Bejeweled
The wearing of jewelry and the manufacture of ornaments is extremely popular among the inhabitants of the world today. Billions of dollars are generated from the sale of necklaces, earrings and bracelets. By 2035, the global jewelry market is expected to grow to a market value of 645 billion dollars. With all this craze, excitement, and prestige surrounding gems and precious metals, it would do us good to take a close look at some of the health issues and even spiritual implications of adorning ourselves with expensive ornaments.
WASTEWATER
The jewelry industry produces tons of liquid wastewater contaminated with heavy metals like iron, copper, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury and zinc. Heavy metals are known to be very toxic. Their toxicity depends on factors such as dose, route of exposure, chemical species, age, gender, genetics and nutritional status of exposed individuals. Moreover, heavy metals are known to effect human biological systems leading to serious medical conditions. Cyanide is used in the manufacture of jewelry, and is one of the chemicals released in the industrial wastewater. According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, cyanide is one of the most rapidly acting poisons. Cyanide primarily effects the central nervous system, cardiovascular system and respiratory system. People who are chronically exposed to cyanide can experience thyroid function abnormalities.
SILVER
Silver is a common metal used in jewelry. Silver particles can deposit in the human body causing a blue gray discoloration called argyria. Silver nanoparticles are increasingly used in a variety of applications. Research has indicated that silver nanoparticles may negatively impact our genetics. Upon exposure to silver nanoparticles, researchers have observed changes in gene expression, and morphological phenotypes correlating to toxicity of HepG2 cells. Studies have revealed that silver may exhibit genotoxic effects, as well as, pose risks to hepatic, renal, neurological and hematological systems.
GOLD
Gold is another metal used in jewelry. Researchers are studying gold nanoparticles for use in treating disease. Studies have indicated that gold nanoparticles can disrupt cell membranes. Gold nanoparticle exposure can cause mitochondrial damage and induce oxidative stress. Gold nanoparticles less than 2nm in diameter demonstrate significant chemical reactivity that does not occur at larger sizes.
CADMIUM
Low cost jewelry can contain significant amounts of cadmium. The toxic heavy metal can easily accumulate in the human body and cause deleterious effects on the kidneys and lungs. Cadmium is a human carcinogen.
METAL ABSORPTION
Our skin is the largest organ of the human body. It functions as both a barrier and a route of chemical exposure. Dermal (skin) absorption can occur when our skin is broken or when chemicals are able to chemically pass through the skin barrier. Humans constantly sweat in order to regulate body temperature. Acidic or alkaline sweat can slowly wear away metal off of the surfaces of our favourite necklaces and rings. After the metal has been mixed with our liquid sweat, metal can pass through our skin and be transported throughout our bodies. Metals from jewelry such as nickel, cobalt, lead and cadmium have been shown to pass through our skin barrier and accumulate in the human body.
JEWELRY AND SPIRITUALISM
All throughout human history, men and women have loved adorning themselves with flashy metal ornaments. What is little known nowadays is that jewelry has been used to symbolize many things in the occult. Let’s examine this further…
Laurie Cabot, a well-known witch, stated this:
“Many Witches wear crystals as jewelry along with other gemstones that have magical powers. Jewelry is a way to have magic on your body without anyone knowing it but you and others who are wise in the ways of Craft…” {Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated}
Another well-known witch named Sybil Leek stated the following:
“…Charms, amulets and talismans have been worn throughout the ages not as a form of decoration but as a focal point that can be charged with the appropriate vibrations. We are not free from the use of such things even today, for there is an increasing business in the sale of charms, even though now they be only part of a dangling bracelet. It seems that the amulet and talisman are gaining a new lease on life whether or not the buyers and wearers are aware of their significance.
{Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated}
According to the book by Dr. Cathy Burns called Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, rings are symbols of reincarnation, eternity and unity. Rings are associated with the Sun and Moon and understood to provide protection from “evil”.
Wedding rings
Wedding rings are some of the most common pieces of jewelry worn today. What people may not understand is their spiritual significance. The following quotations are from pages 301-302 of Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated by Dr. Cathy Burns.
“Once, rings were usually worn on the third finger, because it was thought to contain a nerve that went directly to the heart. Betrothal rings are still traditionally worn on this finger. “
“In astrology, the THUMB is correlated with Venus, the index finger with Jupiter, the middle finger with Saturn, the ring finger with the sun, and the small finger with Mercury. – In popular parlance, the ring finger used to be called the ‘heart finger’ because people believed that it was directly connected to the heart by a special vein or nerve; the symbolism of love and fidelity of the ring finger, particularly the left hand (the side of the heart), also has to do with this.”
“The Wedding Ring, customarily put on during the marriage ceremony and worn continuously thereafter, had a phallic origin. In the Buddhistic hand sign of blessing, the thumb and index fingers are joined at the tips, forming a circle, symbolizing the yoni, while the other three fingers (the middle, ring and little fingers) are extended, symbolizing… the male (genital) triad. When the ring is placed on the ring finger (the penis symbolized), it symbolizes the union of the male and female; hence, through this symbolism, the wedding ring means marriage or union.
“The wedding ring originally was intended to imply that in the nature of the one who wore it the state of equilibrium and completion had been attained. This plain band of gold therefore bore witness of the union of the Higher Self (God) with the lower self (Nature) and the ceremony consummating this indissoluble blending of Divinity and humanity in the one nature of the initiated mystic constituted the hermetic marriage of the Mysteries.”
“It may be pointed out that wedding rings are a remnant of the magic rings. They are worn on the ring finger, because in chiromancy that finger corresponds to the heart…”
In consideration of the above quotations, it becomes abundantly clear that jewelry has a lot to do with paganism and occultism. Christians should have nothing to do with occult practices. What does the Bible say about jewelry? Let’s find out…
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH?
The following quotations from the Bible will give us important insights about how God regards the wearing of jewelry.
In Judges 8:22-25, the Bible says…
Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you. And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.
~ We read in the book of Judges that the Hebrews killed Ishmaelites in battle. The Bible clearly distinguishes the Ishmaelites, a people not of God, by the wearing of golden earrings.
In Genesis 35:2-5, the Bible says…
Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
~ We read in the book of Genesis that God’s people gave up their idols. What is interesting is that when they gave up their idols and turned to the living God with all their hearts and with all their souls…they also gave up their jewelry.
In Hosea 2:13, the Bible says…
And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.
~ When the Israelites departed from the true worship of God, they wore jewelry.
In Exodus 33:5-6, the Bible says…
For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.
~ God described His people as a stiffnecked people…a stubborn and rebellious people. God commanded that the Israelites were to strip themselves of their ornaments so that He would know what to do with them…to destroy them or not. We can easily infer here that God does not like us wearing ornaments such as jewelry.
In Exodus 35:22, the Bible says…
And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD.
~ God has never approved of the wearing of jewelry. Metals are not meant to be worn on the body, but rather they are approved for use as building material.
THE BEST ORNAMENTS
Throughout this study, we have discovered both the health dangers and spiritual dangers associated with wearing jewelry. We see that God is concerned about our physical well-being and spiritual well-being. The Bible talks about holy women saying “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” (1 Peter 3:3-4). Rather than outward adornment, God is pleased when we put on precious character traits. Will you surrender your beautiful gems and precious metals in exchange for the one precious pearl of great price, Jesus Christ?
