Cowrie (my precious)

Silver, cowrie shell

A client brought me a cowrie shell from his travels. As a gift for his wife, he requested a silver frame for the shell. Cowries have traditionally been regarded by many cultures as good luck amulets. Some believed that they helped with matters of fertility (becuse of their suggestive shape), and this association with birth and health led many to use cowrie shells as lucky charms to attract wealth - abundance - money. I had one when I was little. My granny called it a 'money stone' and said I should keep in in my purse to attact money.

Because of their small and uniform shape they were actually used as 'coins' (money) by many peoples of the past. Whatever it is that attracts us to this little shell, they are simply precious.

Affirmation

I wanted to make a worded pendant and got confused. Looked at the letters in the mirror and saw the words the right way but when I photographed it I remembered that the eyes don't work the same as a mirror... and so my words are backwards!

To Be or not to Be


I Am

I finally got it right!

Ohm

A silver Ohm pendant I made for a client.
I have always loved this symbol. A manifestation of the sound AUM.

the One ring

I made this as a response to my studies on Talismans.
It represents that fact that we are all One, from the same source. A simplification of all truths into the one Truth.

Protection

Silver and garnet Ring.

The celtic pattern is a protection symbol. I used garnet because it is said to also aid in protecting the wearer from harm.

Crazy about Circles

I have a thing for circles... made these pendants recently.

An interest in symbolism plays on my mind when designing.. the circle has so many connotations and its up to the viewer if they want to identify with them or not. For me circles are about Oneness. Our interconnected reality... or as Carlos Jung puts it - 'Unus Mundus' - One World. We are all, though individual, of the same source and are, as a whole, One mind, One body, One spirit.

Unity is strength.

Why Symbolism and Religeon were created

My honours study of jewellery is about Amulets and Talismans - symbolic objects used for the benefit of mankind. They are merely points of focus for the mind. It is the mind that does the work, not the crystal or the object or the symbol. By looking at the object, it serves to remind the person what it stands for and one's own mind does the work.

Dr. Paul Brunton ("The hidden teaching beyond Yoga", 1941) explains why symbolic objects and religeon were created.

"Such views (about Truth and Knowledge of the universe's operation) could not be brought within the reach of immature minds without first throwing them into solid and concrete form. This could be done only by converting them into popular symbols and a system of such collated symbols would constitute a historic religeon. The symbolism would have to appear in the forms of ritual, legend, myth, pseudo-history, simple dogma and so on, but whatever shape it took it would necessarily represent a disappearance of profoundly abstract conceptions and a substitution of crudely concrete ones. Thus philosophy (as verification of Truth) would apparently die only to be reborn in the dwarfed guise of religeon. The true psychological facts could only be imparted in its unabridged plenitude to those who had attained a stage which rendered them fully qualified to grasp it. To all others, it would be tiresomely unintelligable".

Both religeon and symbolism are therefore merely a step toward understanding what they really stand for. It is enough, however, for people to engage with these on a superficial level, for at least they are moving in the right direction. In time people will understand how powerful the mind is and that they can change their picture of the world by their own will. Hence the biblical statement of being created 'in the image of God'. We are the creators of our own destiny.

the complication of simplicity

"..the familiar things and persons that surround us seem a simple affair, but the moment we try to view a part and also to gaze at the picture as a whole, then only do we begin to grasp how difficult and how complex an affair it really is" (Brunton 1941).


I am doing my honours jewellery study on Amulets and Talismans.
It is a most frustrating affair!
Each time I approach my first explanatory chapter of the subject, I am told by my lecturer that I am being too broad. Simplification is the hardest thing to do. Each time I take a closer (simplified) look at my subject, it opens up a whole universe of notions. As I break my subject down into its parts and try then to study a part, this part becomes a complicated whole that may be further divided into more parts. Nothing is really simple and yet it is all a reflection of certain basic principles. Within an atom exists a universe.

the Word

'The Spirit of the Word'
by Jean-Bertrand Aristide

"In the beginning
there was the Word
and the Word was with God"
(John 1)

I was researching African Amulets and came across a thesis about language and the origin of words.
Jean-Bertrand Aristide compares the language of the African IsiZulu to that of the Haitian Kreyol. The two places are, as he describes them, "So close and yet so far" from each other, and yet have much in common.

