Our Last Laugh Collection is handcrafted under the auspices of Dionysos Lysios, the Liberator from Suffering and Releaser of Shackles. It includes amulets, rosaries, ritual bath salts, and prayer cards. Each work in this collection centers around the Orchid, for Dionysos's role in its Greek creation myth. All works in this collection are crafted toward a specific goal: healing unjust wounds, shedding the shackles of sorrow those wounds cause, healing through the comfort found in love, and learning to laugh again even after betrayal and cruelty. These works were consecrated under the Solar Eclipse of 2024 to imbue them with a revolutionary nature, a divine turning of tables that makes right even the cruelest of wrongs.
May your wounds heal well and your laughter ring long and loud!
The Last Laugh Collection
Amulets:
Our Last Laugh amulet is handcrafted under the auspices of Dionysos Lysios, The Liberator from Sorrow and Releaser of Shackles who unknots bindings of fear and suffering. These amulets center around an orchid pendant, calling in Dionysos in the role he played in the orchid’s Greek creation myth described below. The orchid is surrounded by beads chosen to represent the journey of healing from unjust wounds–the ones that leave us wondering why anyone would be so cruel and how the gods could allow such a thing. These amulets are designed to be worn throughout the healing process to for a quicker relief to suffering. Work with them alongside Dionysos Lysios for Him to bring the comfort that allows for healing to happen and the return of trust after betrayal. May you heal easily knowing that those who have left deep, cruel wounds on you will be brought to a justice that meets Dionysos’ standards. Rest and heal in comfort, knowing that in the end, you will have both a beautiful new blossom in your heart and the last laugh alike.
The center orchid pendant is made with blossoms from an orchid plant we have tended for years. We originally bought this plant to rescue it: it had been potted without enough room inside a plastic structure that was supposed to support it but had instead become a cage. It would have died if left in the store, but has since come to bloom beautifully with tender care. Each blossom is saved when its time has come, gently dried, and then preserved in resin as a pendant to give it a new, enduring, ongoing life.
The healing journey is written into the pattern of the 8 beads that surround the orchid pendant on the front of the amulets chain. The number 8 is used here to call in healing through the support of loved ones and unapologetic self-love. They progress from one side to the other, from the wounding to rebirth. The sequence begins with 3 matte red jasper beads that call in the Wounding and Suffering we rise from. Red jasper gets its color from iron oxide, the same substance that makes blood red. They aren’t the shiny red of fresh blood, but instead matte to embody the Scab and Scar of a wounding that, no matter how deep, failed to kill us. Framing the orchid pendant in the center is rhodonite, a mineral byproduct of silver. Rhodonite sacrifices itself so that silver can be formed; it is paired with only gold-tone metals here for this reason. Rhodonite, here, embodies the laying down of self-sacrificial and people pleasing tendencies. It teaches us that those who truly love us, as Dionysos does, don’t ask us to suffer for their sake. Rhodonite sings here, allowed to shine on its own, separated from the silver that demands its sacrifice.
On the other side of the rhodonite are three rose quartz beads, calling in gentle, loving care and sweet, tender self-love. Their pink is soft and could be missed if you don’t look closely enough, but the rose quartz isn’t pink for the sake of its viewer. Its gentle shade is for its own sake, beautiful for its own sake, and confident enough that it feels no need to prove its self-love to others. Around the length of the chain are small glass pearls for beautiful self-love born from a wounding. Glass is made from sand, the same substance that gets caught in the shell of a mollusk. This gritty irritant wounds the mollusk that heals itself by forming the pearl, softening harmful edges and creating beauty in the process.
Rosaries:
Our Last Laugh rosary is handcrafted under the auspices of Dionysos Lysios, The Liberator from Sorrow and Releaser of Shackles who unknots bindings of fear and suffering. These amulets center around an orchid pendant, calling in Dionysos in the role he played in the orchid’s Greek creation myth described below. The orchid is surrounded by beads chosen to represent the journey of healing from unjust wounds–the ones that leave us wondering why anyone would be so cruel and how the gods could allow such a thing. These rosaries are designed to be worn and/or worked with throughout the healing process to for a quicker relief to suffering. Work with them alongside Dionysos Lysios for Him to bring the comfort allows for healing to happen and the return of trust after betrayal. May you heal easily knowing that those who have left deep, cruel wounds on you will be brought to a justice that meets Dionysos’ standards. Rest and heal in comfort, knowing that in the end, you will have both a beautiful new blossom in your heart and the last laugh alike.
