The Stories That Became Jewelry

THE STORIES THAT BECAME JEWELRY

Posted by Christina Zipperlen on July 21, 2026

There are certain symbols that seem to find me, and follow me through life.

They appear subtle at first: a deity I know very little about, a woman whose story unexpectedly reaches into my own, auspicious repeated comments about the moon phase, someone introducing me to a goddess precisely when everything I thought I knew about myself is falling apart.

Whenever a symbol keeps returning, I’ve learned to pay attention as there is usually profound teaching there. I read, I study, I notice the synchronicities. Slowly, almost without realizing it, a relationship begins to form.

Looking back, I can trace entire chapters of my life through these companions.

Over the years I've noticed something else. I rarely create jewelry because I find a symbol beautiful. The opposite is usually true. The symbol works on me first. It changes the way I see the world. Sometimes it stays with me for years before it ever becomes a design.

These are a few of the companions that eventually found their way into Ananda Soul.

GANESHA

When I first traveled to Bali as a University student, years before I actually moved there, I was unacquainted with the elephant-headed god but quickly noticed his presence on the island. In Bali, Ganesha is everywhere. In statues with incense laid at his feet, in chants that fill temples and village streets, and at the entrances to homes and sacred spaces.

For many years, we simply lived alongside each other.

But as my relationship with Bali deepened, I felt the doors opening to understanding and appreciating Ganesha more deeply too.

Years later, when Ananda Soul was born, something happened that expanded my understanding of this very special deity. We welcomed a Ganesha statue into each of our stores, along with the practices and ceremonies that invite you into a deeper relationship with him. Around the same time, I was navigating major life transitions and attempting to heal deep layers of my heart.

As often happens with the symbols that draw me in, Ganesha seemed to appear whenever I found myself standing at a threshold.

Called "The Remover of Obstacles" for a reason, I came to feel his pull as I became a mother, as new beginnings naturally followed endings, and through each ceremony performed for the Ganesha statues I had become responsible for.

Ganesh slowly taught me that the greatest obstacles are rarely outside of us.

They're fear, they are self-doubt, they are grief passed down generations, they are patterns of people pleasing, or old beliefs about who we have to be in order to be loved.

This truth continues to hold me through the thresholds of my life, and through the lessons this island continues to teach me. To me (and I’m not alone in this), Bali and Ganesha are inseparable. Deepening into one has always meant deepening into the other.

Following my pull to this place and this deity has been one of the greatest gifts of my life, and one I continue to explore.

It is that relationship that eventually became jewelry.

Jewelry inspired by Ganesha

View all

Ganapati • Necklace with Rudraksha

$288.00

Shop now

Hold my Hand • Mala

$788.00

Shop now

Yes To Life • Ring

$228.00

Shop now

Yes To Life • Mala

$388.00

Shop now

The Malas , necklaces , and collections are my way of carrying that connection into the world, and sharing a little of what it has given me. Each piece is a reflection of Ganesha's place in my heart, and my hope that these symbols might become meaningful companions in your own life, too.

To me (and I’m not alone in this), Bali and Ganesha are inseparable. Deepening into one has always meant deepening into the other.

MOTHER MARY

You might find it surprising that my relationship with Mother Mary did not begin within a religious tradition. Rather, she arrived as an embodiment of unconditional love, comfort, and care.

Losing my mother at a young age, and the years that followed, was difficult, painful, and life-altering. For many years I had to mother myself, and I became very good at being independent.

Slowly, comfort and support began to appear in unexpected places. I learned to receive love again. As that happened, I found myself drawn to Mother Mary. The more I learned about her, the more she became a presence of the unconditional love I had been longing for all along.

When I became a mother myself, an entirely new understanding of maternal love became available to me. It softened me and reshaped me. The more love I could embody, the more love I could receive. And the more I studied and connected with Mother Mary, the safer love itself began to feel.

It's from this deepening into unconditional love that the You Are Loved collection was born.

I have worn this necklace almost every day since I first held it. I feel deeply connected to this design, to Mary, and to what she symbolizes. My hope is simply that these pieces might offer you some of what they have offered me.

To wear a You Are Loved piece is to carry the comfort of knowing that you are never alone, always held, and safe to surrender into love.

Jewelry inspired by Mother Mary

View all

You Are Loved • Earrings

$168.00

Shop now

You Are Loved • Bracelet

$88.00

Shop now

You Are Loved • Necklace

$258.00

Shop now

You Are Loved • Ring

$158.00

Shop now

MARY MAGDALENE

Some symbols find us through curiosity.

Mary Magdalene found me through heartbreak.

When life seemed to give me more difficult experiences than I felt prepared to navigate, she was there. Reminding me to stay true.

True to myself.
True to my values.
True to the voice within that accepts every part of me.

Mary Magdalene ignited something in me. She gently nudged me towards greater authenticity and open-heartedness, no matter the circumstance.

As I continued studying her teachings, one message came through more and more clearly:

I will hold you through it all.

That message has stayed with me through many seasons of my life. It continues to remind me that even in our hardest moments, we don't have to abandon ourselves.

