Religious jewelry.What do you wear?

[jewelerman]

Im interested in what religious and inspirational jewelry people wear.Over the years people have given me gifts of jewelry that has inspirational or religious meanings for them.I have recieved a 14kt. gold chai which I understand means long life in hebrew(which im wearing today), a sterling tree of life, a sterling lighthouse charm(sybolizes the light of Christ)a 14kt. mezpa for when I get married,a 14kt ship(which I understand represents faith in troubled times.)Ive worn all of these pendants at different times for years, and have always been facinated by what jewelry people wear because it inspires them.What jewelry do you wear because it inspires you or represents your faith.

 

[sba771]

I will wear a hamsa which is a hand with 5 fingers which represents the 5 books of the Torah and the 5th letter of the Hebrew alphabet which is a ''Hey'' which is a name/way of expressing G-d. They are pretty popular with Sephardic Jews which is what I am marrying into so I will wear it more. I also sometimes wear my star of David, although I did not bring any of my Jewish jewelry to Germany nor would I wear it here as I don''t want to be identified as certain stereotypes and hate still exists here.

 

[Clio]

I frequently wear a Huguenot cross. A couple of branches of my mother''s family were Huguenots, and I find the symbolism compelling. I also have a little round pendant with the shield of the Episcopal church. It was given to my mother at her confirmation, and she gave it to me at mine. Both of those are in YG.

I have a little silver shell pendant given to me at my baptism and a Russian silver and enamel egg pendant, but I wear those less often as I rarely wear white metals.

On occasion, I will borrow a pendant from one of my daughters. The elder has a pretty little gold cross that her godmother got in Rome, and they both have wood and enamel cross pendants I got for them in Greece.

 

[kittybean]

I sometimes wear a YG cross. For my wedding, a close friend of my grandmother''s--he''s a retired jeweler--made me a Blessed Virgin Mary medallion inscribed with our initials and wedding date. I now wear the cross and medallion together, and I was wearing both when DH and I had our marriage blessed by the Pope in Rome. The Pope also blessed all the religious objects people had at the audience, so now my cross and medallion have been blessed by the Pope, which is very special to me. I don''t wear them all the time since I wear a lot of plat/silver/WG, but I love to wear them when I bust out the YG.

 

[somethingshiny]

I have several crosses that I wear frequently. They are a variety of Maltese, Celtic, traditional, etc. I also have a Mother and Child pendant that I wear. I get strange looks with that one though because I''m not Catholic.

 

[AGBF]

When I was a teenager I wore a silver flaming chalice on a chain. I am not sure if it was actual sterling silver or not. I wore it purely for the symbolism. I had been raised in the Unitarian-Universalist Church and was very active in their youth group, which was then called LRY, as a teenager. The Unitarian Church has Protestant roots, but has no creed. One need not believe in anything to be a member. Many of the members of the congregation tend to be socially tolerant and politically liberal. They did not, however, uniformly oppose US involvement in the Vietnam War which led my parents, who had become true pacifists, to become Quakers during the 1960's. I am still, nominally, a Unitarian. I got married in the Unitarian Church. I no longer wear any jewelry from the Church, however.

Here is a description of what the flaming chalice was supposed to mean.

"The flaming chalice was originally the emblem of the Unitarian Church. The symbol was designed in the nineteen forties, and officially adopted in the seventies as an official symbol of the Unitarian Universalist Church.
According to Church literature, the chalice symbolizes generosity, the flame symbolizes truth, and the chalice and the flame together form a cross, symbolizing the Church’s Christian roots.
However, no particular meaning is considered canonical. According to the designer, artist Hans Deutsch, 'No one meaning or interpretation is official. The flaming chalice, like our faith, stands open to receive new truths that pass the tests of reason, justice, and compassion.'
The design likewise is flexible, the most common being enclosed within a double circle representing the twin heritage of the Church"

This page recounts the History of the Flaming Chalice (that is, of its design) very eloquently. It makes interesting reading for anyone with an interest in history.


AGBF

 

[SapphireLover]

I have a silver Tiffany Star of David (magen doved), plus a chay (hey- and I am Ashkenazi not Sephardi) and a hamsa in 18ct yellow gold. I used to wear the yellow gold when I was little, but haven't worn them for ages. We all used to wear chains with about 4-6 gold charms on. I forgot I had them and found them last week. I don't wear any yellow gold though. Might start wearing the magen doved again though.

