This sterling silver pendant is handmade and consists of a deer antler sickle and a branch of mistletoe. This jewelry combines nature, floral elements with witch and pagan features as most of my other pieces do. Druidess necklace is inspired by the sacred druid ceremony which happened during the the winter solstice. The chief would cut the mistletoe from the Oak with a sickle and divide the branches and distributed them to the people, who hung them over doorways as protection against thunder, lightning and other evils. Mistletoe is a plant that grows on various trees, it is held in great veneration when found on Oak trees. It comes from the Old English misteltãn and means "All Heal". The Druids believed mistletoe to be an indicator of great sacredness, possessed healing powers and bestowed fertility. Although not a lot of information about them has survived, the Druids were the men and women sages, magicians and wise priests of the Celts. Caesar wrote, about the Druids, that they "know much about the stars and celestial motions, and about the size of the earth and universe, and about the essential nature of things, and about the powers and authority of the immortal gods; and these things they teach to their pupils." Mistletoe was sacred according to Norse mythology too. According to the story, Baldur, son of Frigg, the Goddess of Love and Beauty had a dream in which he dies. Frigg went to all the elements, air, fire, water and earth as well as all the animals and plants on earth and asked them to spare her son. But Loki, God of Evil, found one plant that Frigga had overlooked - Mistletoe. Mistletoe grows neither on the ground nor under the ground - rather, it’s an aerial plant that has no roots of its own and attaches itself to the tree it grows on. Loki made a poisoned arrow tip with the Mistletoe and tricked Baldur's blind brother, Hoder, into shooting the arrow and killing Baldur. The whole world was plunged into mourning. The white berries of the mistletoe represent Frigg’s tears. When Baldur is resurrected, the plant comes to represent everlasting life, and it is a symbol of love to kiss beneath the mistletoe. Jewelry Care and Points to Consider -Remove your jewelry while swimming, salty water or the chemicals on a pool would damage them. -Remove your rings while you are washing dishes or cleaning something using cleansers other than soap. -Keep your jewelry in a zip bag, (preferably wrapped in a cloth or a paper napkin within a zip bag) while you are not wearing them. To place a jewelry in open air or in a drawer without covering it will accelerate the darkening. -Silver and brass do gain patina with time. Sweat, creams etc. accelerate it. The lasting of the polish on the jewelry piece depends on your skin type and whether or not you pay attention to aforementioned tips. With time your jewelry will gain a nice patina, but paying attention to these tips will slow the process and make the patina nicer. -Some of my jewelry contain pointy parts, not all jewelry are for daily wear, some of them are fine art pieces. Please be careful when wearing this kind of jewelry while taking care of children or pets.