The Aphrodite's Coin Rosary Necklace is a piece of devotional pagan jewelry styled as a shorter necklace (18.5in length) or choker with the titular Aphrodite Coin in the center of the piece. This offering coin is the centerpiece in our handmade rosary chain devoted to Aphrodite, featuring prism-like glass rondelle beads often used in suncatchers, inspired by the glittering reflection of the sun off water, and 14k gold-plated hearts, representing unapologetic self-love, separated by lengths of gold-tone figaro chain. Every bead is hand-wrapped and guided by Aphrodite to weave her blessings of love and beauty, internal and external, into every aspect of the chain as it is built piece-by-piece, with every element worked and woven together by hand. The Aphrodite Coin in the center of this necklace is inspired by both ancient Greek coins called tetradrachm (monetary currency that at times featured deities or their temples) and Charon's obol (coins placed in the mouth of the dead as to pay the ferryman to the Underworld, Charon). This coin is filled with rose and gold leaf as both representations of Aphrodite through her symbology like the tetradrachm and as an offering to her like Charon's obol. This necklace is both in devotion to Aphrodite and asks her blessing, especially in the areas of love and self-love.
Aphrodite's numerology is worked into the rosary patterning on this chain, with the numbers most commonly associated with her being 5 and 8. This necklace features 5 sections of 3 glass rondelle beads separated by figaro chain and a single heart bead. The center section of glass beads includes a total of 5 beads, with the Aphrodite Coin itself as the center bead in the section of 5. On either side of the Aphrodite coin are two rondelle prism beads to complete the section of 5. The center section includes 5 elements for this reason, with the Aphrodite Coin as the center element to represent the Lady. When viewing one half of the chain, from the Aphrodite Coin to the clasp, there are a total of 8 prism beads. Each rondelle bead section includes 3 beads for the number 3's link to witchcraft. There are a total of 4 gold-plated heart beads in the necklace, split into 2 on each side of the Aphrodite Coin. This division is intentional, as 4 is one half of 8, a traditional Venus number; the number 4 is also associated with stability and therefore the physical world. 4 hearts are included as a representation of Aphrodite, halved into her most stable form for this physical world. In this piece, the number 4 is used to represent the Aphrodite who lives inside all of us, transmuted to a (human) form that provides greater stability to thrive in this world. The 4 gold hearts are Aphrodite, both inside and outside of our own hearts, in her Cosmic and Earthly forms, taking our hand to teach us self-love through connection with this world.
There are a variety of metals included in this piece, including: lead and nickel free gold-tone alloy, gold plated iron, and gold plated brass. These metals can tarnish with use, though this can be avoided with care. To avoid tarnishing, avoid contact with liquids whenever possible and let any cosmetics, lotions, or perfumes/colognes dry completely before putting on your necklace. Store in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight. Keeping your jewelry in a sealed container, such as a jewelry box or plastic bag, can prevent tarnishing by limiting exposure to air, sunlight, heat, and moisture. This is best done if air is pushed out of any plastic bag before sealing and with something included to remove moisture, such as a silica pack or anti-tarnish strip. This is not an exhaustive list of anti-tarnish measures, nor are these measures a guarantee that tarnishing will not occur when worn.
For an additional way to work with this piece, please consider our Aphrodite prayer card. It features a fully illustrated front, hand-drawn by one of your local tricksters, while the back includes a prayer written by your other local trickster in the Lady's honor. The prayer can be used to consecrate this piece and deepen your connection with Aphrodite, while the card itself is an excellent altar card and portable way to keep Aphrodite close to your heart as you go about your day. It is available here: https://trickstersapothecary.myshopify.com/products/aphrodite-prayer-card
