Every piece of jewellery tells a story. But some carry far more than just a style; they carry a life, a breath, a beginning. La Joie en Rose’s breast milk jewellery pieces are exactly that. Before choosing your symbol, there is one fundamental question to ask yourself: what message do you want engraved in gold and in milk?
This guide was created to decode the hidden meanings behind the 10 symbols in our collection. From the star to the rainbow, from the butterfly to the breast, each piece of jewellery will hold a particular significance depending on your journey. Let yourself be guided to find more than just jewellery but the lucky charm piece that truly reflects who you are.
Key takeaways
- Each symbol conveys a precise intention: guidance, resilience, transformation, grounding, purity, strength, or hope after hardship.
- The right symbol transforms a piece of jewellery into a personal talisman, charged with your unique story.
- La Joie en Rose offers 10 carefully chosen symbols to resonate with every facet of motherhood.
- Founded in Canada over 7 years ago and now based in Québec, La Joie en Rose supports every mother in making this symbolic choice.
Why choose a jewellery piece with a symbolic shape?
We live in an era where meaningful objects are reclaiming their importance. Wearing jewellery is no longer just about aesthetics; the meaning behind each piece becomes especially precious when it is tied to a defining moment in our lives.
According to the Institut de la statistique du Québec (November 2024), the breastfeeding rate during the first four months of life rose from 41% for babies born in 1997–1998 to 66% for those born in 2020–2021. Breastfeeding is therefore an experience lived by the vast majority of Québec mothers, and each one deserves to mark it in a way that is uniquely her own. (Source: Institut de la statistique du Québec, 2024)
A symbolic piece of jewellery is so much more than a keepsake. It is a symbol of strength and love. More than mere ornaments, jewellery has always carried meaning tied to the important moments of your life.
At La Joie en Rose, we have observed this for over 7 years: mothers who take the time to choose their symbol and the type of jewellery that suits them don’t wear it the same way as others. They wear it with pride, with intention, with the certainty that this small object says something true about their story.
For some mothers, a star-shaped or tree-of-life-shaped piece of jewellery becomes a symbol of victory over adversity, a daily reminder of the courage, patience, and love invested during breastfeeding.
Jewellery meanings: symbols decoded
La Joie en Rose’s collection of breast milk jewellery was not created by chance. Each of the 10 symbols has been thoughtfully chosen to give jewellery a meaning like a personal lucky charm, deeply connected to the profound experiences of motherhood. Here are the hidden messages most commonly embodied in our jewellery.
The star: light, guidance, and angel babies
Since the beginning of time, stars have fascinated humanity and guided travellers through the night. The star is a symbol of aspiration, hope, and guidance: a solitary star can represent a clear direction in life, while constellations symbolize personal stories and legends.
In the context of motherhood, the Star carries a rare and profound dual meaning. On one hand, it represents the child who illuminates your life, that little light who changed everything. On the other, it is the gentle and universal symbol of angel babies: those children who left too soon, whose presence remains invisible yet eternal in the sky of their family.
The feather: freedom, lightness, and spiritual connection
The feather is one of the most spiritual symbols available. Across cultures, the feather has always been a sacred object: among Indigenous Peoples, it represents peace and freedom of spirit and was used to capture and redistribute benevolent energies.
In the journey of motherhood, the feather evokes something essential: the lightness rediscovered after intensity. Weaning often marks the end of a period of great physical and emotional demand. Choosing the feather is a way to celebrate this moment of flight, not a loss but a new breath.
The moon: femininity, cycles, and maternal wisdom
The moon has been, for millennia, the symbol most closely associated with the feminine. The ancients respected its cycle and lived in harmony with the Moon, a symbol of woman, fertility, mystery, and movement. The full moon phase is linked to motherhood, empathy, and gentle, enveloping emotions.
The moon is the symbol of cycles, of everything that begins, grows, is fulfilled, and then renews itself. Breastfeeding itself is a cycle: the awakening of the body, the production of milk, the feeding, and the weaning. By choosing the moon, you honour every phase of your maternal journey.
The tree of life: family roots, growth, and legacy
The Tree of Life is a universal and ancestral symbol: its roots deeply anchored in the earth nourish its sturdy trunk, while its branches rise majestically toward the sky. This powerful image illustrates the indissoluble bond between the material and spiritual worlds.
In the context of motherhood, this symbolism takes on an even more literal dimension. You are the roots, the source of life, nourishment, and warmth. Your child is the branch that grows because of you.
The drop: purity, the essence of life, and "liquid gold."
The drop is perhaps the most intimate symbol in the entire collection. By its very shape, this pearl suspended in a moment evokes the ephemeral and precious nature of breast milk.
Breast milk has symbolized, for centuries, the transmission of life, the spiritual and cultural heritage, and an act of love and sacrifice through which a mother offers her body for the growth of her child.
Mama/baby: the icon of the sacred bond.
The Mama/Baby motif is the most direct symbol in the collection. It does not seek to metaphorize; it represents. And that is precisely its strength.
This motif embodies an eternal memory between a mother and her child. Worn close to the heart, it preserves the tenderness of those first shared moments and represents that unique, intimate, and eternal bond.
