George Frederick Kunz

“ Beauty of color or lustre in a stone or some quaint form attracts the eye of the savage, and his choice of material for ornament or adornment is also conditioned by the toughness of some stones as compared with the facility with which others can be chipped or polished.
Whereas a gem might be prized for its beauty by a single individual owner, a stone of curious and suggestive form sometimes claimed the reverence of an entire tribe, since it was thought to be the abode or the chosen instrument of some spirit or genius. ”

“ Thus with a costume of glowing red, the ruddy ruby would be chosen, a sky-blue costume would insure the wearing of the justly popular sapphire, dress of a golden-yellow hue would call for one of the shades of topazes, while the “new brown,” now so much in vogue, finds its complementary stone in topaz of a slightly darker shade. The grass-green costume would suggest one of the many beautiful shades of the tourmaline, and jewelry of the pink tourmaline would be appropriate to garments of this color. ”

“ After a number of white pebbles have been steeped for a time in this blood, the rain-maker ties them up in strips of bark and sinks them in some deep water-hole in which a diabolical spirit is supposed to dwell. The natives confidently assert that this ceremony is soon followed by the desired rainfall. As the belief prevails here as elsewhere, that these white stones or pebbles to retain their power must not be looked upon by a woman, it seems a little strange that the rain-bringing stone is dipped in a young girl’s blood. ”

“ In the night time the man or spirit again appeared and strictly enjoined the Fijian not to let anyone see his crystal but told him that if he wished for anything he only had to look into the stone. The possession of this treasure earned a wonderful repute for the Fijian as a medicine-man, as when any sick person sought for help one look into the stone revealed the proper remedy for the disease. ”

“ Emerald The emerald is especially commended for amulets to be suspended from the necks of children; it is believed to preserve them from epileptic convulsions and to prevent the falling sickness; but if the violence of the disease is such that it cannot be overcome by the stone, the latter breaks up. Bound to a woman’s thigh it is said to hasten parturition; hanging from the neck it drives off vain fears and evil spirits. It strengthens the memory, restores the sight, reveals adultery and gives a knowledge of the future, produces eloquence and increases wealth. ”

“ One of the most solemn acts performed by the pilgrims at Mecca is the kissing of the Black Stone, and should any one doubt that true religious enthusiasm is aroused by this act, he should read the following words of Ibn Batoutah: [157]
The eyes perceive in it a wonderful beauty, similar to that of a young bride; in kissing it one feels a pleasure that delights the mouth, and whoever kisses it wishes he might never cease to do so; for this is an inherent quality in it and a divine grace in its favor. ”

“ A sacred well on the north side of Lough Neagh, Ireland, lends peculiar sanctity to the yellow crystals found in great quantity near by. The belief in their miraculous quality finds expression in the legend that they grow up out of the ground on Midsummer Night, and whosoever wishes to possess them as talismans must pronounce certain magic rhymes in the act of collecting them. They then become luck-bringers of potent virtue and ensure the prosperity of the household in which they are guarded. ”

“ The belief that turquoise changes its hue with the changing health of the wearer leads an early seventeenth century author to offer it as a symbol of wifely devotion, saying that “a true wife should be like a turquoise stone, clear in heart in her husband’s health, and cloudy in his sickness.” ”

“ Cardano says that when the weather was fine the stone became obscure and dull, but when a tempest was impending, it assumed the ruddy hue of a burning coal. It also lost its color when in contact with any one suffering from disease, more especially from the plague. [595]
As a result of his study of precious stones, Cardano was induced to affirm that they had life, but he gravely states that he had never noted that they possessed sex (a common belief in his day) , although “as nature delights as much in miracle as we do, some may be so constituted that they are almost distinguished by sex.” ”

“ The alectorius or “cock-stone” is one of the most famous of those real or supposed animal concretions that were known in ancient times. From the age of Pliny—and unquestionably long before his time—there was a popular belief that this stone was only to be found in the gizzard of a cock which had been caponed when three years old, and had lived seven years longer. This was believed to allow the substance to acquire its boasted virtue, for the longer it remained in the body of the capon, the greater its power. Such a “cock-stone” never exceeded the size of a bean. ”

“ The “Philosopher’s Stone,” the fond dream of so many who delved into nature’s mysteries in the past, does not seem so improbable to-day as it did twenty years ago. The recent discovery of the element radium, which is produced from the element uranium, and the story of the strange and protean changes of radium into helium, neon and argon, according to the environment in which it is placed, have given the death-blow to the old idea of the immutability of the elements. ”

“ These women carried with them a quartz crystal (as did many of the medicine-men of the Indian tribes) or a rolled fragment of quartz found in the river beds. They affirmed that this crystal had been entered by a mighty spirit who dwelt in one of the great volcanoes which existed in that region (called pillan in the native tongue) . This spirit inspired the medicine-woman with a knowledge of what she should tell those who came to her for advice or for forecasts of the future.
A medicine-woman will never show the crystal, because, as the abode of a spirit, it must not be seen. ”

“ In the symbolism of the Manichean sect, an early Christian heresy owing its origin to a direct and predominant influence of Persian ideas, pearls occupy a prominent place. A legendary or poetic pearl called “the bright moon” was the symbol of compassion, and one of the treatises ends with the words: “Our heart has received the majestic splendor of the pearl granting every wish.” We are also told of “a diamond pillar” which sustains humanity, and the Messenger of Light is likened to a perfumed mountain entirely composed of a mass of jewels. ”

