Amulets by Merlin's Blog

The shape of the eight point star is one I remember from childhood:
the bold four points with the lower ray extended down,
the secondary four points emanating out from the center.
It was used as an artistic expression of the celestial points of light
in classic paintings, cartoons, icons and logos.
In paintings of the heavens,
this shape was used to denote the North Star,
the star of the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio,
in child’s finger painting and in the most detailed maps of the constellations.
In nearly every culture, this image just keeps popping up.

Star Drop Earrings

As an artist, I was fascinated by it’s universal appeal and adopted it in my own paintings,
sketches and illustrations.
When it came to creating a pair of earrings, this was my first design:
simple, bold and easily recognized. However the descending ray was reversed to add a new meaning.
These stars are not fixed in the sky with the descending ray reaching down,
rather the descending light brings the star to earth;
a metaphor of bringing the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.
The Masons use the metaphor illustrated in their ancient building of temples;
as noted by James Joyce in Finnegan’s Wake in the building of the Cathedral
the bricks go up (raising the earth to heaven)
and the hod returns “empty” or “filled with air” (spirit) bringing the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.
Although an often used quote used by Christians and Jews,
the concept of Heaven on Earth actually predated the Monotheistic paths by centuries.
The idea “If you live a good life you get to go to heaven” was not readily accepted by the Scots.
Rather the idea “One makes their heaven or hell while still breathing”
was more akin to the Old Religion,
denoting responsibility of how one leads one’s life and bring the Ideal into the Real.
It is not about the “Pie in the Sky” attitude that so many pessimistic peoples point to,
rather it is of the potential of love,
beauty and appreciation for what we have and what we may offer others.

The Star Drop Earrings are a way of harnessing the use of amulets in everyday life.
As one wears them, one is reminded of the power of virtue,
of positive thinking and action, and conscious living.
It is also a subliminal statement to those that see the bearer of the earrings, perhaps a reminder:
life can be and will be better should we choose it;
discarding grudges and moving forward in our lives
with droplets of heaven on our ears.