Across centuries and cultures, the silhouette of mother and child is one of the most universally revered images in humanity. It is a universal representation of maternal love, protection, and care. The act of breastfeeding becomes a symbol of the transmission of life.
The rainbow: hope, rebirth, and rainbow babies
The rainbow is perhaps the most emotionally charged symbol in the entire collection. It represents light and hope after the storm, a gentle reminder that life is reborn even after hardship. This is why we speak of rainbow babies.
A rainbow baby is a child born after a perinatal loss: miscarriage, stillbirth, medical termination of pregnancy, or neonatal death. This poetic term illustrates the hope and light that follow a period of great pain. The rainbow baby does not erase the pain of loss, but it represents hope, rebirth, and the light that returns after a dark period.
The word “rainbow” was not chosen by chance. It refers to the expression “After the rain comes the sunshine.” The death of a baby represents the storm, and the birth of the new child represents the sunshine. This succession of rain and sun creates… a magnificent rainbow.
This symbol can also be worn to celebrate resilience after any difficult journey: a challenging breastfeeding experience, an anxiety-ridden pregnancy, or a non-linear path to motherhood. The rainbow says, “You weathered the storm, and here you are.”
The flower: blossoming, beauty, and maternal resilience
The flower is the universal symbol of blossoming, of something that grows, opens, and unfolds its beauty for all to see. It represents the human capacity to transcend life’s difficult conditions and reach spiritual awakening.
In the context of motherhood, the flower speaks to the woman who discovered, in becoming a mother, petals of herself she had not yet known. Breastfeeding, with its joys and its challenges, is itself a flowering. Wearing a flower is to celebrate this inner transformation, this version of yourself that blossomed alongside your child.
The butterfly: metamorphosis, rebirth, and freedom
The butterfly is the ultimate symbol of transformation. Through its journey from cocoon to the unfolding of its wings, it represents the evolution of the soul and the nature of change.
In ancient Greek culture, the butterfly was associated with the human soul; the Greek word “psyché” means both “butterfly” and “soul.” In Indigenous culture, the butterfly is often considered a symbol of spiritual transformation and personal growth.
Motherhood is precisely this: a total metamorphosis. You are no longer the same woman as before. Your body has changed, your relationship with time has changed, and your heart has changed. Breastfeeding, in particular, is a cocooning period, an intense and transformative symbiosis between you and your child. And like the butterfly, you emerge from it different. Larger, more open, more yourself.
The butterfly-shaped jewellery piece invites you onto the path of metamorphosis; this spiritual symbol accompanies you on the journey of self-affirmation and rebirth.
The breasts: source of life, strength, and maternal pride
The breasts symbolize nourishment, in reference to breastfeeding, as well as protection, tenderness, and gentleness.
Wearing this symbol in a piece of breast milk jewellery is an intimate and courageous act of celebration. It is acknowledging that your breasts were far more than a physical attribute; they were a literal source of life. They nourished a human being. They endured nights of feeding, milk let-downs, moments of pain, and moments of absolute fullness.
This symbol speaks to everyone. To those who breastfed for a long time and with pride. To those who struggled, who pumped in difficult conditions, and who suffered in order to give. To those who had a complex relationship with their body during that period or who went through a physical ordeal, such as breast surgery, and who want to reclaim their body by celebrating it.
Boobs Breast Milk Pendant (for the Canadian Cancer Society)
For each piece of this model sold, $ 10 will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Comparison table of the 10 symbols
How to align your intention with your jewellery symbol
The symbol is only part of the message. The intention with which you choose it is equally important. Here are four paths to guide you.
You are celebrating weaning or the end of breastfeeding: The Feather, the Butterfly, or the Tree of Life are your natural allies. They celebrate taking flight, transformation, and the solidity of what you have built.
You are honouring a birth or a breastfeeding journey: The Drop, the Mama/Baby motif, the Breasts, or the Flower speak directly to that moment, the fusion, the fullness, and the pride of a body that gave everything.
You are carrying a loss with light: The Star and the Rainbow accompany you with all the gentleness you need. One honours the angel baby; the other celebrates the life that followed, without ever erasing the one that was lost.
You are celebrating your own transformation: The butterfly, the moon, or the flower speak to the woman that motherhood revealed, this version of yourself that emerged from the cocoon, stronger, more whole, and more free.
More than simple jewellery, a millennial tradition
Keepsake jewellery spans cultures and eras. During the Victorian era, lockets containing miniature portraits or locks of hair from loved ones were particularly popular, a way to commemorate and honour the most precious bonds.
Breast milk jewellery belongs to this same tradition of keepsake jewellery: objects that carry intimate memories, designed to stand the test of time.
At La Joie en Rose, this tradition has been carried forward for years. Each piece is far more than a simple accessory; it is crafted so that your story becomes a transmissible object. Ring, necklace, pendant, earrings: each format is a different way to carry the same story.
$2 per Breast Milk Jewel sold, all models combined, is donated to La Fédération Nourri-Source. A great way to support breastfeeding women and families.
Comments are closed for this article!