{"title":"Knotted \u0026 Corded","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe endless knot has no beginning and no end, and stands for the fact that nothing stands alone. Red cord is worn for protection and traditionally left on until it falls off by itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd on a mala, the knot between each bead is not decoration. It gives the thumb a stop, keeps the stones from grinding, and means a broken cord costs you one bead rather than a hundred and eight.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"tibetan-protection-cord-bracelet","title":"Tibetan Protection Cord Bracelet","description":"\u003cp\u003eYou are not meant to take this off. You are meant to wear it until it falls off.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThat is the rule for a Tibetan protection cord, a sungdü.\u003c\/strong\u003e It goes on and it stays on, through sleep, showers and work, and it wears down with you. When one finally snaps on its own, the old reading is that it took something that was meant for you. It does not go in the bin. Burn it, or leave it somewhere clean outdoors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis one closes with a sliding knot, so you can take it off. Tradition says you don't.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor anyone who wants protection on them every day, not only on the days they remember it.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWearing it\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePull the sliding knots to size it once and leave it. The braid softens and the colours dull with water and time, and that is the cord doing its job.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hand braided cord\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eColours:\u003c\/strong\u003e Gold, red or blue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFastening:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sliding knot, adjustable to most wrists\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNote:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hand braided, so the run of colour differs a little on each one\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Earth Tibet","offers":[{"title":"Gold","offer_id":52407387423022,"sku":"200001034:5740#A","price":37.58,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Red","offer_id":52407387390254,"sku":"200001034:96235566#C","price":37.58,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Blue","offer_id":52407387357486,"sku":"200001034:361180#B","price":37.58,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1000\/4807\/7102\/files\/tibet-protection-rope-bracelet-4.webp?v=1789025916"},{"product_id":"peach-blossom-ruyi-knot-bracelet","title":"Peach Blossom Ruyi Knot Bracelet","description":"\u003cp\u003eRuyi (如意) means as you wish. It is the name of a sceptre, a knot, and a whole category of Chinese ornament.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe original ruyi was a curved sceptre carried by officials and monks, with a head shaped like a lingzhi (靈芝) mushroom or a stylised cloud. It was given as a gift to say exactly what the name says: may things go the way you want them to. The knot version compresses all of that into cord.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe peach blossom is more specific. \u003cstrong\u003eTaohua (桃花) is romance luck, and unlike most Chinese charms this one is unambiguously about attraction and finding someone.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRed cord, which is the protective colour, and also the colour of the thread that in the legend ties two people together before they ever meet. Fine and dainty, so it layers well with whatever else is already on the wrist.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor anyone actively looking. \u003cstrong\u003eChinese charms are usually circumspect about what they are for. This one is not.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eLooking after cotton cord\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eCotton fades and softens with wear and will eventually give out. That is the intended life of a cord, and the traditional response is to tie on another.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe obvious thing to give a friend who has just started dating again, and it says the thing you would be too polite to say out loud.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Braided cotton\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSizing:\u003c\/strong\u003e Adjustable\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eKnot:\u003c\/strong\u003e Ruyi (如意) knot with taohua (桃花), peach blossom\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNote:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hand braided, each one slightly different\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Earth Tibet","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52407388111150,"sku":"200001034:5740#A","price":42.6,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1000\/4807\/7102\/files\/peach-blossom-ruyi-knot-bracelet-3.webp?v=1787650460"},{"product_id":"lapis-bead-cord-bracelet","title":"Lapis Bead Cord Bracelet","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor most of history this blue cost more than gold, and there was only one place to get it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLapis lazuli came out of a single valley in Afghanistan and was traded across the entire ancient world from there. Ground down it became ultramarine, the pigment Renaissance painters reserved for the Virgin's robe because it was too expensive to use anywhere else. Tutankhamun's mask uses it. So do the murals in the Mogao caves (莫高窟).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn Tibetan Buddhism the Medicine Buddha (薬師佛) is depicted the colour of lapis, which is about the highest compliment a tradition can pay a stone.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDeliberately minimal here: a few beads and a lot of cord, so the blue has room around it. Look closely and you will find gold flecks of pyrite scattered through the stone, which is how lapis has always been recognised.