a psychoactive, due to bees feeding on native rhododendron plants. In small doses in can bring on feelings of euphoria, intoxication and hallucinations, in larger doses it causes a variety of unpleasant symptoms and in rare cases, death. The poison is in the dosage.  The practice of Telling the Bees, involved all major life events, keeping them included as one would with any other close family member. They were told of marriages, births, & perhaps most well known, deaths. The hives were heaved up at the same time the coffin was, and they were also decorated with funerary crepes. Cakes were also fed to the bees after funerals and weddings. It was believed that if a hive was not told of these life events, they would leave the hive, or even die. I like to think people would whisper secrets to the hives they could tell no one else, making the bees secret keepers. In the vein of this idea, use this ring as a talisman for your secrets, whisper them to it and bring it 'alive' as a companion for secret keeping.   Inspired by sacred devotion, these rings mark what devotion can be to us: we are devoted to the living, the dead, our dreams and our ideas. We can find devotion in spiritual callings, whatever that means to you, as well as to the natural world and places that bring us peace. Sometimes we are devoted to dreams that dissipate and people who disappoint us, who break our hearts. Sometimes we are asked to put our devotion aside. We remain devoted to people even when they have left us, either exiting the relationship or the living world. We are devoted even when we gain nothing in return. We burn with the fire of devotion, and occasionally, it burns us back, threatening to consume us. It can forever mark us. It can leave scars.  But also~ it builds us up. We can find reciprocal devotion, even when it is not asked for. We gain purpose in our devotion, fulfillment. We grow our devotion over time, tending to it as we would a garden. There is history, memory, knowledge, skill. A love that can be just ours, or one that is shared. A sense of belonging, peace. These rings can be used as markers of devotion to wear close to the body- objects that can be imbued with spirit, that can become companions in devotion. These can be given meaning in many ways ~ romantic love - share them with lovers as markers of engagement or promise. Friendship. Distance between loves. Shared between family members, ~ bonds between people who care for one another. They can also mark love for oneself. One of my earliest rings was conceived to act as a devotional ring for self-acceptance, committing to yourself despite the flaws that you’ve perhaps wrestled with your whole life. ~ To mark devotion to a dream or an achievement ~ or perhaps even the ending of a dream that you’ve had to slip into the river.  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*: - Sits 8 mm off of the finger - 17 mm from top to bottom  - Solid sterling silver, oxidized to our favorite shade of gloomy grey, and hand finished to reveal the highlights beneath - Set with one 10mm fine cut hexagon Onyx stone - Last image shows this ring with the Bat Wing I nesting band found here as well as the Bat Wing II, which can be found here Onyx: Onyx is best known for being a natural stone that acts as a kind of 'psychic armor' against the negativity of others. It is also used to soothe grief and heartbreak. It is a wonderful grounding stone and a stone of self mastery, enabling its wearers to have mental and spiritual focus. 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