Regarding life in general, noone really knows the original source for what we know, from where it came and who influenced who. Places that exist in oblivion to the rest of the world still share, nevertheless, similar fears, wisdom and spirituality, even though they give them different names.

To those interested in the theology and spiritualism of language, you may find this article as interesting as I did. Follow the link in the title above for the original thesis by J.B.Aristide.

On the use of words

My Tech research is challenging in that simplification of subject matter requires a thorough understanding thereof. Throughout the process of writing and rewriting what I have established on my subject (Talismans), I am humbled by previous writings, as each time I know a little more. It is so true that the more we know, the more we are aware of what we don't actually know.

I have this treasure of a book called 'The hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga', written by Dr Paul Brunton, first published in 1941. It is pretty fascinating, he speaks about everything from spirituality to politics to thoughts to objects to his understanding of Truth.

On the subject of 'words' and 'verbal clarification', he quotes distinguished London professor John Macmurray from his book 'Freedom in the Modern World':


"When I undertook the task of expressing my own philosophy in non-philosophic language, I found, with considerable astonishment, how vague was my own apprehension of the real meaning of technical terms which I habitually used with considerable precision."

"Words are but servants of thought", says Brunton, "and like all servants should be kept in their proper place... It is a common mistake to assume that the meanings of most words are self evident".

I take this in quietly, and roll it over like a sweet on the tongue, tasting tentatively, hesitant to say more.

***

amulets...

Essenwood was successful this Saturday, a few very nice sales just in time to pay rent.

Having traded there for a few years, people feel comfortable to talk about what they like as well as make suggestions, which I observe and often implement. This Saturday, for example, a 17yr old advised me as to what he thinks I should make... he said, "peace signs are coming back.. I'll even buy one". So I'll make a few and see what happens.

Another woman asked if I could make for her a pair of yin-yang earrings.. this was in response to seeing my various laser cut perspex designs set into silver frames. So far, I have only made stars (for the youth) and africa designs (for the tourists). Funnily enough a 5oyear old woman bought star earrings today and a rastafarian bought the African Earrings for his girlfriend. One cant always guess at who the buyer will be!

So anyway, interesting that both requests were amuletic - the peace sign to invoke harmony and the yin yang to promote balance. Seems the world is in need of a helping hand, and it is reaching out.

Goldfish in a bowl

I have a really crappy memory. It fails me often when I need it most. For this reason I like the symbol of the goldfish. It is said to have a very short memory span. I like the idea that this fishy swims around its little bowl, (round, like the Earth), thinking maybe, is this all there is? And then, giving in to hope, or faith, it jumps up and out into the air... And finds that it can breathe! and there is a universe of possibilty outside the fishbowl!


The fishbowl is our own headspace.

I made a little container Talisman with a fish in water...

Philosophy of the Goldfish:

The Goldfish is like a Talisman. In other words, a personal symbol to remind one to think outside the box. If we can remember to remember that we each create our own perspective of the world, then we can start to consciously create what we want that world to be like. We can think outside of the 'perceived fishbowl'. Each to their own bubble, it feels safe in there.

In the words of Catherine Mansfield:

Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinions of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself.

And in to bring to mind the spoon in the movie Matrix:

... there is no fishbowl.

(Except for the one you create for yourself).

Children of Men

I saw an interesting movie the other day. 'Chilren of Men'.
It is set in about 2027 and its subject is the fertility status of the world. There is, in the movie O% fertility. The chemicals in the air and what we consume, results in mass global infertility. The possibility of this occurring is not improbable.

This makes me think about Talismans. Some of the earliest Talismans used by humankind were believed to help a woman fall pregant and have a healthy childbirth. Fertility.

The carved figurine of mother Earth is one of the oldest objects found that is associated with fertility. It appears in many form variations and is usually a stout, curvaceous figure of a woman. It symbolizes our basic instinct - to survive.

The movie illustrates how even in futuristic times, these old figurines have their place. And having lost our connection with the earth, we are more vulnerable now than then.

More and more people are starting to question the nutrional content of their food, the presence of poisens in the water, the medication we take, the quality of the air we breathe and so on. Never mind the thoughts that we think! These factors play an important role in how we develop as a species and the type of human beings that the future will find. And if it will find any of us at all.

