When ancient humans discovered fire, they soon after invented the lantern to protect that fire from wind and rain, or to prevent that fire from accidentally spreading beyond its confines. A fire on a wooden ship, for example, would be a catastrophe. The pirate code of Captain John Phillips, therefore, demanded that all flames below deck be protected by a lantern. Lamps were also used as signaling devices, as guiding lights, or as warnings (such as in a lighthouse).

The ancient Chinese captured fireflies in semi-transparent containers for use as ceremonial lanterns. Many Asian festivals feature lanterns, such as the Ghost Festival, where lanterns are set afloat in a river or the sea to guide the lost souls of ancestors to the afterlife. Before the development of glass, lantern windows were made of flattened animal horn scraped paper-thin.

Lanterns are a universal symbol of illumination, transcendence, and guiding light. Lanterns help light the way forward by pushing aside the surrounding darkness. One individual can hold a lantern for the benefit of many. This lamp can also symbolize your own inner light that guides your soul through periods of darkness to the promise of a new day. Lanterns cast a beautiful, comforting, welcoming glow that calls to the spiritual, the meditative, or to a gathering of friends within its circle of light.

Wear this OHM LANTERN proudly on your bracelet as a symbol of your unique light that guides you, and others, through life’s cycles of night and shadow.