In many Native American cultures, the turtle is seen as a powerful totem animal. It represents patience, protection, and grounding. Wearing turtle jewelry can serve as a reminder to slow down and take things one step at a time, just as a turtle does. It can also provide a sense of protection and stability during times of change or uncertainty.
Turtles are known for their long lifespan, with some species living up to 100 years. This has led to the belief that turtles possess great wisdom and knowledge. In Chinese culture, the turtle is one of the four celestial animals and is associated with longevity and wisdom. Wearing turtle jewelry can serve as a reminder to seek wisdom and knowledge in all aspects of life.
In some cultures, the turtle is seen as a symbol of healing and rebirth. This is due to its ability to retreat into its shell and emerge unharmed. In Hindu mythology, the turtle is associated with the god Vishnu, who is known as the preserver and protector. Wearing turtle jewelry can serve as a reminder to take care of oneself and to have faith in the process of healing and transformation.
Turtles are also seen as a symbol of the environment and the need for conservation. As creatures that have been around for millions of years, they have a deep connection to the earth and its natural cycles. Wearing turtle jewelry can serve as a reminder to be mindful of our impact on the environment and to take steps towards preserving it for future generations.
When choosing turtle jewelry, it's important to consider the materials and craftsmanship. Look for pieces made from sustainable materials and from artisans who have a deep respect for the environment. You can also opt for pieces that incorporate other meaningful symbols, such as the lotus flower for rebirth or the tree of life for wisdom and growth.
Turtle jewelry holds a wealth of hidden meanings and symbolism, making it a meaningful addition to any wardrobe. Whether you're drawn to its representation of wisdom, healing, or environmental awareness, wearing turtle jewelry can serve as a powerful reminder of these qualities in your daily life. So next time you're looking for a unique and meaningful piece of jewelry, consider the hidden meanings of turtle jewelry and how it can add a special touch to your style.
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When someone you love passes, you feel everything in waves. Waves of grief, waves of anger, waves of confusion, waves of fear, and waves of pain. The seas are incredibly stormy at first, and you feel tossed around and wrung out. Slowly they get calmer, although the waves never stop coming completely, in some ways you would never want them to.
So, how does one navigate through? Amy Wakingwolf has an answer after grieving the loss of her best friend and soulmate from Covid-19.
Amy is a glass artist, healer and ocean activist whose work has focused solely on sea turtles for the last 20 years. Her work elevates sea turtles in a way that she feels is befitting of them, capturing the ethereal ocean inside their shell which is then nestled in a precious metal body of gold or silver.
This is where her own healing began. Knowing she had to find a way to ride the waves, she turned to her teachers, the ocean's sea turtles, to show her how.
"Sea turtles get tumbled by waves just like humans but they relax and go with it,” she mused. “Sometimes I would just float with them for hours, snorkel mask blurry with tears, and they were like angels swimming in grace and helping me to heal.”
"Around this time, I was asked by one my collectors if could I add their mother’s cremains to a Honu. I said I would try, so I developed a process that is deeply respectful and to my surprise it turned out I loved doing them! I felt as though somehow the two parts of myself celebrated each other, the healer honored the artist and the artist celebrated the healer," she said.
"I named them Loli malu, it means “peaceful transition” because that is the part of the sea turtle medicine that speaks the most to my heart. I understand how much it means to have the person that you love feel like they are around us still. To have something to touch, to hold tightly and even kiss, is just very comforting and it helped me learn to transition more peacefully through my own healing journey.”
Her one-of-a-kind honus, each one is stamped with a unique number, are celebrations of a a life that loved the sea. No other animal so perfectly exemplifies the ocean like sea turtles. Sea turtle energy is so graceful or powerful, and they remind us to breathe and look around. To Amy, they look like underwater angels, especially when beams of sunlight dance on their shell.
Amy’s glass sea turtles (honus) celebrate art, love, light, life and the ocean. She creates all of her honus with the intention that they are tools of healing, self-love and personal transformation. They are a perfect way to keep loved ones close in a way that is sacred but not too serious or sad, because after all our they were so alive and free when they shared their time on earth with us, so of course that is how we want to remember them.
