In the recent past, my feminine love for jewelry finally muscled its way past my long-standing tomboyish tendencies. The Practical Pig in me, however, finds it hard to wear a meaningless piece of bling, so everything I wear must have a meaning. This being the case, I finally gave in to my desire for something shiny when we came across a 50% Off Everything In The Silver Store Sale on Cannery Row; but I couldn't bring myself to buy a dolphin, a whale tail, or an elephant head because I knew I'd never wear it again. So I ended up with a Claddagh ring after years of resisting the temptation.
Sadly, the first thing I realized when we got back home was that my hands had been slightly swollen from hanging by my sides and also from the unusual heat of the day. So the ring does not, in fact, stay on my ring finger, and it's a squeeze to get it past the knuckles of my other fingers. Despite this, I decided to be a trifle rebellious and wear it on my pointer finger. But then the question arose: Which way do I wear it?
I'd heard the tradition many times over, but I'd never managed to get the directions straight in my head. I knew only that I ought not wear it on my left hand or risk becoming an old maid. So I went with my gut and had the crown pointed towards the wrist on my right hand, fairly confident I was proclaiming my availability to any savvy young men who might happen to see it. But I wasn't positive.
So I checked the source of all knowledge and learning: Wikipedia. This is what I got:
"The wearing of a Claddagh ring in modern usage is usually intended to convey the wearer's romantic availability, or lack thereof. The ring is worn on the right hand with the heart oriented away from the wearer, to show that the wearer is not romantically linked. When turned the other way, it shows that the wearer is in a relationship, or their heart has been "captured". When worn on the left hand with the heart oriented again away from the wearer, it implies the wearer is engaged; turned the other way, it indicates the wearer is married."
From this I was led to believe that I was, in fact, wearing it upside-down and that the crown should point towards my fingertip to show the world my lack of a love life. So I flipped it.
But it still felt wrong. So I asked my sister and brother-in-law who both quickly volunteered their knowledge. In the ensuing discussion, there was much confusion regarding which way a heart points - does the top indicate direction or does the pointy part on the bottom? But once we managed to settle on the crown as a reference point, he said towards the fingertip and she said towards the wrist. Hooray for clarity.
That evening I decided to ask my best friend, who also wears a Claddagh and is also single, how she wears hers. She began to explain, but again used the heart rather than the crown as a reference point. By this point I was beginning to see where the confusion comes from. But again, once the crown was chosen to be the pointer, she agreed that it should be towards the wrist. So at this point it seemed to be three against two with the wrist in the lead.
Hoping to find a finalizing vote, I approached the source of all wisdom and power: Google. One link in particular looked promising, so I gave it a whirl.
"The Irish Claddagh Rings are probably the most culturally rich pieces of jewelry ever recorded in history. The meaning, significance and history of the Cladagh ring has a rich ancient past that dates back to over 300 years. The design of the Cladag ring and even the way the ring is worn are all deeply rooted in Irish tradition."
So now I'm not only confused about how to wear it, I'm totally baffled as to how it's even spelled! This particular website continues on to say:
"The meaning and significance of the Claddagh ring is not just in the crown, heart and clasping hands, it also extends to the hand on which the ring is worn and the direction in which the crown on the ring points. In case of a married or engaged person Claddagh rings are worn on the left hand with the crown pointing away from the (the person wearing the ring) heart. For a person willing to consider love the ring is traditionally worn on the right hand with the crown pointing away from the heart. For a person not interested in starting a relationship the Cladagh ring is worn on the right hand with the crown pointing towards the heart."
What??? Where did this come from? So, now I'm telling the world that I'm some Love Scrooge who wants nothing more than to be left alone?!
At this point, the score is: Wrist-3, Fingertip-2, Love Scrooge-1. Based on these findings, I've decided to go with the wrist and comfort myself with the thought that the confusion surrounding these rings gives me about a 50/50 chance of sending the proper message, which is no better and no worse than wearing no ring at all, but has the bonus of getting to wear something shiny!
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