LOVE 🏹 symbols & myths

image: art deco joe - Lillian Rich posing inside a box of chocolates  

When we think about the love, it's easy to picture hearts, Cupid, and Aphrodite. Although these are all popular icons of love, it's interesting to discover that there are other lesser known symbols and myths. In Greek mythology, the first pomegranate tree was planted by Aphrodite and ever since this rich, jewel-like fruit has been considered a symbol of love, fertility, prosperity, and good fortune. The pomegranate fruit further ensured it's status as a symbol of love through the Greek myth of Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld and Goddess of Spring and Hades the God of the Underworld. 

image:  Kris Waldherr "Persephone & the Pomegranate" cover 

What is this myth, you ask?

In the Greek tale, Persephone once came into contact with an incredibly beautiful narcissus while out picking flowers. The earth parted as she knelt to pick it, and Hades grabbed her, pulling her down to his realm. During her time in the underworld, Hades tricked Persephone into eating pomegranate seeds and in doing so committed her to the underworld forever. The harvest goddess Demeter, heartbroken by her daughter's passing, forbade the ground to yield fruit until she saw her daughter again. Zeus inevitably stepped in and mediated, arranging for Persephone to spend three months of the year with Demeter and the remaining two thirds with Hades. As a result, Spring arrives every year to commemorate Persephone's homecoming from the underworld and so we celebrate the depths and triumph of love over Hades' selfish act.

We are as tempted by pomegranates as Persephone, with seeds like ruby red gemstones perfectly set inside an ornate jewellery box complete with a crown; how could we not create a collection honouring such natural beauty? Although very debatable as to whether or not Hades and Persephone had a true romance (not sure they could, bad form Hades! I mean we like a bad boy but...) but like Demeter's love for Persephone ours too is real!  Our Persephone collection features handcrafted blown glass pomegranate seeds set into unique designs and is the perfect way to celebrate love, in all it's strange and beautiful forms this Valentine's Day.

We leave you with a poem from D.H.Lawrence 

POMEGRANATE

You tell me I am wrong.
Who are you, who is anybody to tell me I am wrong?
I am not wrong.

In Syracuse, rock left bare by the viciousness of Greek women,
No doubt you have forgotten the pomegranate-trees in flower,
Oh so red, and such a lot of them.

Whereas at Venice
Abhorrent, green, slippery city
Whose Doges were old, and had ancient eyes,
In the dense foliage of the inner garden
Pomegranates like bright green stone,
And barbed, barbed with a crown.
Oh, crown of spiked green metal
Actually growing!

Now in Tuscany,
Pomegranates to warm your hands at;
And crowns, kingly, generous, tilting crowns
Over the left eyebrow.

And, if you dare, the fissure!

Do you mean to tell me you will see no fissure?
Do you prefer to look on the plain side?

For all that, the setting suns are open.
The end cracks open with the beginning:
Rosy, tender, glittering within the fissure.

Do you mean to tell me there should be no fissure?
No glittering, compact drops of dawn?
Do you mean it is wrong, the gold-filmed skin, integument, shown ruptured?

For my part, I prefer my heart to be broken.
It is so lovely, dawn-kaleidoscopic within the crack.