Raising my head like the daffodils

This has been a very difficult winter for me. Difficult for my heart and also, it seems, difficult for my body. My work station in my office is not ergonomic and it appears that it is responsible for acute neck strain and subsequently migraines. I’ve had headaches varying from mild to severe migraine unceasingly for over 3 weeks. I finally took a few days off from work and did nothing. Nothing. Slept. Hung out on the couch. A little reading. Nothing much else. Friday I went to my acupuncturist and by yesterday, Sunday, I had some relief. Hours of relief. Woke up for the first time in days and days without a headache. *ahhhhhhhh*

Trying to work out a better arrangement at work. My monitor is simply too high and it forces me to stretch my neck and head back. Not Good. It might take a day or three to figure out the best way to set this up. Already I can feel my neck starting to freeze up again. And while that doesn’t make me happy, I know there is a solution and that this is temporary. THAT part makes me happy.

This weekend I raised my face to the sun and enjoyed watching the birds in the garden. So did Miss Mitty. We always have one glorious week in February where the sun shines and the rains stop and blossoms make everyone happy to be outside.

What that relief meant for me yesterday was that I got to work on some more of my little cuties, bead dangles. I’ve been working back and forth on charm necklaces in a silver/black/blue/iris set and a gold/russet/black set. One for dark moons and midnight and the other for autumn and Samhain. I plan on making at least one more in misty fae blues and greens and silvers for fae and spring work and perhaps use that for full moons too.

On Friday I showed my Wheel of the Year project to a friend who is teaching an Outer Grove at the moment. And she wants me to come in and speak to the students about using art as a vehicle for figuring out what your own personal correspondences are. I’m so honored! Evidentyly there is lots of moaning about writing their books of shadows when they want to use the computer. She wants them to see that BoS’s don’t even have to be on paper. I’ve attended her Outer Grove myself and one of the assignments is for each student to determine their correspondences for seasons, plants, animals, gems, colors, etc…

I will be bringing in my necklaces too. The bags I make for my tarot card decks (they are legion) match the theme and/or feel of the decks.

I was thinking about charm bracelets this morning and it suddenly hit me where that came from. It got normalized into little charm bracelets for debutantes and the like but I am reclaiming this. While it’s okay for certain to have only little silver charms in the shape of shoes and leprechauns , etc, and I can see how you could use the image of a shoe magically, for me it is all about INTENT.

These charm necklaces are for just that. Charms. As I make these dangles, these knotted charms, I am thinking of how they speak to me, what each one is for. The Samhain/autumn version uses gold and copper metals, gemstones, ceramics, glass, and other various materials to create these bits and pieces. Hematite, sponge coral, ruby, jade, flourite, turquoise, jasper, bone, lava, river rock, amber, jet, amethyst, blue goldstone, garnet. Totems and helpers such as stags, crows, leaves, acorns, pumpkins, orbs…

I’m thinking the gold charm necklace represents protection, intuition, vision, autumn, mabon, samhain, peace, knowledge, creativity, honor, nobility, earth, fecundness, hibernation, and probably some other things I haven’t thought of yet. Your thoughts are welcome. I can practically smell the moldering leaves, the sweet squashes, hear the caws of the crows calling each other home and to dinner, see the mists meandering between the ghosty birch.

I know, it’s spring outside but I am here to tell you that the artist is always ahead of the seasons just a bit. In order to be ready with completed art meant for Samhain, I must begin around Ostara. Yule presents work this way too. I’m thinking about Yule when the shamrocks are rising.

There are 117 little dangles here that will eventually hang on a charm necklace. I might make a few more so that I have a magical number. Click on the thumbnails to view larger images.