Owl Heart Love Amulet Pendant Necklace - Silver and Ruby

The heart is the most universal and enduring symbol of love and has been linked with our deepest emotions and affections, dating as far back as the Ancient Greeks. Having little in common with the organ itself, it wasn't until the 14th Century that the heart shape, as we know it, became popular.

Graffiti Hearts in France 

While I was staying in France with Rolo, walking by the river in Limoux, near Carcassonne, we passed a cartoon style heart mural, sprayed under the bridge.

Later, we were visiting the old town in Montpellier, searching for a place to eat, when we passed a stylised red heart, sprayed on a garage door. This graphic heart image, often seen on tattoos is popular all over the world. In my opinion, it can be a bit obvious, a bit of a cliche, however much it appeals to our romantic side.

African Love Symbol

The heart is also a common symbol of love, in African culture. In many African languages the word for heart is also the word for love. This symbolises the connection between love and emotions, and the heart is often seen, as the seat of emotions, in many cultures. Several African symbols represent love, with the most prominent being the Adinkra symbol Akoma , meaning 'heart' and representing love, goodwill, patience, and faithfulness.

This symbol; 'odo nyera fie kwan' or "Love always finds its way home" is the one that I became interested in, when I was designing this new pendant. I also see in it the face of a bird - one very close to my heart. Even the meaning of this symbol seems to suggest the flight of a bird, in my imagination.

Kenyan Owls 

Kenya is home to a diverse range of owl species, with 18 different types identified within the country occupying various habitats, including forests, woodlands, grasslands, and even marshlands.

The African grass owl resembles the barn owl and has a heart shaped whitish-cream facial disc, with a narrow yellowish-buff rim which is densely-spotted dark brown.

The African love symbol reminds me of this beautiful face.

Owls are widely recognised as symbols with multifaceted meanings, but the interpretations vary significantly across cultures. Some cultures associate owls with wisdom and knowledge, often linking them to goddesses of wisdom or cleverness; while others view them as harbingers of bad luck, illness, or even death.

Love and Wisdom

I felt it was fitting to link love with wisdom as these words go together so well. The quality of having experience, knowledge and good judgement in who and how, we love.

Owls as design inspiration 

As I was sketching the design I was looking at owl's faces, with striated markings on their feathers alongside the shape of these African symbols.

As always, I was questioning if I was going in the right direction with the design and as I had been drawing for hours, I decided to take a break and walk Rolo down by the river.

Hearts symbol as inspiration

Alongside the river Lez, in Montpelier, opposite the huge modern building 'The Arbre Blanc' (the white tree) are a row of silver birch trees with beautiful white bark.

They have carvings all over their trunks and I had passed them several times before, but this time something caught my eye. As I approached, I was taken aback to see what was carved in the trunk. A series of hearts and symbols.

One of them in particular was very similar to some of my drawings. I felt it was a sign, telling me that I should finish what I had started. Please ignore the other, more graphic love symbol, carved in the tree !!

Owl Heart Love Amulet Design

I decided that the pendant should be a cross between an owl's face and the African symbol, with beautiful striped lines radiating around the eyes. I wanted to acknowledge that in various cultures and spiritual traditions, owls symbolise wisdom, intuition, mystery and transformation. They are often associated with knowledge, particularly the ability to see beyond the surface and perceive hidden truths. Owls can also represent transitions, new beginnings, and the ability to navigate change. I felt that these sentiments would make a perfect talisman.

My final design drawings were sent to my wax carver while I was still in France.

Meaningful Rubies 

The eyes would have two gemstones set into them. The spiritual meaning of ruby is multifaceted, often symbolising passion, vitality, protection and divine love. It's a stone associated with the sun's energy, believed to enhance courage, confidence, and leadership qualities. Furthermore, rubies are thought to stimulate the heart chakra, promoting emotional strength, courage, and resilience. Rubies would be the perfect stones for this piece of jewellery. The pendant needed to have an association to the heart with the colour red and move away from the natural colours of the owls eyes.

Here is the wax which is almost perfect; it just needed a small alteration to the beak. It needed to be a bit larger.

Final wax with a longer beak ready to mould and cast.

I had to be patient as it is a long process from design to the finished piece, it took nearly four months to complete. Here is the finished necklace in silver; it is also available in oxidised silver and gold plated silver. 

Special thanks go to the photographers on Unsplash for the use of their fabulous owl photos - Kate Trysh, Annette Meredith, Ivan Valko, Kenny Goossen and Phil Robson.