The center orchid pendant is made with blossoms from an orchid plant we have tended for years. We originally bought this plant to rescue it: it had been potted without enough room inside a plastic structure that was supposed to support it but had instead become a cage. It would have died if left in the store, but has since come to bloom beautifully with tender care. Each blossom is saved when its time has come, gently dried, and then preserved in resin as a pendant to give it a new, enduring, ongoing life.
Each rosary begins with the orchid pendant on the bottom, a representation of justice served and the Last Laugh of the Survivor. Then, we begin to move up the chain through the pattern of the healing journey. It begins with shiny, translucent garnet glass, representing the blood shed in the wounding, the sharp glass that cuts, and the sand that can form both glass and a pearl. Then, we move into matte red jasper beads that call in the Wounding and Suffering we rise from. Red jasper gets its color from iron oxide, the same substance that makes blood red. They aren’t the shiny red of fresh blood, but instead matte to embody the Scab and Scar of a wounding that, no matter how deep, failed to kill us.
The red of wounds fresh and just beginning to heal moves into the Rhodonite of self-sacrifice that must be shed to heal. Rhodonite is a mineral byproduct of silver, sacrificing itself so that silver can be formed. Here, it is paired with only gold-tone metals for this reason, embodying the laying down of self-sacrificial and people pleasing tendencies. It teaches us that those who truly love us, as Dionysos does, don’t ask us to suffer for their sake. Rhodonite sings here, allowed to shine on its own, separated from the silver that demands its sacrifice.
Next comes rose quartz, calling in gentle, loving care and sweet, tender self-love. Their pink is soft and could be missed if you don’t look closely enough, but the rose quartz isn’t pink for the sake of its viewer. Its gentle shade is for its own sake, beautiful for its own sake, and confident enough that it feels no need to prove its self-love to others. The sequence ends with glass pearls for beautiful self-love born from a wounding. Glass is made from sand, the same substance that gets caught in the shell of a mollusk. This gritty irritant wounds the mollusk that heals itself by forming the pearl, softening harmful edges and creating beauty in the process. The glass of the pearl calls back to the garnet glass of Wounding, showing how we can make our own beautiful pearls from our own Wounds by healing them.
As you pray the rosary, working from the pendant, around the neck, to the centerpiece, you walk the healing journey. The vertical section has one of each bead, with the garnet glass of the Wound and the pearl of the Healed Wound each separated by a length of gold-tone stainless steel figaro chain. The chain progresses through the healing journey with each section of 7 beads, beginning with a section of 6 garnet glass beads with one matte red jasper bead in the center. Even in the depths of the Wounding, the Seed of Healing is present with the potential for rebirth and relief from suffering. The chain moves then to a section of 6 red jasper beads with 1 rhodonite bead in the center for a section of 7 again. The chain progresses this way, each section representing a stage of healing with the center bead heralding the next section: a light at the end of the tunnel, a hope in even the deepest darkness that the healing can continue. Between each section is a garnet glass bead for the ache of an old wound, always diminishing, and the Scar it leaves behind, always reminding you what you have the ability to heal from.
Each segment includes 7 beads for the number’s enduring association with Dionysos and the heavenly, Ouranic realms. We incorporate this number for its levity, to lighten burdens and lift heavy hearts. The center piece is a crescent moon in gold-tone stainless steel with its horns pointing upward. The crescent moon is present at both the beginning and the end of the moon cycle. It represents the closing of an old chapter and the healing of old wounds to make them a source of wisdom, not suffering. It represents the beginning of a new part of our life, a door opening to a life free from the pain and fear of unjust wounds. The crescent moon, especially with its horns up, has also been historically linked with the Bull across cosmologies. Here, it calls in Dionysos as the Sacrificial Bull, torn asunder every year as a sacrifice whose annual rebirth brings a good harvest. He, too, knows what it’s like to suffer for someone else’s benefit. He may submit to the slaughter willingly now, but it was not always that way. He has suffered and healed from his unjust woundings and takes special joy in showing people a path to rebirth. May he ensure that you, too, always have the last laugh.
