Lotus keychain

The lotus motif. The flower that roots in mud and blooms clean, the oldest emblem there is for growing out of a hard place.

Amethyst, clear quartz, and aquamarine. Three stones strung together, each with its own long place on the crystal shelf.

Handmade, about 3 1/4 inches. On a sturdy keyring, made for daily carry rather than display.

• Handmade lotus keychain with amethyst, clear quartz, and aquamarine beads
• Length: approximately 3 1/4 inches; size varies slightly piece to piece
• Sturdy keyring, for daily carry
• Natural stones: shade and marking vary
• SKU: JKLOT

The lotus is one of the most widely shared symbols in the world, and its meaning is unusually consistent wherever it turns up: the plant grows out of mud and murky water, and the flower it produces is spotless. Buddhism made it the seat of enlightenment, and bodhisattvas are depicted enthroned on it. Hinduism gives it to Lakshmi and to Brahma. Egypt read the blue lotus, which opens at dawn and closes at dusk, as an emblem of the sun and of rebirth. The through-line is that the flower does not deny the mud; it comes from it.

The three stones are strung together rather than as a single working, so the credentials belong to each. Amethyst has a long folk record for sobriety and clear-headedness, quartz is the crystal shelf's amplifier and blank slate, and aquamarine is kept in modern practice for calm and clear speech. A blended piece like this carries no single element or planet, and we would rather say so than flatten three stones into one attribution.

1. Cleanse it on arrival with smoke or moonlight; skip salt and long soaking, which are unkind to strung stones.
2. Put it on your keys, which is the point: a thing you touch every day without ceremony.
3. Hold the lotus for a moment when the day has been a mud-and-water sort of day.
4. Keep it in a bag or a pocket rather than on a shelf; it is made to be carried.
5. Store it dry, and expect the stones to pick up the ordinary wear that carried things do.

• Amethyst Chakra Necklace: one of the same stones, worn.
• Green Aventurine Worry Stone: another small carried thing.
• Lakshmi Incense Sticks: the goddess seated on the lotus.
• Kuan Yin (Guanyin) Bodhisattva Statue: the lotus throne, in its Buddhist form.
• White Sage Smudge Stick: the arrival cleanse.

What does the lotus mean?

Growth out of a hard place. The plant roots in mud and blooms clean, which is why Buddhism, Hinduism, and ancient Egypt all landed on it as an emblem of awakening and rebirth.

Which stones are on it?

Amethyst, clear quartz, and aquamarine, strung beside the lotus charm.

Why isn't a single element or planet listed?

Because it is a three-stone piece. The stones answer to different correspondences, and we would rather describe each honestly than flatten them into one.

Will mine look like the photo?

Closely. It is handmade with natural stones, so length and shade vary slightly piece to piece.

How do I care for it?

Cleanse with smoke or moonlight, keep it dry, and expect the honest wear that anything carried on a keyring picks up.