This collection, Periapta (“amulet” in Greek), is truly of my soul and something that I have been working on – in one way or another – for nearly four decades. It's a collection I am excited to watch evolve and one that permeates every aspect of my creative and spiritual existence.
I was twelve years old when I found the dog-eared pages of Edith Hamilton's Mythology in my school library. This unearthing was the most influential moment of my spiritual life. The world of the Greek Pantheon spread her arms to me as if welcoming me home – and as a young, not quite teenager, it became an all-consuming passion. My spirituality has ebbed and flowed throughout my nearly 50 years. I find myself teetering on the precipice of disconnection and numbing grief, only to be pulled back into the proverbial embrace of the Goddess.
For the Goddess, and all her faces – those terrifying, beautiful, formidable and pensive – have all been the torch-lit passageway of my personal faith. And at the dark heart of that cavern, is Greek Mythology. It has been the lens through which I have understood the world and the psychology of individuals; it is the myth and story that roots everything I touch, it is and always will be, my touchstone.
I feel deeply that the Labyrinth of my life has led me here. In ancient Greece, it was common for people to wear coins that had been stamped with the likeness of Goddesses and Gods. Not only were these coins used for personal protection, but historians believe that people believed wearing these pieces would endow them with the qualities of that deity.
It is this idea that is truly the hallmark of Periapta. I hope you find connection with these amulets; my desire is that they act as wayfinders through the tangled threads that make up the tapestry of our existence. Whether you are seeking strength and fortitude, love and lust or wading through the river of grief –the Goddess is ever with you. A reminder that she is only a reflection and manifestation of your own innate power within.
