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Religious Uses: Pagan, Hebrew, and Christian: Mercury

From this description we learn that the jewel was designed to combine all the powerful astrological influences. The gems chosen to correspond with the various heavenly bodies, and with the aspects known as the ascending and descending nodes, differ in some cases from those selected in the West. For instance, the emerald is here assigned to Mercury, whereas in Western tradition this stone was usually the representative of Venus, although it is sometimes associated with Mercury also. (Morales, "De las piedras preciosas," Valladolid, 1604 (fol. 16 verso)). On the other hand, the diamond is dedicated to Venus, instead of to the Sun as in the Western world. In the naoratna the five gems known to the Hindus as the maharatnani, or "great gems,"--the diamond, pearl, ruby, sapphire, and emerald,--were, as we see, associated with the Sun and Moon, Venus, Mercury, and Saturn, while the four lesser gems (uparatnani)--namely, the jacinth, topaz, cat's-eye, and coral--represent Mars, Jupiter, Rahu, and the descending node. The two last named are very important factors in astrological calculations and are often called the Dragon's Head and the Dragon's Tail. These designations signify the ascending and descending nodes, indicating the passage of the ecliptic by the Moon in her ascent above and descent below this arbitrary plane. In three somewhat obscure passages of the Rig Veda there are references to the seven ratnas. Whether these were gems cannot be determined, since the primary meaning of the word ratna is "a precious object," not necessarily a precious stone; but it is possible that we may have here an allusion to some earlier form of talisman, in which only the Sun, Moon, and the five planets were represented.

It is easy to understand that such a talisman as the naoratna, combining the favorable influences of all the celestial bodies supposed to govern the destinies of man, must have been highly prized, and we may well assume that only the rich and powerful could own this talisman in a form ensuring its greatest efficacy. For the Hindus believed that the virtue of every gem depended upon its perfection, and they regarded a poor or defective stone as a source of unhappiness and misfortune.

In modern times this talisman is sometimes differently composed. A specimen shown in the Indian Court of the Paris Exposition of 1878 consisted of the following stones: coral, topaz, sapphire, ruby, flat diamond, cut diamond, emerald, amethyst, and carbuncle. Here the cut diamond, amethyst, and carbuncle take the place of the jacinth, pearl, and cat's-eye. Instead of uniting the different planetary gems in a single ring, they have sometimes been set separately in a series of rings to be worn successively on the days originally named after the celestial bodies. We read in the life of Apollonius of Tyana (first century A.D.) by Philostratus: "Damis also relates that Iarchas gave to Apollonius seven rings named after the planets, and the latter wore these, one by one, in the order of the week-days." (Philostrati, "De Vita Apollonii,".) Although it is not expressly stated that the appropriate stones were set in the rings, the custom of the time makes it probable that this was the case.