New Skeleton in my closet--BD Ofrenda Pin Brooch EGADS, etsyBead Team , JET, paganteam, etsyMOMS

Description

Autumn is a time of transition, a time when the ancients worried about the sun dying as the land seemed to be. In every northern culture there are rituals both to honor and propitiate the ancestors and to beg the sun to return. As the world turns colder and darker around us, most of these rituals involve fire in some form, along with effigies of the dead, often in the form of skulls and/or skeletons and sometimes supplies for their existence in the afterlife. In addition to honoring the ancestors, many of the celebrations, in the tradition of the ancients, mock death itself, regarding it not as an end, but, like winter, as a transition to another life.

About halfway between the fall and winter equinox in Europe and the Americas we find Samhain, Guy Fawkes Day, All Hallows’ Eve/Halloween, All Saints’ Day, and El Dia de los Muertos. China has the Full Moon Festival, when lanterns are everywhere and farmers still burn their fields. In Japan, Bon Odori honors the dead with candles floated on rivers and lakes. In India, Pitrapaksh, honors ancestors, Durga Puja celebrates a mythical victory of good over evil, and Diwali, the new moon day in October or November is a festival of lamps and firecrackers. And this is just the stuff I know about---I’m sure there are many more.

So, in the spirit of the season, I’d like you to meet some of my latest creations, Ofrendas. These skeletons, crones, and other seasonal characters are full of life while reminding us that it is only part of the cycle.

This little skeleton is, except for the jasper bead forming his "body" and his carved oxbone skull, totally made of the wire-wrapped bones of small creatures from cleaned owl castings. I don't know exactly which bones are from which creatures, and what looks sort of like a beak on his head may be someone's upside-down jawbone, but, far a skeleton, I think he looks pretty together. He's not quite as fragile as he looks, but will probably take some extra-careful packing and should be kept out of reach of children and pets. He's just over 4 1/2" hanging from a vintage pin, but could easily be moved to a black rubber cord at no extra cost of a vintage chain (convo for lengths and prices) if you prefer.

Thanks for joining us on The Creative Block. We’re happy to see you shopping or just browsing here any time, hope you’ve found something you love and/or gotten new ideas, and would love to hear from you. And when you’re done,, do check out our second etsy shop, Findings, at http://www.leslietsy.etsy.com for useful and interesting components for your own creations.

Added on Oct 18, 2009

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