Tuesday, April 7, 2009

New Goddess Intro! Hygeia for Autism


Thats right, Hygeia is my new Goddess Collection! Hygeia is a lesser known Goddess, but once you see the pieces I have in her collection, you will see why I chose her.


Hygeia is the Goddess of Health and Healing. She was the daughter of Asclepius who was the God of Medicine and Healing. Her mother was Epione, the Goddess of soothing of pain. The painting above you can easily recognize as the work of Gustav Klimt. In both the statue and the painting Hygeia is pictured with a snake. She is often holding a medicine bowl (patera) as well from which the snake is feeding. Serpents are often used as symbols of healing and medicine as with Mercury's double serpent caduceus, which was adopted by the Medical Department of the United States Army and other medical related organizations.

A prescription from Hygeia would be homeopathic in nature. She would most likely prescribe a healthy diet, rest, and cleanliness. She brought about the concept of bathing patients. She believed in being disease free life through preventative measures, rather than waiting for symptoms to show. Her significance placed on the cleansing of the body is where we get the word hygiene from.

I have used Hygeia’s collection as a space for my Autism Awareness Necklace and Earrings. In the future I hope to create more pieces that can benefit causes of this nature, through both charity and awareness.

Autism is a condition that I'm sure has touched everyone's life, or that of someone you know and love. I am fortunate to know so many people who help... and they have inspired me to do the same. Special thanks to Alaina and Samantha who work with Autistic and special needs children on a daily basis and truly make a difference. Love you guys!


25% of the money from any pieces I sell will go directly to Autism Research. Also... did you know that April is Autism Awareness Month? Spread the word! The new category has been added to my website, but if you prefer...you can buy through my Etsy site.



3 comments:

Carolina Gonzalez said...

Stephanie, I am loving this posts! That Klimt painting(well, a poster of course LOL)is my all-time favourite and presides my workroom.

Your jewels are, as always, an instant favourite! I love that tribal-greek-chic that you make - you definitely have some serious good mojo coming with this pieces :).

Anonymous said...

Hi my name is Dani, my son CJ was diagnosed with asperger's syndrom (Autism) 3 years ago. I am a very strong advocate for my son and many others with this diagnoses. I absolutely adore this necklace and will be ordering it. Thank you for caring and taking the time to make this special jewelry for autism awareness!!!!

Stephanie said...

Thanks Dani! I actually shipped a necklace out today! Hopefully I will be able to raise some good money for Autism Awareness this month (or any month!):) Thanks for your support and spread the word!!!!

Stephanie