This ring is named after the river Lethe, which is one of five rivers that moved through the Underworld and that the ferryman Charon would pass the newly dead over. In myth, to drink from the River Lethe meant you would experience forgetfulness of your previous life, often preparing your soul for reincarnation. Lethe is also the Goddess of oblivion, for whom the river is named. 

Sometimes at night when I'm trying to settle my thoughts and fall asleep, all of my worst memories surface, and I'm haunted by all my past mistakes. I often wish there was a way to erase these memories, that seem to transform and intensify any time they materialize. This is a talisman for this strange kind of time travel, and a wish for making peace with those moments in our past lives we wish to be free from and healed.

Life cast bat bones were manipulated to create this ring. Cast in sterling silver silver, each piece is oxidized to achieve our signature shade of stormy gray and the hand finished to reveal the silver highlight beneath.

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 10mm off of the finger 

- Setting is approximately 22mm wide 

- 18 x 30mm fine cut pear onyx

- Last image shows Jess wearing this ring with other jewels from the Katabasis. Chapter I collection, 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. 

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