The pomegranate is a luscious fruit full of juicy seeds. I created these earrings to honor the fruit, seeds, and stories about this winter fruit. The asymmetrical earrings boast handmade lampwork beads depicting the fruit full of seeds and three of those juicy seeds. The sterling lever back ear wires will guarantee that they will dance on your ears, but not OFF your ears, as you dance around the fire.

The pair brings to mind the Greek myth of Persephone, who was the daughter of Demeter, goddess of Fertility, Grains, and the Harvest. The Mother and Maiden were very close. However, one day Persephone (also called Kore, which translates into “Maiden”) was abducted by Hades, god of the Underworld. Demeter was so distraught in her mourning that crops failed in the fields. Eventually, thanks to Hecate, the Crone of the Crossroads, Persephone was returned to her mother. In her rejoicing, Demeter gave the healing power of fertility and growth back to the earth, and the fields flourished. But while in the Underworld, Persephone ate 3 pomegranate seeds, and so she returns to there for 3 months of the year to rule as Queen of the Underworld. This is why we have seasons: for Demeter’s alternating time of mourning and rejoicing.

But imagine if this tale were considered differently: imagine that Persephone felt changes moving inside of herself, and realized that it was time for her to mature from Maiden to Mother. Perhaps, then, she would choose to go within – in her inner self or “underworld” – to reflect on these changes: what they are, what they bring. She would spend time examining her depths and her dreams. Once she had completed this self-examining rite of passage, she would “return” a Mother, ready to be Queen of Herself. Then those seeds become seeds of empowerment, not imprisonment.

To me, the pomegranate is symbolic of the ovary. And we all know how young teenage girls retreat/go within when they are maturing into menses and into a deeper responsibility to and for their bodies. From before birth, girls' ovaries contain all of the eggs (seeds) they can possibly use in their lifetime. That means that a maternal grandmother -- while carrying her daughter in her womb -- also carries her granddaughter at the same time.

These handmade rich red pomegranates are symbolic of the seeds of potential and change that we all hold within, regardless of our age. In the myth, all three Ages of Woman (Maiden, Mother, Crone) support each other. This happens in our own lives: giving and receiving support, comfort, and encouragement.

The word pomegranate is from medieval Latin pōmum "apple" and grānātum "seeded”; the gem garnet derives from “granatum” meaning "of a dark red color".

I hope you enjoy wearing these earrings as much as I enjoyed creating them!

This pair is mailed first class with no insurance.

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Thank you for supporting my passion! Blessed be!