I’m being as slow as molasses in January on getting this pendant posted! At first I couldn’t remember the gem for the month, but then I wondered how I could forget. My sister was born in January, and garnet was her stone, and I coveted the deep dark red rather than the brighter red of my July ruby.
Some stories say garnet comes from pomegranate, and the seeds do indeed look very garnet-like. When the Goddess Persephone was abducted by Hades into the underworld, her mother Demeter, Goddess of earth, became distraught and searched for her, and life was a dark cold place where nothing grew. When Hades finally relented, and said she could return, he tricked Persephone into eating several pomegranate seeds, which bound her to go back underground for winter each year, the earth once again and harsh and brutal place. I can see why Persephone would have been tempted to eat the pomegranate seeds with the their vital red color, their link to the sunshine she loved.
Commissions are welcome if you want to order a month that is already gone.
Your mosaics are beautiful! Love the red colours. The story of the pomegranate is so interesting.