“ After noting the power of the jasper (probably the red variety) to check hemorrhages from any part, and its general effect upon the circulation of the blood in reducing the pulse, thus calming desire and quieting the restless mind, Cardano turns to another of the reputed virtues of this stone, that of rendering the wearer victorious in battle. The true reason for this he finds in the stone’s tendency to diminish passion, and hence to render the wearer timid and cautious, for “the timid usually conquer, since they avoid a doubtful contest if possible.” ”

“ A curious traditional belief is current in some parts of India, notably in Ceylon, to the effect that the male cobra, during the night, uses a certain luminous stone to lure its prey and to attract the female. This is probably the chlorophane, a variety of fluorite, a substance which shines with a phosphorescent light in the darkness, and this quality, quite mysterious in the eyes of the natives, may have induced them to associate the stone with the snake, the epitome of all subtlety and cunning. ”

“ In a wonderful specimen now at the American Museum of Natural History there is an object like a small spider of hydrocarbon which sinks while a minute water-bubble rises. They are called fair-weather stones.
Tasmanian rain-makers use white stones in their magical rites; however, the stone by itself is not considered an effective talisman, for it must be dipped in the blood of a young girl to give it added power. ”

“ If the existence of thunder-stones was regarded as doubtful at a time when physicists had scarcely any idea of the nature of thunder, it is even less admissible to-day, when modern physicists have discovered the effects of this natural phenomenon are the same as those of electricity. There is no record that the fulgarite, the fused sand or rock struck by the lightning, has ever been used. ”

“ A modern German writer on amulets has proposed to apply the term “emanism” (Emanismus) to the virtue existing or supposed to exist in amulets and talismans, and gives as his opinion that their virtue is neither a spiritual nor a personal one, but the operation of forces, the latter not being special, mysterious vital forces, but impersonal physical components and qualities, and that these exercise their influence by means of emanation. Wundt has held that the very earliest amulets were parts of the human body, and almost always such parts as were believed to be the bearers of the soul. ”

“ The grandeur and the overwhelming power of the material world are probably as much or even more felt in our prosaic age than they were in the earliest times, but this sentiment is sometimes coupled with a sense of distrust—happily neither general nor permanent—as to the presence in this tremendous and inspiring aggregate of forces of any distinct and definite evidence of the working of an intelligence closely similar to our own. ”

“ Of late years there has been a marked tendency to increase the number of holidays, and in a few cases to revive the celebration of old holidays, but the popular idea of the best way to celebrate these occasions seems to be confined to making them carnivals of noise and disorder. This is largely owing to a lack of intelligent guidance, for it is too much to expect that any people, above all those so practical as our American people, can spontaneously evolve, at short notice, an emblematic expression of the idea underlying the festival. ”

“ Pebble-mania or lithomania is an inherent trait in all mankind. From the most primitive man to the most modern, especially those of optimistic and investigating tendencies, this trait is present in a greater or lesser degree. That is, curious people would collect pebbles for their bright colors, or markings, for their transparency or translucence, and those of an investigating turn of mind, under the impression that the find was perhaps a diamond or a gem of some kind. ”

“ So singularly natural and artistic is this strange gem, that it is difficult to banish the conviction that we are not gazing upon a fine example of a miniature done by an impressionist. [79] Another interesting, though somewhat less notable example, was a polished flint, of a brownish-gray hue, bearing a half-front miniature of an aged head and face marked in a light brownish-white; [80] still another offered the representation of a human head, the face half turned away; this was also a flint, the groundwork of a light horn-color, the design being of a still lighter shade of the same color. ”

“ Even at the present day, the superstitious belief in the magic properties of the prehistoric stone implements still survives among some of the Scandinavian peasants. They believe that these offer protection against lightning, and they are very unwilling to part with them. In some regions the stone axes or arrow-heads are supposed to afford protection against lightning, and they are occasionally used to relieve the pangs of childbirth. In the latter case they are placed in the bed of the suffering woman. Another curious use to which they are put is as a cure for an eruptive disease of children. ”

“ Whether the conscious aim of the alchemist was the discovery of an actual stone, or merely the discovery of some process for turning a valueless substance into one of great value, is not clearly ascertainable from the purposely vague and obscure treatises on alchemy. ”

“ The vessel proper, which is carved from several exceptionally large pieces of coral, rests upon a flat, silver-gilt base, ornamented with two dragons, and is crowned with an oval framework of lapis lazuli leaves; upon this framework is a coral statuette of Amitabha, the “Lord of Boundless Light,” revered as the emanation of Adi-Buddha, supported by a lotus flower of white chalcedony. At the apex of the leafy oval rests a representation in white chalcedony of a crescent moon, above is a sun in yellow stone from which springs a coral flame, symbolizing the radiance of wisdom (nada) . ”

“ Pilgrims came from far and near to the shrine of Sainte Foy, for she worked marvellous cures upon those who appealed to her for help, even giving sight to the blind. Her grace appears to have been bestowed upon animals as well as upon human beings, a fantastic legend relating that she had raised donkeys from the grave! Naturally the pilgrims must bring rich gifts, as otherwise the saint might turn a deaf ear to their prayers. ”

“ The electric or magnetic gems, tourmaline, amber, and loadstone, possess not only great scientific interest, but demonstrate the fact that a certain energy really does proceed from some of these fair, ornamental objects, an energy that produces a positive action from without upon the human body. This may well serve to make us less resolutely sceptical as to the possible presence in gem-stones of some other forms of emanation not as yet susceptible of scientific determination. ”