December 2022
Our work at Open Sea is, above all else, meant as a steward of connection. Our stationery is in service of the bond between yourself and others, whether they be acquaintances or loved ones. We evoke history to foster a sense of place, a thread of meaning that stretches both into the past and into an unknowable future. Perhaps most of all, we offer tools to search inwards, to strengthen your understanding of the inner self with the world around you.
December is a month that lends itself especially well to an exploration of the Self. The long, dark nights make time feel as if it’s both slipping away and standing still. Coming at the close of a year full of contradiction, many of us are still in the process of understanding how our lives have been touched and shaped by the turmoil of the past three years. Rather than pull away from the uncertainty, we invite you to embrace it, to use this time of transition to seek closure in the face of new opportunities in the year ahead.
TURQUOISE
Topaz contains the golden radiance of the sun, an amber fire that serves as a light in the pursuit of spiritual alignment. Few minerals are harder than topaz, and it swallows light. What makes a precious gem so remarkable is that it is a stone that glows from deep within, translucent and airy but unmistakable in its weight. Each of us hold that contradiction within us, both bound by bodies that cast a deep shadow and illuminated by the spirit within. Our lives are defined by the reconciliation of those qualities.
WISDOM - CLARITY - TRANQUILITY
CYCLAMEN
Cyclamen are diminutive, unassuming plants that reveal hidden splendor and delicacy. Their low, clumping leaves are often adorned with striking patterns in shades of green. Their flowers are especially striking, appearing to defy gravity and fall upwards, away from the earth. Cyclamen species bloom year-round, with some species flowering even in the dead of winter. The center of each flower bends downwards, with each of the five petals swept backwards. They look like sleeping butterflies, suspended in the air. Grown on the windowsill, Cyclamen is said to aid in staving off nightmares and misfortune, and as a balm for a broken heart.
FULL MOON
December 8
COLD MOON
The last full moon of 2022 is the Cold Moon, a silver beacon in a frozen sky. Winter nights are a time to savor each instance of illumination, and to revere the darkness that surrounds them. On this full moon, burn a candle to bridge the glow of the moon with the light within your body. Embrace both the light and the darkness. Within that endless space lie all of the unnamed facets of your being—emotions in a state of transition, desires and goals yet to be articulated, memories still being formed. This is a point to take solace in the turbulent nature of being alive. Within the contradiction is constant movement towards balance, rhythm, and harmony. The moon will be new again, just as it will fill again.
NEW MOON
November 23
POEM
I cannot walk through all realms—
I carry a yearning I cannot bear alone in the dark—
What shall I do with all this heartache?
–Joy Harjo
