Dia de Los Muertos and the Roman Catholic observance of All Soul’s Day are even richer with these associations.Īlthough the harvest of fruits and ripening of pomegranates symbolize the sweetness of Jewish New Year, in the pagan Mediterranean, the pomegranate summons up the layered story of Persephone, the nubile virgin who was snatched up by Lord Hades while picking flowers in a sunlit meadow, and forced down into the underworld to rule beside him for half the year as his Queen. The original reasoning was that many of the undead are not at peace and want to return with any human visitor back to the realm of the living, so they tend to cling to us mortals who can’t wait to get back up into the fading autumnal sunlight. This advice persists in our modern Halloween traditions of costumes, pranks and trick-or-treating. Rituals around the world recognize this super-charged period, and humans wishing to travel into the underworld to deliver a message or conduct other business receive the same universal advice: wear a disguise, and be prepared to bribe the undead with sweets and trinkets. This permeability means that the dead and living can pass freely between the two during this specific period between the Autumnal Equinox (which took place on September 22) and the Winter Solstice, which will occur on December 21. Typically, we start with the birthstones, but November requires special handling.Īncient cultures from the Celts to the Aztecs acknowledged this month as a unique moment of reckoning in the year-in Ireland, they call it a “thin” place, meaning that the membrane between the worlds both seen and unseen, upper and lower, becomes temporarily permeable. November is the most fascinating month of the year if you’re even slightly inclined toward the metaphysical. And, yet another reason to buy yourself an amazing piece of jewelry. While these designations are far from an exact science, exploring the historical context of your birthstones can serve as a window into revealing self-knowledge. StarStone is a monthly glimpse into the fabulous world of birthstones and the stories which have accompanied them for thousands of years into the modern day.Įach month and every zodiac sign is celebrated with several gemstones, varying by period, context and culture.

Topaz detail for flowers