Compass pendant (sterling silver)

Compass - Symbolic of the four directions in life
The compass is obviously used in navigation and finding your way, so when worn as a symbol it can be used to represent maintaining your course in life and not wavering and wasting time on things that aren't on your path. The compass is quite a modern instrument, but in actual fact the use of the four directions of a compass is common to many ancient traditions, especially in the shamanistic paths. In the Native American tradition the compass is related to the medicine wheel, each of the four directions correlating to the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical aspects. Also in this tradition the other minor compass points (like NNE and SW etc) all have meanings too. These systems are very thorough and whole books have been written on them.

The medicine wheel normally follows a cycle of birth to death of ideas, normally entering in the east and going round to the north. In the East the sun rises, so this direction is often related to the birth of ideas and far sightedness and is often symbolised by the eagle. In the South this is the direction of innocence, and is often symbolised by the coyote, as this is the animal that tricks us back into childhood. In the West the bear energy links us with our dreams and the void of all creation. In the North the buffalo energy represents spirituality and wisdom.

As you look at ancient beliefs though, it is stunning the similarities, with so many traditions having four compass directions in their teachings. I mean, I have never seen a system with 5 directions or 3 directions! So really in many ways the compass represents balance (as all the directions of the compass make up all of who we are) and the bringing together of all these diverse aspects to make something beautiful.

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.