Due to the special nature of these jewels, they are only available for purchase one per person. 

IMPORTANT: This listing is for a One of a Kind jewel that cannot be replaced. We recommend Express Shipping with signature required upon delivery to make sure it arrives safely into your hands. This necklace is Ready To Ship and will leave the studio in 3 - 5 business days. 

Please note : This necklace will be created with an 30" bar link chain. If you desire a different chain length you must reach out to us immediately after placing your order. 

This special version of our Snake Heart design features a large Rose Quartz sphere. Our new Grief Snakes coil around this stunning crystal ball; each snake features a smooth body freckled with raised 'tear' shaped scales. 

Akin to our much beloved Grief Moths and Grief Snake bangle, this snake was born & grown wholly in our imagination, dreams and hearts rather than life cast from natural history. Like its winged kin, its body and head are freckled throughout with tears while most of its body is smooth. 

It was designed with being a symbolic balm to grief in mind: a personal grief carrier to help "carry the burden" of intense emotions you may have accrued during this strange, horrifying and transformative year. Or perhaps it can be your anchor, something to literally hold on to and that literally holds on to you, as you navigate the rough seas of past memories that may appear suddenly like a lightning storm. It may also symbolically help assist you unravel the unwanted emotions / thought patterns needing to be shed- much like the snake brings with it the symbol of transformation- as it regularly sheds its old skin in its entirety as it grows, expanding after each shed, becoming, in a sense, fresh with potential and possibility. 

This jewel can also be used as a piece of 'sentimental' jewelry to mark the passing of a loved one as a piece of modern mourning jewelry (Snakes were sometimes included in Victorian Mourning motifs.)- as it was designed with this intention in mind as well-the tears symbolizing the snake sharing your sorrow in an eternal way, cast forever in metal-even as you may be able to move on to other emotions during the complex and long dance with grief, this jewel will remain a touchstone. 

Additionally, remarkably detailed and tactile, the body of each snake was designed to be touched and rubbed during moments of reverie or intense emotion for a calming experience if you’re so inclined to somatic soothing techniques.

Lastly, snakes and snake magic/medicine have meant a lot to me for a long time, but lately I've been thinking of their connection to Asclepius, the ancient Greek god of medicine. He is usually depicted with a rod on which a snake is twinned around it; symbolizing the secret knowledge of the healing arts and resurrection (Medical practitioners still use this image as their symbol.) His healing temples were known as  Asclepieia or Asklepieia-to which people seeking to be healed would pilgrimage to. Once there, these pilgrims would stay a night or two to under go 'dream incubation'  in a sacred part of the temple, most likely under the effect of hallucinogens (poisonous plants perhaps?) during which they would be visited by the god Asclepius in the form of a snake, and either told what would cure them (which they could then have prescribed and administered on hand at the temple ) or healed in the dream space. Non-venmous snakes were often known to be free roaming in these temples and would 'whisper' cures and heal those who came to the temples, further aligning the healing nature of the snake, counter balancing its poisonous and deadly attributes.

*Details* :

- 45 mm from top to bottom

- Solid Sterling Silver  

- Both pendant and chain are hand oxidized to achieve our favorite shade of stormy gray and then highlighted to reveal the bright luminous silver beneath

- Set with one 36 mm Clear Quartz Sphere

ROSE QUARTZ: 

According to fossil evidence, Rose Quartz, known the world over for its beautiful pink coloring, is at least 35 million years old, with records dating back to 600 B.C.. During that time, it was given amongst lovers, family and friends as love tokens. It was also used in beauty rituals as far back as Ancient Egypt where evidence of it as facial masks has been found in tombs amongst grave goods. Metaphysically, it is best known as the master 'love stone', used in love spells, helpful in matters of self-confidence, anger, disappointment, and seemingly always mentioned in tandem with "healing" - a word so dense with promise it makes me both hopeful and strangely put off. I feel a bit lonely in my discomfort; I've never been one to only seek beauty in its traditional forms and it seems like Rose Quartz is the fairest of them all -the glittering prom queen who about to have a bucket of blood poured on her.

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.’

This jewel is hand cut and therefore may have small signs of the carver's hands along the edges. This has not been fabricated by a machine, it has been made by hand and therefore isn't uniformly perfect. The photographs accurately portray the quality of the stone. 

***IMPORTANT***  

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