 

[Camille]

Time to time wear 14k w/g charm bracelet w/angels, crosses, bible etc [if DD isn''t wearing it]

But never wear T of Lisieux pendant in 22k yellow gold [french saint/October feastday] given by my Mum when our son was born.

 

[AGBF]

I thought I would post a photo of a flaming chalice here since, I assumed, most people had never seen one. (See my posting above for an explanation of what a flaming chalice symbolizes.) I resized this to make it bigger so I hope that I didn''t ruin it!

AGBF

 

[packrat]

Interesting thread!

Deb, can you make that picture a lil bigger? I can''t quite make it out. I was hoping someone would post pictures of their items, thank you for that. Some of them I''m not quite sure what they are-but still neat to read about them.

There''s a little cross ring on Etsy that I adore but I was raised in a religion that doesn''t hold to religious symbols. Even tho I''m not baptized in the religion, and I don''t practice it, I''d still feel weird wearing it. Still, it''s a sweet symbol of Faith!

 

[AGBF]

Date: 10/12/2009 3:29:00 PM
Author: packrat

Deb, can you make that picture a lil bigger? I can't quite make it out.

Here is a picture of another flaming chalice, packrat. There are many renditions of them (which I didn't realize as a kid). I did think that they bore some similarity to a cross, but it never really occurred to me that it might be because Unitarianism had roots in Christianity. Unitarians are certainly free to believe that Jesus was the only son of God, but most are humanists and would probably say (if they were theists at all) that he was one of many sons of God, the rest of us also being God's children.

AGBF

 

[packrat]

Hey thanks-I can see it better in this one. It does have a resemblance to a cross. Religious symbols are so interesting!

 

[AGBF]

Since people have mentioned some symbols from other major faiths and I knew where to find beautiful jewelry worn by some Muslims, I decided to post a photo of an Allah pendant from The Gold Palace website. (And this pendant isn''t even yellow gold, although that website has loads and loads of beautiful 22K yellow gold!) I do not know a great deal about Islam, but I did do a little reading. Apparently it is all right for a person to wear one of these pendants all the time (24 hours a day) if he or she wishes to do so.

AGBF

 

[jewelerman]

Date: 10/12/2009 1:01:21 AM
Author:jewelerman
Im interested in what religious and inspirational jewelry people wear.Over the years people have given me gifts of jewelry that has inspirational or religious meanings for them.I have recieved a 14kt. gold chai which I understand means long life in hebrew(which im wearing today), a sterling tree of life, a sterling lighthouse charm(sybolizes the light of Christ)a 14kt. mezpa for when I get married,a 14kt ship(which I understand represents faith in troubled times.)Ive worn all of these pendants at different times for years, and have always been facinated by what jewelry people wear because it inspires them.What jewelry do you wear because it inspires you or represents your faith.

Thanks everyone for the interesting responses.I hope there are more as I find this area of jewelry collecting very interesting.Today I wore the gold ship on a gold rope chain because both were a gift from my father and twin sister.It reminds me of one of my favorite saying...A ship in harbor is safe.But that is not what ships are built for.( John A. Shedd.)I think i need to be inspired to take more risks in life and have more faith!

 

[Alistra]

AGBF, even though you don''t still wear it, I think it is cool that someone in this thread mentioned the flaming chalice!

My husband and I are UU. I wear a gold chalice pendant. I usually wear platinum and white gold, but the pendant is yellow gold. I also wear a sterling tree of life goddess pendant (her body is the trunk, her arms the branches and legs the roots).

 

[AGBF]

Date: 10/13/2009 2:55:29 AM
Author: Alistra

AGBF, even though you don't still wear it, I think it is cool that someone in this thread mentioned the flaming chalice!

My husband and I are UU. I wear a gold chalice pendant. I usually wear platinum and white gold, but the pendant is yellow gold. I also wear a sterling tree of life goddess pendant (her body is the trunk, her arms the branches and legs the roots).