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor anyone who buys stones for the history. \u003cstrong\u003eLapis has one of the longest trading stories of any stone on earth.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eLooking after lapis\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eLapis is relatively soft as stones go and doesn't like prolonged water, so take it off for swimming and long showers. The pyrite flecking varies bead to bead, which is the mark of the real material.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBlue is rare in Chinese jewellery, which is most of why this reads differently against anything else you wear.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Lapis lazuli beads on braided cotton\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSizing:\u003c\/strong\u003e Adjustable\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFinish:\u003c\/strong\u003e Tassel\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNote:\u003c\/strong\u003e Natural stone, colour and flecking vary bead to bead\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Earth Tibet","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52407388012846,"sku":"200001034:5740#A","price":43.85,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1000\/4807\/7102\/files\/lapis-bead-cord-bracelet-2.webp?v=1787652536"},{"product_id":"gold-thread-knot-bracelet","title":"Gold Thread Knot Bracelet","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere was a time you were not allowed to wear this.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReal gold-wrapped thread was court material in imperial China, reserved for official dress and temple hangings, and the embroidery techniques for couching it down without snapping it were held inside the workshops that knew them. The dragon robes are the famous survivors. \u003cstrong\u003eThe thread carried rank before it ever carried decoration.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat is left of that is the association. Gold reads as yang, the bright and active side of the pair, which is why a plain cord with gold running through it feels like a different object from the same cord without it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere is a practical half to this as well. Cotton is matte and disappears against skin at more than a couple of metres. Metallic thread catches light and keeps catching it as the wrist moves, so this is the cord that is meant to be seen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor anyone who wants a cord that reads as deliberate. A plain cotton one looks like something somebody tied on for you. \u003cstrong\u003eThis one looks chosen.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eLooking after metallic thread\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe gold thread wears faster than cotton and will dull first, with the cotton fading and softening behind it. Both are the material doing what it does, and neither is repairable, which is part of why a cord is a temporary object by design.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDressy enough to work with a shirt, where a plain braid would look out of place.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Braided cotton with metallic thread\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSizing:\u003c\/strong\u003e Adjustable\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNote:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hand braided, each one slightly different\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Earth Tibet","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52407388995886,"sku":"200001034:5740#A","price":37.58,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1000\/4807\/7102\/files\/golden-thread-knot-bracelet-5.webp?v=1787646438"},{"product_id":"amethyst-rose-quartz-self-love-mala","title":"Amethyst Rose Quartz Self Love Mala","description":"\u003cp\u003eLoving-kindness practice starts with you, and most people find that the hardest part.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe order is fixed and it does not begin where you would expect. First yourself. Then someone you love. Then someone you feel nothing much about. Then someone you find difficult. Then everyone. \u003cstrong\u003eYou are not allowed to skip the first one.\u003c\/strong\u003e The whole practice rests on the idea that you cannot hand out what you have not got, and plenty of people arrive at the second stage having quietly rushed the first.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhich is the reason rose quartz is on this strand. It is the stone people reach for when the obstacle is their own judgment of themselves, and here it runs in one long unbroken stretch rather than scattered through, so a real portion of every round happens inside it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAmethyst makes up the rest, and its job is practical.\u003c\/strong\u003e It is the steadying stone, kept for an uncrowded head, which is precisely what gets you to the end of a round instead of halfway and then somewhere else entirely.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe pale blue-green beads are amazonite, spaced around the strand with a small silver disc either side. On a mala those are counters. They let your thumb know how far round you have come without you holding a number in your head.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere are 108 beads because Buddhism counts 108 afflictions, and a mala gives you one for each.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou do not cross the guru bead.\u003c\/strong\u003e When your thumb reaches the large amethyst above the tassel the round is finished, so you turn the strand and go back the way you came. Crossing it is stepping over the teacher.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA matching bracelet is included free, in four sizes.\u003c\/strong\u003e Same three stones, and it is the part you can wear on a day you are never going to sit down at all. Worth measuring your wrist before you order.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor anyone whose practice keeps stalling at the first stage.\u003c\/strong\u003e It is soft enough in colour to wear as a necklace when it is not in your hands, which is not true of every strand.