The Making of a Talisman
Talisman for Attracting That Which Feeds Your Soul
For all my fellow stone loving sisters and brothers, you will understand that visceral tug when you are walking along, see a stone and it communicates that it wants to take a ride home with you in your pocket. Well this one sang a siren song to me as I walked up to it at the gem show. She was expensive, but I didn’t care, she needed to go home with me. This beautiful specimen of Prudent Man Agate needed to become a treasured talisman, a reminder of something precious and important.
She lived in my treasure box for over a decade. I would take her out and admire her scene of wildflowers in a mountain meadow, or maybe it was a cliffside overlooking the ocean waves. Both seemed true, both are places of delight and energy. Periodically I would take her out to see if I could feel what form she wanted to take but it was like she was hibernating, she was silent. Or maybe I just wasn’t ready with my skills to create the form she wanted.
About 3 weeks ago I took her out again and there it was, the whisper, the calling. I could feel that channel of communication between the stone and me opening. She challenged me because the stone cutter meant her to lay vertically, but the picture I see, is in her horizontal position. I listened, I made several little sketches of what she might be saying, trying to resolve the challenge of the shape turned on it’s side, but nothing felt just right. I started to make a forged chain for her but when I set it next to her, it was too busy. It took the energy away from it’s source. After about two and a half weeks of sketching, fussing and deep listening, her expression finally came clear.
She’s complete and she feels wonderful, evocative, powerful. Without realizing it, the embellishments surrounding the stone took on water/serpent shapes that are ancient symbols of the cosmic energy of transformation, renewal, and deep wisdom. I often. use the moon and stars in my work as it symbolizes to me the connection to all the invisible energies that weave us together with everything. These strong symbols truly reflect the intensity of the energy and delight this piece evokes in me. She is the Talisman for Attracting That Which Feeds Your Soul.
