The ancients… not some othered ghosts of a time long ago, but parts of us … we carry every experience, every memory, every love, and every pain, deep in the very core of our being.
Of course, they were trying to survive, but I feel as though when people think of the ancients… our ancestors, they only speak of struggle, they speak of disease and sadness, of food insecurity, and of those who came before us as people who knew nothing, that were somehow inferior to us.
I do not believe this, I think that every generation likes to think that they are so far advanced from the previous one, the othering so strong, that no connection is made between “us” and “them” and therefore no real consideration is given to their stories.
but they also adorned themselves with beautiful things, that they made with their own hands, imbued with magic and purpose. These materials went from metal, wood, shell, clay, and raw gems, to living breathing pieces, worn with love, and not just for special occasions.
I speak a lot about the loss of meaning in our jewels, our clothing, the everyday things we use, and the throw-away, obsolescence model, now so deeply entrenched in our way of life. The lack of time to create beautiful things of meaning, because we are slaving away at jobs needed to buy more mass-produced rubbish… the loss of taking your time, to slowly create… that cathartic ritual, now reduced to a luxury.
Oh, the cycle!
I will never forget being in the car with one of my oldest friends and going through the drive through of a fast-food restaurant with her, I was wearing the most opulent over-stated necklace, I mean it was huge! The man at the payment window, asked me “Are you going to a royal event?” I see where his comment came from, who wears a necklace, blindly glittering with red and white glass gems, at lunch time on a weekday?
Well, I do.
It does not matter if I am digging in the garden covered in dirt, I am still going to be decorated in huge bold rings, with dark agates like otherworldly globes, jangling copper bangles with beads chiming in the wind, and heavy locket necklaces, filled with special rocks, flowers and handwritten notes.
I cannot remember a time when I was not like this, as a child I would search thrift stores for old perfume bottles and ask my mother to tie string around them, before filling them with potions I made from the tiny purple and blue flowers that were nestled amongst the vines, that covered the birdbath my father had made from cement and ironstone.
Or I would find a crystal I could not put down, I even spent a day enamoured by the most perfect red apple, that I loved to hold, and would stare at it, just thinking about how much energy went into its creation.
I was definitely not a “normal” child, and I cannot think of a time that I was not philosophising, before I knew that the human condition requires us to have a name and box for all things, I just saw it as a feeling and an understanding where naming and explaining was not required, and I was incredibly comfortable in that… to a degree I still am.
I myself, identify heavily with animism, that every single thing has its own life-force, and I truly believe that that is our default state before the outside influences of established religion, capitalism, popular culture and conditioning, all come into play during the later years of childhood, not to mention the adult years where a belief in anything other than material gain, status and blending in, to avoid the dreaded attack, that comes with thinking differently to whatever is mainstream at the time, infiltrates our minds.
As humans believing we are the most intelligent life in the universe (that we know very little about), we just make every little thing, so incredibly complicated, and forget the wonder of everything around us, both in the macro and micro-cosmos… we forget enjoyment, and we swim with this unnatural stream, that is a toxic system of reward for hard work, and gruelling schedules… only when we prove ourselves worthy, can we move away from striving for the basics alone.
If we aren’t trying to look wealthy and successful while running in a giant rat wheel, we are judging the easiest targets in society, those who come from low socio-economic post codes and backgrounds, the unemployed, marginalized, and anyone seen as different, I feel like this is a huge issue in Australia, and it only takes watching trashy “reporting” on TV shows such as A Current Affair and Today Tonight (which thankfully was cancelled in 2019), to see this.
Hell, just listen to our politicians, or even the everyday joe, I heard so many people chip in with their views on those who lost their jobs during the chaos of the last few years, as being paid so much on welfare they won’t go back to work… I am not sure if these people actually have taken the time to research what those dollar figures are, but it is not even enough to pay for food and rent.
We are very quick to judge how those people on a low income spend their money, and if they indulge in anything that is seen as not “immediate needs” … well, get out your torches!
My guidelines for life will always align with equality for all, abundance for all, the eradication of wealth gaps and suffering, along with a strong commitment to the environment.
As should everyone… and as I write this, I know some people may be thinking, “here we go, you say equality, but you are also saying everyone must think the way you do”, if you are someone where this was your first thought, take a moment to imagine your own loved ones suffering and struggling, take a moment to think about the loss of every beautiful, pristine place that you have been on holiday this year, reduced to another polluted wasteland … If that was your first thought, you may be suffering from something known as “privilege”.
Which brings me to this point… how is someone deemed worthy? Because a person born into wealth, who has not worked a day in their life, will be instantly granted respect and the status of “deserving” regardless of whether they are kind, interesting, or themselves giving of respect to others… in many cases they are also untouchable of criticism, “you are just jealous’ seems to be the silencing statement thrown at those calling out nepotism, disproportionate wealth and the fact that, if someone loses their job, and needs welfare, they are judged for every move made, every dollar spent, but someone who has never held a job, but is wealthy… oh that is different.
Telling people, you are an artist usually pulls in some rather similar reactions… “now, what is your real job?”
Up until recently I was pushing myself to the point of burn-out, working as a cleaner to supplement our income and keep as afloat, most clients were lovely, but I always had the odd few who would make comments, insinuating what they thought I could, and couldn’t afford given that I was a cleaner.