Prayer Cards:
We have three large prayer cards ideal for working with any piece in this collection. They are the size of an altar card and are a perfect centerpiece to altars to Dionysos Lysios for healing unjust wounds and the Survivor's Last Laugh. The front of each one features vintage art of an Orchid, calling Dionysos in his role in the Orchid's creation. Each orchid is embossed by hand, with the pigment awoken and enlivened with heat during the process. The back features prayers crafted for working each step of the healing journey represented in the amulets, rosaries, and bath salts of this collection. One is crafted toward Justice, for rebuilding trust that cruelty need not be the law of the land; it is made on sturdy red paper with a gold embossed orchid. One is crafted toward Comfort, for healing only possible when resting and recovery without fear; it is made on sturdy lavender paper with a copper embossed orchid. The last is crafted toward Joy, for the return of delight in the Last Laugh of the Survivor; it is made on sturdy pastel green paper with a rose gold embossed orchid.
Last Laugh Ritual Bath Salts:
Our Last Laugh ritual bath salts are handcrafted under the auspices of Dionysos Lysios, The Liberator from Sorrow and Releaser of Shackles who unknots bindings of fear and suffering. Like the other works in our Last Laugh collection, these bath salts center around the Orchid for the role Dionysos plays in its Greek creation myth. Their ritual purpose is to assist in the healing of unjust wounds, shedding the shackles of sorrow those wounds cause, healing through the comfort found in love, and learning to laugh again even after betrayal and cruelty. These bath salts are made with blended epsom and dendritic salt. Scent has been added through essential oils, imbuing the salt with the essence of plant allies that lend their unique blessings to these salts for potent workings, including: orchid, pine, and dragon’s blood. This mixture was awoken with heat as they were gently baked, sealing the oils in and preventing clumping while enlivening the blend for ritual purposes. Inside each bottle are finely chopped dried pine needles that were sustainably foraged in the PNW by your local trickster spirits.
Epsom salt is included for its therapeutic benefits, easing aches and pains in joints and muscles. Here, its spiritual purpose is to bring comfort and ease pain to allow for healing to take place. Dendritic salt is included here for its high absorption. It is able to soak up and lock in more essential oils, imbuing the qualities of the herbal elements deep within the salt mixture. Spiritually, its purpose is to absorb the pain and suffering you release as you heal during your ritual bath.
Orchid is included here as the embodiment of the Last Laugh: beauty, joy, and laughter that blossoms from the blood spilt when justice is enacted upon a cruel villain. Pine calls in wild spaces in nature and in our hearts and a freedom from shame that can only be found when separated from polite society. It calls in an unapologetic love for even the most feral parts of ourselves and a gentle, unflinching hand outstretched to the wounded animal inside us: one Dionysos extends and one he teaches us to extend to ourselves. Dragon’s blood calls in the draconic Devourer of Rot, who gently cleanses us of the infection and rot that builds up when deep wounds cannot be fully healed but fester instead. It nurtures our trust and healing by righting the scales, enacting a fair justice that brings peace to the wounded, knowing that cruelty doesn’t have to be the law of the land.
Salt purifies & protects but can be worked with in many more ways. Tell salt what you would ask of it & it will take to most tasks readily. These salts have been taught the work they're aimed towards by the essential oils baked into them.
Ritual bath salts can of course be added to baths, but also worked with in many more ways. Salts are an easy and portable way to make holy, consecrated, and/or ritual waters wherever you are. You can use moon, river, lake, or even tap water to add your salt to. Pray over them to wake the water: to the materia magica involved and spirits/deities you’d like to call in. Add additional herbs or flowers, as seen above, for added potency.
With your water made, its uses are endless! Wipe down or wash items in it to cleanse or consecrate them (as long as they won’t be harmed by salt or water). Wash your face or hands for ritual purposes. Use the water as a door/window/floor wash. Dip a leafy branch in and asperge your space. You’re limited only by your creativity.
Last Laugh Scrying Mirror
The Last Laugh scrying mirror works under the auspices of Dionysos Lysios and the Orchid. It features a black scrying mirror with an orchid curling around the scrying surface. The image of the orchid calls in Dionysos in the role he played in the orchid's Greek creation myth, described in our Last Laugh Catalogue linked below. It's a part of our Last Laugh series, designed to assist with the journey of healing from unjust wounds–the ones that leave us wondering why anyone would be so cruel and how the gods could allow such a thing. To work with this mirror, call upon Dionysos Lysios as you scry to guide you through the healing journey for a quicker release from suffering into joy, laughter, and love. May you heal easily knowing that those who have left deep, cruel wounds on you will be brought to a justice that meets Dionysos’ standards. Rest and heal in comfort, knowing that in the end, you will have both a beautiful new blossom in your heart and the last laugh alike.
