Lotus Flower Glass & Crystal Earrings

- Blue Lampwork Artisan Beads, Carved Bone -

  

These unique lotus flower earrings are a lovely union of carved bone and blue lampwork glass beads with pink-toned crystals and sterling silver components. The bone lotus beads are a creamy color with nice hand-carved petals. The lampwork beads are rondelle-shaped, with an etched surface that gives them the look of sea glass. They were made by talented artisan Charlotte Hayes of CoverGirlBeads. I chose them to represent the blue celestial skies reflected in the waters on which the lotus flowers would float.

The pink-toned crystals are Swarovski padparadscha bicones. Their pink hue has hints of orange—a color combination based on that of a rare sapphire. The word "padparadscha" is derived from the Sanskrit "padma raga," which means "hue similar to lotus flower." Crystals of this color are thus very fitting for lotus bead earrings!

Also included in these Buddhist inspired earrings are the following:
• Sterling silver rondelles and head pins
• Sterling bead caps and daisy spacers
• Swarovski AB crystal bicones
• Sterling silver hooks and ear guards

For an extra touch of elegance, and to enhance the lotus flower's symbolic meaning of spiritual illumination, I decorated the front of the hooks with the AB finished crystals. (For more about the lotus flower as a symbol, please see below.) The length of this pair is approximately 2 inches, including the ear hooks.

These wonderful earrings were handmade by me with great care, thought, and best wishes for their destined wearer. They come on a PrettyGonzo earring card and in a nice organza bag, all wrapped and ready for gifting to someone special—perhaps yourself!

About the Symbol of the Lotus Flower

As beautiful in meaning as it is in form, the lotus is one of our most positive symbols. It holds significance for anyone undergoing life changes, working toward inner peace, or dealing with life's many struggles.

There are many types of natural lotus plants, but the symbolic variety is typically the white or pink lotus that carries spiritual importance in India and Asiatic countries. In Hinduism, this aquatic flower often serves as a seat or platform for divinities such as Vishnu and Ganesh; in Buddhism, it provides a seat for bodhisattvas. Lotuses adorn headdresses and crowns in the iconography of these religions. In Tibetan scroll paintings (thangkas), they often float through skies or on rivers. Divinities and bodhisattvas often hold them as if they were precious jewels, and indeed, in meaning, the lotus is the most precious jewel of all.

The key to this meaning is the purity and beauty of the blossom despite its origins from a seed embedded in the mud of the water's bed below. Despite the world of illusion and egocentric desires (symbolized by the mud), awareness, growth, and transformation are possible (symbolized by the blossom). The lotus thus represents spiritual flowering and attainment—a great awakening from the dark, shadowy regions of ignorance and misunderstanding into the illumination of truth, beauty, and wisdom. 

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