Objects as Affirmation

We had a customer come in today who wants her big wedding ring changed into something more contemporary, and even I was surprised at the design decided upon. Not my taste! Funny the notion of beauty and how it really is in the eye of the beholder. She said the new design was ' arty and bold ' and because she herself is very organized and orderly, she wants a ring that is random and and eccentric. Interesting that, how we can use things to express the way we are, as well as the way we would like to be. Needing affirmation of the way we feel inside by wearing it on the outside. Using objects to remind us of ourselves.

Evolution of the Cross

Certain symbols are embedded into our psyche. The cross is one of them.
There are many meanings to the cross, one of which represents the harmonious relationship between the spiritual and physical plane (God/Man).
Crosses are illustrated in the sky. A massive drawing board of pixels that, with the joining of the dots, reveals a reflection of that what manifests on earth - as Above, so Below.

A cross inside of a circle is called the Sun Cross. It is an ancient symbol used throughout history by different religions, groups and families, eventually working its way into Christian iconography. It is said to represent the initial God-entity in its entirety, self contained.

The Celtic Cross is a variation of this, arms extended out of the circle. The God-entity as s/he manifests the world outside of her/himself.

The Egyptian Ankh sees the cross moving out from the centre of the circle and its arms join to create a circular shape at the top. It resembles the figure of a human. And after the heavens, God created man. And Man takes on a mind of his own.

Having looked at variations of the cross, it seems that the story of creation is illustrated by its various forms. It is only natural, therefore, to ask, what next? What does the next cross look like, at a time when people question religeon and the presence of God as an entity outside of themselves rather than accepting God as themselves?

While sitting typing this I look at the computer hard drive, at the power button. This On/Off icon has 2 variations:

It reminds me of the cross. The arms of the cross join to become the head in the one. The other is broken, indicating dislodgment from the original whole. Man as a seperate entity to the whole.
The piece that is cut out lies at right angles to the circle, it is what is needed to comple the circle. It also suggest the male and female union.

The symbol means, simply, " power ".
It is a combination of 2 symbols: "0" and "1" to denote off and on in binary language.
The sign appears to be a product of symbolic evolution.

Maybe this is the new version of the cross?

Placebos - All in the Mind

I was reading the other day about the use of placebos. They are tablets that are fake but they help the patient anyway because the docter tells them that the tabs are real.

A Wired UK article says that "drugs are having a difficult time beating the placebo effect, and increasingly so. In fact, they're finding the placebo effect is getting stronger in people, making it more difficult for drugs to show any improvement over it".

Having studied the placebo effect, Fabrizio Benedetti found that when someone is given a pill, the brain expects change to happen. Based on that expectation, the brain often then starts producing its own pain-relieving medicine, which can reduce pain and even regulate heart and respiratory functionality.

The problem with placebos is that they are sugar pills. And sugar has a disastrous effect on health. It would make sense if sugar pills were replaced by 'healthy tabs' - full of nutritional value while still being effective as a placebo.

But then the pharmaceutical drug companies wouldn't make their money from us, would they?
They don't want a healthy world.

Energetic Fingerprint

I am under the impression that there exists such a thing as an energetic fingerprint.

Today at the market where I trade jewellery, the ring above was object of attention. At least 5 women picked it up and admired the amethyst for a while before putting it down.. This is'nt always the case. This ring hasn't been touched as many times before as today. It is not a particularly beautiful ring, but caught today's attention nevertheless.

My research into Talismans (magical objects) has led me to believe that the power lies not in the object, but in the interaction between the object and the observer. This may be likened to the Placebo Effect used in the medical profession, as well as Auto Suggestion used in phsychology.

If this is the case, then what is it that is happening on my table sometimes? I am referring to the fact that some objects draw the attention of most passersby on a particular day. It is almost as though there is a transferrance of energy as the holder leaves behind an invisable energetic fingerprint, that thereafter attracts another person and another.. I wonder if it just keeps attracting because of its own being, or if with each person that picks it up admiringly, its energy grows and therefore attracts more strongly (like a magnet) ?

Amethyst day: 08-11-08

the power Within us

Talismans

Having explored the subject of Talismans for my jewellery honours study, I learnt many things.
I started with a broad understanding of magical objects, trying to understand how the Talisman carries power and why.

I realized of course that the magic is in the wearer and not the object. I would like to say that I always believe this, but there are times when some objects do indeed have a life of their own. I have seen this when I sell jewellery... certain pieces are frequently picked up on a given day. Or it's the object talking, or human beings leave behind an energetic fingerprint that attracts other people.