This mirror measures 10 x 5.4 x 0.25 inches while the scrying surface measures 3.25x5.6 inches. It's made with a vintage frame with a kickstand on the back to allow the mirror to stand on its own on a flat surface.
COMING SOON: Drink Kits w/ Chalice
In addition to the works above, we are in the process of crafting a drink kit similar to the Self-Love Potion drink kit available in our Beloved Lovers collection under Eros's auspices. This drink kit, similarly, will feature an antique chalice, an amulet to attach around the stem of the chalice, a blessed salt mixture for the rim, and a drink recipe.
The works in our Last Laugh collection were ritually consecrated under the Solar Eclipse of 2024. As a thank you to anyone who purchases the works in this collection, we’re making available information on their consecration. We hope it inspires you to work with them similarly and that your experiences are both potent and helpful.
The purpose of this ritual was manifold. We were consecrating the amulets, rosaries, and bath salts of this collection, certainly. But we didn’t want only this initial batch to be blessed under the Solar Eclipse, which would not be available if and when we will be making more of these. Instead, our goal was to foster long term relationships with spirits and deities happy to bless the working at the heart of this collection: healing unjust wounds caused by cruelty. Those wounds can leave deep marks that can be nearly impossible to heal on our own. They heal better with the love and support of others, which we may not always have around us. The deities and spirits who blessed this working offered to make themselves available for that loving support. They are there when the Wound is fresh, drying our tears and staunching the blood. They wrap a comforting blanket around our shoulders and whisper to us to relax and focus on healing. When we cry, the injustice making the Wound sting anew, they ask for our trust–swearing that they will right the scales and ensure a true justice is served, not a polite, half-hearted one. When there is no justice for unjust woundings, we live in constant fear of more wounds; it shows us that cruelty has no consequences and, therefore, must always be expected. The deities & spirits guiding this working take that fear from us gently, teaching us to trust them if not the justice system. They promise us the Last Laugh: that cruelty will not be allowed to stand, that suffering can heal into wisdom, and that joy, humor, and laughter can return to our hearts even after they have been in the darkest of places.
The Last Laugh collection is primarily under the auspices of Dionysos Lysios, Releaser of Shackles and Liberator from Suffering. We called in additional spirits & deities who offered to bless and support the work going forward. Kybele offered her aid as Divine Mother: not one who births new life, but nurtures the neglected children of others. She offers a sheltering embrace to those forsaken by polite society and shows a path to our own unique happiness and joy. The Gallae offered their aid as Kybele’s priestexes and attendants. They have walked the path Kybele leads us to and long to teach others how to walk it as well. Teaching and the sharing of knowledge is sacred to them; they offer their wisdom freely and with good will to those who seek it in good faith.
The Satyrs & Nymphs, who can be difficult to separate from one another, offered their blessings as well. They are wild spirits, unconstrained by the rules of polite society, but not without their own forms of justice. In our work with them, they have shown us that they have strict guidelines around cruelty that ensures nymphs are not taken advantage of by satyrs or anyone else. When those rules of conduct are violated, they enact their own form of justice–and when the divinity of the perpetrator prevents that enactment, they have ways to seek a solace even the gods can’t rip away from them. We intend to share more about our work with the Satyrs & Nymphs, but they longed to offer their aid here for this reason. The Nymphs offer comfort to the wronged and the promise of justice. The Satyrs are the guardians of that justice, who ensure a perpetrator cannot escape their punishment, gleefully instilling terror in their hearts for the fear they’ve forced on others.
Offerings of clean, fresh drinking water were given to Dionysos Lysios, Kybele, the Gallae, and the Satyrs/Nymphs in their dedicated offering vessels. A depiction of a Bacchic procession was placed in the background to welcome all those spirits to form that procession in the ritual space. We have handcrafted incense made to honor the Gallae and lit it in their honor as attendants to the Gods, calling in their ancient temple space. Next to the incense stood the offering vessels to Dionysos and Kybele. A purple seven day candle stood in the back of this side, for the Wine of Liberation Dionysos brings. Before that was a small red candle we use to call in Venus, the Morning Star. We ask different deities to step into the role of Morning and Evening Star depending on the ritual. Here, Kybele and Dionysos shared the Morning Star role, as the Ouranic forces of levity. While we normally have the Ouranic forces on the right side of an altar, in honor of the Solar Eclipse, they were placed on the left for the turning of tables.
