Mother of Pearl.
I love Mother of Pearl. Even as a child I was drawn to its pearly softness and its wonderful translucent, moonlike lustre. One of the things I remember from early childhood was a beautiful prayer book my parents gave me to make my first holy communion. It had gold edged pages and a cover made completely with Mother of Pearl. I remember the feeling of holding this book, its weight, the quality of the paper pages, and especially the pictures of Angels and Saints. I was absolutely captivated by their beauty, and though I wasn’t a great one for actually reading the prayers, the whole experience of the book sort of drew me in as if it had a life of its own, and it was comforting just to gaze and dream within its pages.
There was one particular picture though, in that prayer book, which provoked a remarkable experience for me as a child. It was a picture of Jesus, dying on the cross, wounded and exhausted, blood dripping from his wounds.
An Impressionable Age
I suppose I was an introverted sort of child, an only child, and definitely one prone to fantasy. I was normal for me to spend a lot of time on my own, reading and day dreaming (by the way, these are qualities I now realise are strengths, not weaknesses). This particular day as I looked through my beautiful prayer book with all the Angels and prayers I suddenly noticed that I had blood on my fingers, and on closer inspection I saw that it was coming from the wound; the wounds on Jesus’s body were wet with fresh red blood and it was staining my fingers.It was an intense moment for me because I felt as if I’d connected with his torture and suffering, and felt extreme shock that he was dying because of my sins. (This is what young girls and boys were taught in my primary school in those days). I was of course very perplexed by the blood and checked my fingers thoroughly for a cut where the blood may have come from, I even checked other pictures in the book with the colour red, to see if the print might be leaking, but there weren’t any signs of injury to my fingers nor leaking colours on other pages, and so I concluded that the blood had come from the wound, coupled with my intense emotional connection with the picture.
The Dangers of Religious Indoctrination.
I personally believe the crucifixion story is way too heavy a burden for young children. The whole idea that little children are taught to feel guilt and shame is dangerous and has serious consequences, often affecting people for the rest of their lives. However thats another subject for another day, and I am happy to say that today I still love Mother of Pearl, and lucky for me it has only positive and beautiful associations, as do the Angels and prayer.
Mother of Pearl & a bit of Soul.
The Divine Feminine Light Pendant is my offering, to remind us of the importance of soul nurture. If you think of the nature of Mother of Pearl you will understand how I use it in my jewelry as a symbol of motherly love and protection. Our planet is suffering not only from ecological devastation and the repressions of the Patriarchy, but with a disconnection from the light of our feminine soul. I believe we need to nurture our soul, our feminine spiritual side. We have forgotten this spirit, this sacred and motherly love, and replaced it with things, and pleasure and escape. A little bit of soul could make a big difference. A little bit of meditation, prayer and soul nurture could make a refreshing alternative to a busy day full of activities. A few quality hours spent with a loved one can often be more valuable than any gift. A day without TV, or internet or music, or shopping or books or distractions, just one quiet day spent in contemplation and self awareness can often re-connect us and nurture our divine feminine soul. Let your divine feminine shine.
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