Snake/Serpent pendant (sterling silver)

Snake - Strength, protection, re-birth
The snake or serpent is one of the oldest and complex of symbols. The underlying representations throughout the many meanings are paradoxical - part protective, part destructive. It's a source of strength and power, yet also potentially dangerous.

In Egypt, an upright hooded cobra snake was a powerful protective symbol. It formed the uraeus of diadem of the pharaohs, representing their royal power and ability to strike down any enemies. Egyptians used similar images of a lion-headed snake as a sign of solar guardianship. In India, cobra divinities were also used as symbols of guardians, with a seven-hooded cobra often seen shielding Buddha.

In African and Native American legends snakes are often depicted as ancestor figures, and in magic and some religions, the image of a snake represents the universal life force, and sometimes the creator itself. A more positive snake image is that of the caduceus - the staff of Hermes, which is entwined with snakes. The psychologist Carl Jung adopted the emblem as a representation of homeopathic medicine and it's still used today.

The shedding of a snake's skin highlights the notion of life, death and rebirth. According to Native American beliefs, it is the energy of wholeness, the knowledge that all things are equal and the notion that good things do come of bad. It also represents the ability to experience anything without resistance. For individuals, they believe snakes represent the fact that we're all universal beings. It can also signify the need to transmute thoughts, actions or desires.

Peter Stone Company - High quality jewellery manufacturer
Holisticshop.co.uk has been trading with Peter Stone Jewellery for many years now because we consistently find their products to be of a high quality. The Peter Stone Company purchases raw silver and produces their own true .925 sterling silver alloy in their own factory. All rings are cast to size and craftsmen cut and inlay each stone for a perfect fit. Every piece of jewellery created is hand polished not tumble polished. The gems they use are of excellent quality and the prices we have always found to be very competitive.

Peter Koslowski had been working on merchant ships since 1983 while living in Sri Lanka and was fortunate to be exposed to an abundance of precious stones and he began to purchase and trade them, as well as silver. During this period he also studied gemology and jewellery making in a number of countries. This then lead to the founding of the Peter Stone Company in 1992 in Bangkok, Thailand, where he still resides.