It is this powerful message, and her powerful presence in my life, that have shown me how to stay true to what matters most to me. I created the Through It All collection so that we might have a wearable reminder of what we're capable of, and how much we can trust our guardians and ourselves.

Jewelry inspired by Mary Magdalene

View all

Through It All • Necklace

$278.00

Shop now

Through It All • Ring

$168.00

Shop now

Through It All Bracelet • Cord

$88.00

Shop now

Through It All • Earrings

$178.00

Shop now

AKHILANDA

There are moments in life that feel like a breaking point. I've certainly had my share, and I'm sure you have too.

Within one of the most uncertain seasons of my life, I began to study, work with, and understand the goddess Akhilanda. I was navigating the longing to become a mother, the isolation and uncertainty of the pandemic, anxiety that often felt bigger than I was, and a relationship that was asking difficult things of me. As old identities began to unravel, there she was.

The Hindu goddess of transformation found me right when I needed her most.

Learning to trust uncertainty is hard, but her energy helped me reframe the questions that weighed heaviest on my heart.

As I began rebuilding, I held these questions close:

What if what is falling apart is not a punishment?
What if it is making space for something that could not emerge otherwise?

I was grateful for the growth and strength I'd found, but I knew I would always carry scars from, and tenderness around, what had been lost.

So I decided to create pieces to honor Akhilanda and the truth that we are never not broken.

There is something comforting to me in knowing that we all carry these scars, and still continue to open ourselves to life.

I wanted to create talismans that honor the balance she so gracefully taught me: between life's challenges and the patience, trust, and strength needed to meet them without being consumed by them.

These lessons are embedded in the Never Not Broken bracelet and the Unbreakable Heart collection.

Bringing these pieces to life took three years. Interrupted by breaking points, major life changes, and the slow work of rebuilding, Akhilanda was there. Guiding them into the world with the reminder that broken doesn't mean damaged, and that some forms of breaking are actually invitations into a larger life.

Never Not Broken • Crystal Bracelet Ananda Soul

Jewelry inspired by Akhilanda

View all

Never Not Broken • Crystal Bracelet

$268.00

Shop now

Threads of Resilience • Ring

$138.00

Shop now

Unbreakable Heart • Necklace

$368.00

Shop now

Unbreakable Heart • Ring

$288.00

Shop now

THE MOON

During the pandemic, I entered a very difficult chapter of my life. I was meeting myself more deeply, trying to understand who I really am. What parts of me were truly my own, and what had been shaped by trauma that was ready to be released.

As I did this work, I came to realize that major changes were needed in my life. I was intimidated by them, and by the impact they would have on my world.

It was around this time that I began working with the moon in a different way than I previously had.

I studied her phases and their energetic signatures. I looked up at the night sky and noticed the quality of each phase in the real world, right outside my window. Through this process, I discovered that I was born under a waxing crescent moon, a phase often associated with those who are well acquainted with darkness, yet continue to carry forward a sliver of hope. A light that will surely grow.

Month after month, I learned more about my own phases by tracking hers.

I opened myself to the truth that, like nature, both the moon and I are meant to wax and wane.

I began making space for creativity under the full moon, and carving out time for deep rest with the new moon. I noticed when the moon I was born under was high in the night sky, and honoured our connection. My intuition grew stronger, and slowly my life became less about controlling, and more about listening.

The Moon collection was born from this experience. From years of personal exploration and studying nature's cycles. As I learned, I created. As I grew, so too did the collection.

For me, the moon has become a reminder that not everything blooms on command, and that life moves in seasons. May we all remember that every season has its place.

If you'd like to discover the moon phase you were born under, we've created a calculator that shares what I learned while developing this collection, and what your personal moon phase might have to teach you too.

DISCOVER YOUR MOON PHASE

Jewelry inspired by the Moon

View all

I Am Whole • Necklace

$388.00

Shop now

Inner Knowing • Necklace

$288.00

Shop now

Into The Light • Necklace

$298.00

Shop now

Luna Crescent • Bracelet

$88.00

Shop now

Inner Knowing • Earrings

$198.00

Shop now

Among The Stars • Ring

$198.00

Shop now

The Universe Has My Back • Necklace

$288.00

Shop now

Manifest Your Dreams • Ring

$188.00

Shop now

I See In The Dark • Necklace

$398.00

Shop now

Dreamseed • Earrings

$168.00

Shop now

Intuitive Wisdom • Ring

$158.00

Shop now

Among The Stars • Necklace

$278.00

Shop now

I've come to believe that symbols matter because stories matter.

They've helped me navigate grief, courage, motherhood, uncertainty, love, and change. They gave shape to experiences I didn't yet have language for. They reminded me of qualities I was still growing into.

Every piece begins there.

Not with a sketch.

But with a relationship.

These symbols have comforted me, challenged me, interrupted me, and changed me long before they became jewelry. Designing has simply become one way of saying thank you.

My hope is that, if one of these symbols keeps finding you too, you'll follow your own curiosity. Sometimes what first appears as a beautiful image eventually becomes a companion for an entire chapter of your life.

Item		Price	Qty	Total
		Subtotal	$0.00
		Shipping
		Total