The Talismanic Use of Special Stones
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones
(See also the writer's pamphlet: "The Folk-Lore of Precious Stones," Chicago, 1894; a paper read before the Folk-Lore Congress held at the…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Arnoldus
Beryl Arnoldus Saxo, writing about 1220, after reciting the virtues of the beryl as given by Marbodus, after Evax and Isidorus, reports in…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Rumphius
Rumphius (Rumphius, "Amboinsche Rariteitkamer," Amsterdam, 1741.) states that in 1687 he was told by a chirurgeon that the latter had seen…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Lapidario
The wearing of carnelians is recommended by the Lapidario of Alfonso X ("Lapidario del Rey D. Alfonso X," codice original, Madrid, 1881…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Just
In the name of God the Just, the very Just! I implore you, O God King of the World, God of the World, deliver us from the devil Who tries…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: India
An Armenian writer of the seventeenth century reports that in India the lal or balas-ruby, if powdered and taken in a potion was believed…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Ceylon
Chrysoberyl The cat's-eye variety of chrysoberyl, or precious cat's-eye, is used by the natives of Ceylon as a charm against evil spirits…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: History
In our own land beautiful specimens can be seen in the Morgan collection at the American Museum of Natural History and in the Higinbotham…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Volmar
Chrysoprase Wonderful things are told of the virtue of the chrysoprase, for Volmar states that, if a thief sentenced to be hanged or…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Coral
Coral The appreciation of coral as an ornament, or for amulets, seems to presuppose a certain development of civilization, for savage…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Buddhabhatta
The Hindus classed diamonds according to the four castes. The Brahmin diamond gave power, friends, riches and good luck; the Kshatriya…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Hindu
The ancient Hindu gem-treatise of Buddhabhatta asserts that the diamond of the Brahmin should have the whiteness of a shell or of…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Talmud
The Talmud shows us that the Jewish Rabbis sometimes endeavored to enliven their exhaustive discussions of ritual and legal questions by…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Africa
It is said that the first large diamonds discovered by Europeans in South Africa were found in the leather bag of a sorcerer. Although…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Pueblo
The high degree of skill possessed by the Pueblo workers is strikingly shown in a finely inlaid hematite cylinder found in Pueblo Bonito…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Chinese
The original form of the Chinese character pao, signifying "precious," consists of the outline of a house, within which are the symbols of…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Claudian
The Roman poet Claudian (fifth century A.D.) relates that the priests of a certain temple, in order to offer a dramatic spectacle to the…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Indians
Moonstone The moonstone is believed to bring good fortune and is regarded as a sacred stone in India. It is never displayed for sale there…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Hindus
Ruby The ruby has many names in Sanskrit, some of them clearly showing that it was more valued as a gem by the Hindus than any other. For…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Star
The star sapphire is that variety of sapphire in which, when the stone is cut and rounded off horizontal with the dome of the crystal, the…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Burton
The great Oriental traveller, Sir Richard Francis Burton, had a large star sapphire or asteria, as it was called. He referred to it as his…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Boot
Not long after, the powers of De Boot's turquoise were put to the test. As he was returning to Bohemia from Padua, where he had just taken…
The Talismanic Use of Special Stones: Mexico
The turquoise of the Los Cerillos mines in New Mexico is rudely extracted by building large fires at the base of the rock until it becomes…