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The beautiful little beaver has amazing inlaid turquoise eyes and lovely fur.
Her tummy is signed by the carver so I left the back open so you could see the signature. Her tail distinguishes her as an American beaver, not a mountain beaver
which is another large rodent but not a true beaver. I put her beaver tracks
on the back. Do you know it is quite rare to see beaver tracks? The beaver's sturdy tail usually wipes them away as she travels
through mud.
The beaver is much maligned, considered by many to be a terrible pest. It is second only to man in its ability to make dramatic changes in the landscape, is that
why we dislike them?
However annoying they may be to land "owners," consider this perspective from beaversww.org: "American Indians called the beaver the 'sacred center' of the land because this species creates rich
habitats for other mammals, fish, turtles, frogs, birds and ducks. Since beavers prefer to dam streams in shallow valleys, much of the flooded area becomes wetlands.
Such wetlands are cradles of life with biodiversity that can rival tropical rain forests. Almost half of endangered and threatened species in North America rely upon wetlands."
The site also says, "Wildlife rehabilitators find beavers to be gentle, reasoning beings who enjoy playing practical jokes. An Indian word for 'beaver-like' also means 'affable.'"
Medicine Cards (see references below) give the attribute "builder" to beaver for obvious reasons. Beaver medicine includes a strong sense of family and home. Andrews mentions that
beaver can stay submerged for up to 15 minutes so can also teach lessons about breath. He gives it the attribute building of dreams.
Picasso jasper, sometimes called Picasso marble, is one of a zillion microcrystalline varieties of quartz. It is said to be grounding and calming, and even to promote
weight loss(!). Sometimes I wonder if these metaphysical attributions make any sense at all, other times they seem obvious to me. I probably do not resonate
strongly with this particular stone. It is used in a lot of fetish carvings, most likely because of its extraordinary resemblance to many animals' natural coloration, as in this little
beaver.
To complement the dark neutrals in this piece, I set a couple of pussy willow coral cabochons in the front (to give the beaver someplace to play) and on the
hook at the back. The handmade chain extensions allow the two-sided hook to remain at the center back no matter what length the necklace is worn. Pussy willow coral
is fossil coral with patterns suggestive of pussy willows. To give the necklace a little sparkle, there is a strand of fabulous pyrite chunks interspersed with bits
of turquoise to pick up the color of her eyes. Pyrite, often called "fool's gold" is
found all over the world. The name is derived from the Greek word for fire because striking two pieces together can produce sparks. The Book of Stones associates it with
the earth element and third chakra, giving it masculine energy, manifestation, action, vitality, etc. The Magic of Crystals & Gemstones claims it is a very protective stone.
Cool nesting shell beads, a strand of heishi and sterling complete the composition, with a bit of crazy lace for fun.
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Signed Picasso jasper beaver by Karen Zunie