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWearing and using it\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eLeft hand, one bead per breath or per recitation, thumb drawing each one toward you, and turn back at the guru bead. If you are only wearing it, none of that applies. Amethyst and rose quartz both fade in strong sun over a long enough time, so do not leave it on a windowsill.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBeads:\u003c\/strong\u003e 108 plus guru bead\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eStones:\u003c\/strong\u003e Amethyst, rose quartz and amazonite counters\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBead size:\u003c\/strong\u003e 8mm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFinish:\u003c\/strong\u003e Silver-toned discs, purple silk tassel\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIncluded free:\u003c\/strong\u003e Matching bracelet, four sizes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWear:\u003c\/strong\u003e Wraps at the wrist or over the head\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNote:\u003c\/strong\u003e Natural stone. The banding in the amethyst differs on every bead\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Earth Tibet","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52594947850542,"sku":"200001033:361180#Bracelet","price":62.67,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1000\/4807\/7102\/files\/self-love-calm-mala-3.webp?v=1788849220"},{"product_id":"azure-light-healing-mala","title":"Azure Light Healing Mala","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Buddha people recite to when somebody is ill is made of this stone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e藥師琉璃光如來, the Medicine Buddha, translates as Medicine Master of Lapis Lazuli Light.\u003c\/strong\u003e The sutra describes his body as lapis the whole way through, clear inside and out, and his pure land as a country built of the same blue. He is the figure turned to over an illness, a recovery, a diagnosis that has just landed. So the blue running down this strand is not there because blue is restful. It is his light, and that is what the name means.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe guru bead is clear quartz, and you can see the cord running through it.\u003c\/strong\u003e Every other mala here finishes on a stone you cannot see into. On this one the light goes straight through the bead your round ends on, which is as close as a string of beads gets to a body described as clear inside and out.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost of the strand is lapis, deep blue with gold flecks through it and the occasional white streak. \u003cstrong\u003eThe gold is not added.\u003c\/strong\u003e It is pyrite, which grows inside lapis while the stone forms, and a lapis bead with no gold in it anywhere has usually been dyed to get there. It is the quickest way to tell the real thing from the reconstituted powder that most cheap lapis actually is.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the lapis the blue runs shallow and turns. \u003cstrong\u003eTurquoise\u003c\/strong\u003e, pale blue \u003cstrong\u003echalcedony\u003c\/strong\u003e, green \u003cstrong\u003eaventurine\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the teal stone with dark veining called phoenix stone. It usually means \u003cstrong\u003echrysocolla\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the dark webbing running through it is the rock it grew in, not a crack and not a flaw. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTwo black onyx beads sit where the blue ends.\u003c\/strong\u003e Marker beads exist so your thumb can find its place on a strand without you looking down or counting back. On this one they fall right where the colour turns, so you feel the change and see it in the same moment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA matching bracelet is included free, in four sizes.\u003c\/strong\u003e Same stones and the same run of colour, small enough to wear to work without explaining it. Worth measuring your wrist before you order.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor anyone recovering, and for anyone sitting with someone who is.\u003c\/strong\u003e This is the strand people reach for during an illness, which is a different reason from wanting to feel calm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWearing and using it\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLeft hand, one bead per breath or per recitation, thumb drawing each one toward you. When you reach the guru bead the round is finished, so turn the strand and go back rather than crossing it. If you are only wearing it, none of that applies. There is no metal anywhere on it, no clasp and no spacers, so there is nothing on it to react against skin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBeads:\u003c\/strong\u003e 108 plus a clear quartz guru bead\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eStones:\u003c\/strong\u003e Lapis lazuli, phoenix stone, turquoise, blue chalcedony, green aventurine, black onyx and clear quartz\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBead size:\u003c\/strong\u003e 8mm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFinish:\u003c\/strong\u003e Knotted cord with a blue silk tassel. No metal anywhere\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIncluded free:\u003c\/strong\u003e Matching bracelet, four sizes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWear:\u003c\/strong\u003e Wraps at the wrist or goes over the head\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNote:\u003c\/strong\u003e Natural stone. The gold flecking and white streaking differ on every lapis bead, and the greens vary from strand to strand\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Earth Tibet","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52594947752238,"sku":"200001033:361181#Necklace","price":68.94,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1000\/4807\/7102\/files\/lapis-chalcedony-mala-3.webp?v=1788939102"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.earthtibet.com\/collections\/knotted-corded.oembed","provider":"Earth Tibet","version":"1.0","type":"link"}