Diamond - Lab Grown, Conflict Free
Recycled 9ct Gold Crescent Moon and Diamond NecklaceFull UK Hallmark
The art of alchemy is ostensibly understood as an early form of chemistry which attempted to turn base metals like lead into gold. However, according to Carl Jung, in this process of experimentation, the transformation of metals often became a symbolic and spiritual experience which transcended the transmutation of matter and instead became a process of transforming the self.
The four main stages of change in the alchemical process: nigredo (blackening), albedo (whitening), citrinitas (yellowing), and rubedo (reddening) are all representative not only of the colour changes of materials during the process but also of different aspects of the spiritual transformation on the path to self-actualisation.
One vital aspect of this process is ‘the blackening’. The reduction of the material down to a charred ash. Psychologically, this relates to the moments of absolute darkness and despair that we face at some point in our maturation. The ‘dark night of the soul’ described by St John of the Cross.
We fear these junctures, the moments of absolute loss, grief, despair, a confrontation with who we are, what we have done or what has been done to us. We can feel totally lost and alone with nothing to hold on to, and yet, it is often these moments of being burned down to our most essential cinders where we find our connection to the divine and/or our true selves.
Like dawn emerging from the darkness of night, from this place, we are prepared for illumination, capable of building a wiser, more authentic and more connected version of our former selves. It is in this place that we hear the ‘still, small voice of God’ or the voice of our higher selves.
Iranian poet Forugh Farrokhzad probably said it best in her poem ‘On Loving’: ‘Why shun darkness? The night abounds with diamond drops’.
In our very darkest moments, there are always shards of light guiding us back home.
*Please allow two weeks for the production of these pieces as they need to be posted off for hallmarking.