"Making sure this process of creating Peaceful Transitions is sacred from start to finish, is important to me. I find myself chatting and sometimes laughing with the persons spirit as I work, and that is why when there any extra cremains I bring them to my secret spot, where they can be released into the sea and have sea turtle guardians swimming above them always,” she said.
Loli malus are predominantly available in her “Mahalo” signature series (Aqua). Mahalo meaning the deepest respect and gratitude. Gratitude, she finds, leads us our pathway to our own healing. By being grateful and remembering all the wonderful stories of our loved ones, each piece becomes something to share with family, to talk story, laugh with joy, and swim in the memories.
Each Loli Malu Honu will have a sprinkling of ashes inside the glass shell, swirled with that person's energy and beauty. This is a call to love to heal, and move gracefully into a Peaceful Transition.
The process is kept simple for your convenience. All you need to do is send some cremated ashes to The Honu Collection! It's best to go on amazon.com for a “snuff” bottle with a small spoon, and singular pieces will be created. Each Peaceful Transition piece comes with a special jewelry box, and yes, pets are welcomed - they are our soulmates, too!
For More Information On How to Order Please Contact Amy Wakingwolf At The Honu Collection
]]>Of the seven known sea turtle species that charm our oceans, six are classified as endangered or critically threatened due to human activities or ways of life. Some of the most notable species of sea turtles you may know are the green turtle, the hawksbill turtle, and the leatherback turtle!
Hope is never lost, though. The rising number of good-hearted people just like you are stepping up to help! The first step to solving any problem is being informed about what that problem is and understanding what may be done at the individual level to aid in conservation efforts.
Make no mistake, time will never be on our side, and it is up to us in this moment to make the difference. Here at The Honu Collection, we are whole-heartedly dedicated to making every contribution we can to push the momentum in sea turtles’ favor and tip the scale back to a more connected, stable, and integrated way of life with our aquatic companions. Below are five immediate ways that you as an individual can help make a difference with us!
As we well know, plastic pollution is a serious problem that affects aquatic communities worldwide. A recent study noted by National Geographic and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) revealed that plastic bag waste had been found at the deepest point of our oceans, the Mariana Trench, at a depth of 36,000 ft.!
Plastic is the most prevalent type of marine debris pollution found in our oceans and the Great Lakes. There are some debris as large a basketball and as small as a microscopic bead. The threat to all sea life, specifically sea turtles, is unimaginable and will continue to worsen if we do not act.
Modern toxic forms of plastic have been mass produced since the 1940s and 50s and are found in almost every major commodity that the public consumes daily. So, what’s being done to help clean up this problem and our oceans?
Aside from global initiatives, The Honu Collection dedicates resources from its sales to help clean the oceans in its immediate community. With your help, we take the time, money and energy necessary to do our part and clean up what we can, where we can, to protect what we can.
Since 1996, the Hawai’i Wildlife Fund (HWF) has been actively protecting and promoting the conservation of native marine life and habitat. As a registered 501(c)(3), the HWF focuses on coastal wildlife species, including the hawksbill sea turtle (honu’ea) and the Hawaiian green sea turtle (honu).
The Honu Collection sponsors and is actively engaged with this wonderful community of volunteers who spend their time focusing on outreach, education, marine debris and pollution removal from coastal habitats, conservation efforts, and legal efforts that help keep the native marine life of Hawai’i breathing and flourishing.
From youth outreach and education to trash cleanup, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved and make a real difference in protecting the environment and the life that swims, lives, and thrives in it. Though it changes month to month, a percentage of our proceeds are sent to the HWF to aid in these conservation efforts, also giving us the resources to be present and help ourselves.
Find more direct information on the HWF and how to get involved by visiting wildhawaii.org!
The Honu Collection believes that the success and continuation of conservation efforts begins with the education of our communities and youth. Training ourselves to think and act in a way that is more in tune with our environments, now, is crucial to creating loving and nurturing environments in the future.
What may be called a discovery of marine life will soon turn into a fully grown love for all animals and plants that we are so graciously accompanied by on this life journey, including sea turtles! We have partnered with local conservation groups and organizations to bring about the next generation of learning centers right here in Hawaii.
