The Horizon. Onyx Ring.

Unusual in size and orientation compared to the rest of our jewels, this ring is meant to act as a talisman, as an anchor, for those feeling lost at sea, specifically on rough waves. To steady ourselves from seasickness, which stems from a sensory mismatch, it’s best  to look out at the horizon, so your eyes see that you’re moving. This can also work in a car, and other instances of travel where your body is seated ( or mostly stationary ) but the surrounding scenery, whether it's out on the sea or trees rushing by conflict with your senses. Finding a focal point on the horizon helps to rebalance our senses and resetting our equilibrium.  When dedicating yourself to a dream or goal, there are undoubtedly going to be times of turmoil, of rough waves and gyres that threaten to pull you and your ship under. The same can be true of the people whom we are devoted to, friends, lovers and family members alike. This ring is a reminder to look to the horizon for steadiness in these moments, for the hope of calm. People can be our horizon as well, those who love us and are devoted to us, can be our anchor when we feel adrift and heartsick. We may feel we are drowning in these murky feelings, but we can also swim ashore, our hearts ever fixed on the horizon, on what can bring us back. 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 4 mm off of the finger - 12 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 a 6 x 8mm emerald cut onyx stone - Fourth image shows Miguel wearing this ring with the Bat Wing II nesting band found here - Fifth image shows Miguel wearing this ring with the Bat Wing I nesting band 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 - 8 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