On the right side of the altar, the Gallae and Satyrs/Nymphs were honored as the Chthonic guardians of this ritual. The Gallae, as ancestors, are no strangers to the Underworld realms, and know much about earthly pleasures and suffering alike. The Satyrs and Nymphs are tied to the earthly realms and are called in as chthonic spirits for that reason. A green seven day candle stood on this side for the tall pines and wild mountainsides in which Bacchic processions are held. A small blue candle resided in this space for the Evening Star, a role the Gallae, Satyrs, and Nymphs shared as chthonic figures. A large vintage crystal vessel with a pink rim, the color of a healthy pallor, stood on this half of the altar. In it, a portion of the bath salts were dissolved into fresh drinking water: a substance that comes from the chthonic realms beneath the earth. To this water, we added rose petals, sprigs of cypress, and Scotch broom blossoms. Rose petals were symbols of both death and rebirth in Roman society. The Rose also teaches us to not only unapologetically grow thorns that prick the palms of those who would harm us, but to be nourished by the blood justly shed in retribution. Cypress is a chthonic plant, closely linked with the afterlife, and is also known for its purification purposes. Scotch Broom is linked with love through its historic use in love divination. It is also a hardy plant that grows abundantly and is difficult to kill, even when burned. It calls in rapid growth, love, and endurance under hardship.
We began this ritual at Golden Hour on the day of the Solar Eclipse: the beginning of the liminal time, when the sun hasn’t yet started to set but will soon, and the light reddens into a beautiful gold that kisses everything it touches. We took photos of each amulet and rosary to share the magic with the people who will eventually welcome those works into their homes and hearts. We prayed over them to the spirits evoked for their blessings. Then, the amulets/rosaries were piled onto a ritual offering plate, clustered together for comfort and nestled under a sprig of cypress as a protective blanket. Right below the plate, we placed a key, to unlock the shackles of suffering that bind.
As we worked and prayed, the sun slowly set until the only light was that of the candles. The shadows they cast on the relief of the Bacchic Procession awoke it in a truly special way. The flickering lights made the figures seem to dance against their backdrop. Watching it felt like witnessing a hand extended from the Bacchanal, inviting us to participate. To shed the sorrows that would drive a ‘proper’ lady to become a Maenad, rip off the shackles of politeness, and join in the dance with joy and laughter–shame, guilt, and sorrow left behind, long forgotten. This was the energy that sank into each working consecrated that day.
The Solar Eclipse is a time of turning tables, when the impossible becomes possible. It was important to consecrate this and all future workings of this kind under these auspices. No matter how impossible it feels to heal those old, stubborn wounds, it can be done. No matter how impossible it seems to remove those shackles of toxic relationships, they can be shed. No matter how devoid of joy or cause to laugh the world and life itself may seem, those things can always return: as surely as both the night and winter end.
In this ritual, we not only consecrated the works in this collection, but established inroads for ourselves and you all to continue the work in the future. The Gallae have taught us the sacred nature of sharing knowledge when both sides approach each other in good faith. That philosophy was at the heart of this ritual. This working created a pathway to Dionysos Lysios, Kybele, the Gallae, and the Satyrs/Nymphs for those who would approach them for help healing the wounds of injustice and the rebirth of the ability to laugh after deep suffering. We walked this path when we made the works in this collection; we will do so again any time we make more in the future. We walk it every time we craft new works to this end, every time we work this magic for our own healing, and every time we work it for the healing of others. This is a road we made with the spirits, and here we leave signposts for you to walk it in our wake. We offer the works in this series in hopes that they will make this path easier to traverse and its healing easier to access. May Dionysos Lysios, Kybele, the Gallae, the Nymphs, and the Satyrs bless you as they have blessed us.
If you've read this far, we would like to say thank you for supporting our work. To show our gratitude, we would like to offer you this prayer for free. We hope that it helps in your workings, that your wounds heal both easily and well, and that you always have the just Last Laugh!
Dionysos Lysios, Liberator from Sorrow,
Unknot my tender Heartstrings,
Release my unjust shackles