As an ongoing effort, this new discovery center will serve as a center point for marine study and, well, discovery! It is a culmination of hearts, minds, and goodwill coming together to support the prosperity of sea turtles and all native marine life here on Hawai’i’s islands and beyond.
We believe that all life is connected as an intricate web of be-ing and discovering this for oneself is one of the most powerful antidotes to what pests the modern world and its inhabitants. By discovering what marine life does for us, we are able to discover what we may do for life itself. Each purchase through The Honu Collection gives hope that more people will have the chance to discover this reason for themselves!
Sea turtle conservation, and marine life conservation, isn’t restricted to just Hawai’i. In fact, there are multiple global initiatives that actively support and work to protect marine life from fishing pollution, stranding, and more.
The Honu Collection is dedicated to making a difference on a local and global level, sending 10% of all proceeds directly to organizations and nonprofits around the world to aid in these efforts. By supporting these initiatives, you have a direct hand in helping save precious marine life.
For decades, organizations such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) have been traveling and responding to save and protect marine animals and hold the commitment to driving hope, conservation, and research. Find out more on how to become directly involved by visiting ifaw.org!
There is a reason we make the beautiful jewelry we do in support of the sea turtles and marine life around Hawai’i! Some time ago, we realized that there was a fundamental problem in giving time, energy, or monetary donations to organizations regardless of how reputable or well-known they are.
We found it necessary to create something tangible that may be held, or worn, as a representation of the support given to these beautiful creatures that light up the oceanic world. So, we set out to make something so enchanting that it mirrors the beauty it captures!
The Honu Collection was born out of the curiosity for Hawai’i’s sea turtles and the passion felt for the need to protect and help, in any way possible, the conservation of them in their natural habitats both here in Hawai’i and around the world. Each piece of jewelry is hand-crafted and a part of seven color stories representing Akoni (Worthy), Kalele (Trust), Mahalo (Gratitude), Hana (Creativity), Malama (Protect), Kuipo (Sweetheart), and the newly added Ohana (Family).
Each purchase represents a commitment to helping preserve the marine life each piece represents, and with it, you are directly contributing to the conservation efforts of sea turtles and the organizations that further support them.
Will you join us? Pledge your support and work together with us to protect our oceans and the precious life that swims within! Visit seaturtlejewelry.com to learn more and shop today!
Citations
I named her Freckles because my dear friend Wanda has been here for the last two months helping me with my broken heart because Michael died and we saw this Turtle together!
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Plastic is the most prevalent type of marine debris found in our ocean and Great Lakes. Plastic debris can come in all shapes and sizes, but those that are less than five millimeters in length (or about the size of a sesame seed) are called “microplastics.”
As an emerging field of study, not a lot is known about microplastics and their impacts yet. The NOAA Marine Debris Program is leading efforts within NOAA to research this topic. Standardized field methods for collecting sediment, sand, and surface-water microplastic samples have been developed and continue to undergo testing. Eventually, field and laboratory protocols will allow for global comparisons of the amount of microplastics released into the environment, which is the first step in determining the final distribution, impacts, and fate of this debris.
Microplastics come from a variety of sources, including from larger plastic debris that degrades into smaller and smaller pieces. In addition, microbeads, a type of microplastic, are very tiny pieces of manufactured polyethylene plastic that are added as exfoliants to health and beauty products, such as some cleansers and toothpastes. These tiny particles easily pass through water filtration systems and end up in the ocean and Great Lakes, posing a potential threat to aquatic life.
Microbeads are not a recent problem. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, plastic microbeads first appeared in personal care products about fifty years ago, with plastics increasingly replacing natural ingredients. As recently as 2012, this issue was still relatively unknown, with an abundance of products containing plastic microbeads on the market and not a lot of awareness on the part of consumers.
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Shiny Shell....
Aloha beloveds....I love the shiny shell on this one...may she remind you of your own shiny shells, and to get the light to dance on them... #shinyshell #turtlehealing #turtlelove #seaturtlemagicmoments enjoy!!!
Also stay tuned for turtle TV my youtube channel coming soon....HUGS to all....Amy
https://www.facebook.com/amy.wakingwolf/videos/10154608939456073/
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