Nevertheless, it is more often than not our interaction with these objects that gives them power. By acknowledging what the objects stand for, the association activates something in our minds that helps to bring about that which the object symbolizes. The magic ultimately lies within our own selves. This is evident when considering placebos. Its all in the mind.

"To the one whom the symbols speak of their nature and of their secret, each symbol is a living manuscript in itself. Symbolism is the best way of leaving ideas behind which will keep for ages after the teacher has passed. It is speaking without speaking; it is writing without writing. The symbol is said to be an ocean in a drop."

Hasrat Inayat Khan

AnsweRing

I have been reading a book called 'African Oracles'. It is about throwing coins or shells to find answers to questions (I use humus seeds in memory of my time in Israel!).
I decided to make a ring to spin for a yes / no answer.

The top plate is spun, and where the window rests, it reveals a polished area or a darkened area. These correlate with yes and no. A old cut diamond is the 'driving force' of the piece.


Preparation of the Ring:

The shank:

When I made Peter's bangle, I cut out symbols from silver.
(see http://chantelhere.blogspot.com/2008/09/alpha-omega-god-in-between.html),
I really like the Omega. The round shape thereof lends itself to becoming a shank. I tried it out and am excited because now I have found the shank for the One Ring Range.

1. Preparation of ring and symbols:

2. A section is cut away to complete the Omega design.
It is filed, papered and polished and then soldered to the bottom plate.
The yes and no symbols are soldered under the bottom plate, to bridge the gap between plate and finger.

3. The top side of the plate is divided into half, polished and blackened, the cross (no) being positioned under the black, and the tick (yes) being under the polish.

4. A short tube soldered to the bottom plate houses another tube that allows spin for the top plate. This inner tube is flared to hold the plates together at just enough distance apart to allow for a smooth spin action. In this hole a diamond is set.

5. Window:
Omega represents 'ending'. I felt that I needed a beginning to my ending and this is Alpha.
I chose to use a triangle tipped upward to represent Alpha and this became the 'secret window' cut out of the top plate.

Finish:
The ring should have a high polish for maximum light reflection. The mirror appearance is symbolic of us as reflecting the world in our ways and wants, as well as being reminiscent of the power of light as an ally.

6: Naming:
The triangle is shaped like an A. The ring Answers questions.. this prompted the name 'AnsweRing'...

7. On the underside of the top plate I burred a spiral, to mimic the spin of the plate when turning. It wasn't really necessary, as the plates are so close together that you can barely see inside.

Alpha, Omega & God in Between.

A man approached Gary and I to make up a 'sacred bangle' for him.
He wanted a bangle that would be a 'talking piece', one that would cause curiosity and questions that would allow for him to open up a conversation leading to a sharing of 'truth'.



Having an insight to Hebrew text, he brought some notes with him for us to read.. he wanted for us to have full understanding of the intention before making the bangle. It was also important to him that both my partner, Gary, and I should work on the bangle as feminine and masculine energies. I was very excited to do the piece, as I spent many years in Israel and learnt how to speak Hebrew.

The symbols had been carefully thought out so as to contain the beginning, the end, God and Eternity. The order of these symbols was important, as well as the size of the lettering (8mm high) and the width of the bangle(22mm). These numbers have special connotations. The bangle was to be flat and unobtrusive, falling to the background of the letters as the sky does for the stars.. looking aged and a bit battered. It was to represent the "Old", whereas the shiny letters would represent the "New" - a marriage of old wisdom to the modern world in which we live.

On the left is an "aleph', the A in Hebrew. This represents 'the Beginning'. The basic geomatria for Aleph is One, representing the One and only God who is the Master of the universe.
The Hebrew letters for God (Yahweh=Jehovah) sit at the centre of the bangle. These letters refer to God's name: "I Am that I Am", which captures 'the creation'.
To the right of this is the Omega symbol, representing closure.
There is an eternity symbol on either side of the bangle, representing the circle of life and its cyclical nature.

He was very happy with th result, said 'she' was dancing within his perichoresis'...


(Perichoresis in Christian theology, refers to the mutual inter-penetration and indwelling of the Father and the Son. The doctrine is based on John's Gospel that "the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father.")