Along with the one client who made me take my shoes on and off every time I came into her house, having to scrub bathrooms in socks, I kid you not. I will be candid here… that really got my goat.
Being spoken to like the lowest woman on the earth, cleaning in my soggy socks, while I was working myself sick, and then going home to a baby, and my own housework, by a woman who not only got to stay home every day, but who’s baby was in day-care five days a week, was a big ask… head back up to the paragraph on who is deserving of respect and pleasure… based on their status and regardless of who they are inside.
But did I scrub toilets in layers and layers of finery? … to compliment those wet socks?
You bet I did.
I am not out to make attacks on anyone, let me make that very clear, ok… maybe I am a little, cannot deny that given the rant above. But an over-hauling of our entire way of life and the system in which the world runs on, must change.
Is it possible that our issues have a lot more to do with “othering” than differing political and ethical ideas? Because surely no one would want those they care about living in difficulty, is it easier to pass these judgements on faceless people? How much fault should the media wear for perpetuating toxic untruths about those living under the poverty line? In fact, in the current climate, many people are now the working poor.
What does this have to do with adornment and life’s pleasures you might ask?
I feel that in the west there is a connotation with being heavily adorned and being ostentatious, but Beautiful things do not need to be expensive, I am in the process of making a large necklace composed of glass from a smashed windscreen, that I found in an isolated carpark, copper from a wood fired hot water tank, that came from my parents’ house, and an interesting piece of patinaed metal I found on a busy road. It is destined to be a heavily engraved, statement piece, and it is almost entirely created from discarded materials.
I have had my fair share of judgement, I have been out at a bar with a male friend many years ago, and an older gentleman mistook me for a sex worker. My male friend stated that my layers of jewels and suit was most likely the reasoning.
For one, I was not offended, and thank goddess, sex work is finally getting the respect it deserves, and two, my suit that cost me fifteen dollars from a thrift store? And my jewels that were mostly budget store pearls on fishing line? apparently being a young woman and wearing lots of jewellery, means you must be in the adult industry.
I have also received comments from men, stating they see no purpose of wearing jewellery, or adornments and that it is a pointless exercise that women partake in… Which is clearly problematic in many ways, and is an entirely new discussion around women’s bodies, identity, and autonomy within itself.
What is so wrong with pleasure? Why is it so punishable?
Why is it steeped in so much shame?
I will never make apologies for the bold enormous brass necklaces that fall down my neck, while I wonder how I am going to pay the never-ending onslaught of bills that keep rolling in.
I will not cower in some designated plot in life, that society says I need to adhere to.
I will still have a ring on every finger, while the soles of my shoes are worn to their last days, and I am wearing the same shirt handed down from my partner, for the second day in a row.
I will be the most ostentatious woman you ever did see.
Why?
The bracelet I engraved with a sword, reminds me to step back and converse with awareness, and consideration, to cut through hardship with a clear mind.
The wormwood, to always keep an inner dialogue with those who came before me, those who can offer some guidance when I feel lonely, and at a crossroad.
Bracken fern, always keeping me connected to the medicinal plants I grow, that I must continually nurture, care for, and study, to reap their benefits. Giving me a deeper respect for healing and the bigger holistic picture, when I am unwell… to search for the real causes, so that real healing can take place.
The necklaces I wear always connected my family, especially my children, such as the pelican, pricking its own chest to feed blood to its young, when food is scarce, the shells engraved on the panels, copies of shells my partner gifted me, after diving at a beach in my childhood hometown. Always reminding me of the bond we share, even during difficult times and disagreements.
Reminding me of summer days at the beach together, listening to the ocean, and why I always circle back, to knowing that we are always worth fighting for.
My rings, I have one for every purpose.
A bird to assure I am always open to messages and love of all kinds.
Stars, to keep me from spending too much time on Hekate’s crossroad, and to move back up to the celestial realms, where I can breathe.
A wand, symbolizing the queen of wands, a woman linked to the water in fire, who represents my exact birth date, who I resonate with so perfectly. A woman who will awaken in me, when I need to shake myself awake, when I feel as though I am procrastinating too much, when I need to light that fire again after a period of rest.
Does that sound like meaningless adornment? A pointless exercise?
These pieces are made from mostly brass; they may not have huge intrinsic value, but their importance lay in their meaning. I have woven necklaces from copper, that was painstakingly pulled from electrical wire, with beads from thrift stores. I have made bracelets from butcher’s string and pieces of wood with interesting shapes. No matter what, I will decorate with opulence, using whatever ever I can find.
I will walk slower to places I should have been at ten minutes ago, because I am enjoying the warmth of the sun.
I will plug up the crack in the bathtub, and hope it holds out, so I can indulge in a bath and a book.
I will encourage my children to enjoy their time, on their terms, without caring about the judgements on how I am “too soft” and “give in to them too much” I will teach them that pleasure in life does not need to be “earnt” that it does not come with a caveat of “proving oneself”… even if the school is giving out icy poles as rewards, for one hundred percent attendance.
I will get them a triple scoop, chocolate gelato, waffle cone, with my last ten dollars, to reward them for listening to their body, and their limits… for knowing rest.
Step out of the shame, step out of caring what others say… what society says.
Put flowers in your hair, make beautiful things from whatever you can find and wear them proudly, take your time, and remember.
Everyone is deserving of pleasure.
Everyone.
If you enjoyed this article please check out, jewellery and connection-why adornment with meaning matters.