It's cool to know you are here, Alistra. I mean, of course you are here. It is cool to know that Pricescope has been harboring another Uni-Uni...and a flaming chalice wearing one at that. Give my regards to your husband, too. Having been brought up a Unitarian (my mother taught a Sunday school class called, "The Church Across The Street" which was really about many faiths, not just faiths with churches) I was raised from birth in the Unitarian ethic of respecting other religions. Although I have not recently been in a Unitarian Church, I was in a Presbyterian one yesterday. [Wow, are they a far out group! Just kidding! One of my best first cousins got married in the Presbyterian Church. I was even a bridesmaid during that wild, rootin' tootin ceremony .]

AGBF

 

[AGBF]

Date: 10/13/2009 1:17:24 AM
Author: jewelerman

Thanks everyone for the interesting responses.I hope there are more as I find this area of jewelry collecting very interesting.Today I wore the gold ship on a gold rope chain because both were a gift from my father and twin sister.It reminds me of one of my favorite saying...A ship in harbor is safe.But that is not what ships are built for.( John A. Shedd.)I think i need to be inspired to take more risks in life and have more faith!

Thank you for starting the thread, jewelerman. I did some research on the ship as a symbol in Christianity (nothing scholarly, I assure you!). Naturally, depending on the context of the material, I found different things. (One book that Google had reprinted about the British Navy went into detail about English sea power, for example!)

I thought that this was pretty pithy and interesting, however.

Ship: As those outside of Noe's Ark were destroyed, the ship became a perfect early symbol of the Church with its associations with "the barque of Peter, the Fisherman." In the same vein, the main part of a church's interior, the place where the people worship, is called a "nave," from the Latin "navis" -- ship. The Ark is also a symbol of the Temple through its shape and purpose, both having three levels, etc. And as a symbol of the Temple and Church, it is a symbol of Mary, sealed off with pitch and closed up by God Himself.

AGBF

 

[dragonfly411]

I personally wear a yellow gold cross with diamond accents. It''s a beautiful piece, I''ll have to post pics at some point. It has some filigree detailing. It''s really unique

 

[AGBF]

Date: 10/13/2009 1:50:46 PM
Author: dragonfly411

I personally wear a yellow gold cross with diamond accents. It''s a beautiful piece, I''ll have to post pics at some point. It has some filigree detailing. It''s really unique

dragonfly, have you posted it in this thread yet? If not, please do! (I mean, please post it in the thread on crosses to which I posted the link above as well as to this thread started by jewelerman!)

AGBF

 

[jewelerman]

Date: 10/13/2009 1:16:13 PM
Author: AGBF

Date: 10/13/2009 1:17:24 AM
Author: jewelerman

Thanks everyone for the interesting responses.I hope there are more as I find this area of jewelry collecting very interesting.Today I wore the gold ship on a gold rope chain because both were a gift from my father and twin sister.It reminds me of one of my favorite saying...A ship in harbor is safe.But that is not what ships are built for.( John A. Shedd.)I think i need to be inspired to take more risks in life and have more faith!

Thank you for starting the thread, jewelerman. I did some research on the ship as a symbol in Christianity (nothing scholarly, I assure you!). Naturally, depending on the context of the material, I found different things. (One book that Google had reprinted about the British Navy went into detail about English sea power, for example!)

I thought that this was pretty pithy and interesting, however.

Ship: As those outside of Noe''s Ark were destroyed, the ship became a perfect early symbol of the Church with its associations with ''the barque of Peter, the Fisherman.'' In the same vein, the main part of a church''s interior, the place where the people worship, is called a ''nave,'' from the Latin ''navis'' -- ship. The Ark is also a symbol of the Temple through its shape and purpose, both having three levels, etc. And as a symbol of the Temple and Church, it is a symbol of Mary, sealed off with pitch and closed up by God Himself.

AGBF

Thank you for the kind gesture!Your posts are always a great addition to the forum.The info is very appreciated!

 

[grapegravity]

I always wear my Kwan Yin jade pendant as part of my religion. I have never taken it off unless I need to (ie. my wedding) and even if it''s not on my neck, it will somewhere close by. And this pic was taken before the jeweller put the 18kt white gold bail so I can wear it as a pendant

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The last couple of years I''ve worn a tiny diamond cross by Roberto Coin. I have a few others, mostly yg. I''d like to have a couple of other crosses of other designs and I watch for them. I prefer a cross over a diamond solitaire pendant.

 

[dragonfly411]

mine, and it is now on the crosses thread as well

 

[packrat]

That''s so pretty Dragonfly!!