BALAS: BLOODSTONE: BONE TURQUOISE: CAIRNGORM, AN ANCIENT CAUTERISER: CARBUNCLE: THE PATHWAY OF THE FOURTH HEAVEN ILLUMINATED THE ARK OF NOAH: “A BURNING GEM”: THE MAGICIAN OF KING KAJATA: THE LUSTROUS CARBUNCLE OF CEYLON: NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE’S STORY: VIRTUES OF THE STONE: A CAPTAIN’S TALISMAN AT GALLIPOLI: CARNELIAN AND THE SARD: SENSITIVENESS OF THESE STONES: SARD INTAGLI: ALARIC THE GOTH AND HIS CARNELIAN: MADAME BLAVATSKY AND THE SHAMANS OF TARTARY: OCCULT VIRTUES OF THE CARNELIAN: MEANING IN ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES: MOSLEM TRADITION. CATSEYE, ITS CURIOUS OPALESCENCE: LORE OF THE CATSEYE: RABBI BEN ADOULAH’S ASSERTION: THE EYE OF BELUS: CEYLINITE: CHALCEDONY: PERSIAN CYLINDERS: SIGNET OF DARIUS: EARLY IDENTIFICATION BY ALBERTUS MAGNUS: PLINY’S DESCRIPTION: STONE OF ST. STEPHEN: VIRTUES OF THE CHALCEDONY: CHALCEDONYX: CHERT: CHIASTOLITE: STONE OF ST. JAMES: PEDRO THE CRUEL: MIGUEL PEREZ AND THE BLOOD-RED CROSS: MARSHAL SOULT’S PLUNDER: THE STONE OF COLUMBUS: CHRYSOBERYL, ITS VIRTUES: CRYSOCOLLA, A MUSICAL CHARM.

BALAS. See SPINEL.

BLOODSTONE. See HAEMATITE and JASPER.

BONE TURQUOISE or Odontolite. Bone turquoise is often mistaken for true turquoise. It is really fossil teeth or bones coloured blue by the action of phosphate of iron. Its organic difference can easily be seen under a good glass. ODONTOLITE is under the influence of the zodiacal Capricorn; it is a degree less in hardness than the true turquoise, being in this respect equal to apatite and lapis lazuli.

BORT. (See DIAMOND.)

CAIRNGORM or SCOTCH TOPAZ.

The mountain cairngorm, the name of which comes from the Gaelic CARNGORM, meaning Blue Cairn, is between the shires of Aberdeen, Banff and Inverness, and it is there that the cairngorm stones are mostly found. The stone is a variety of quartz of a fine smoky yellow or brown colour. It is found in other places than the Cairngorm Mountains, and has usurped many of the attributes of the true topaz. It is remarkable for its brilliance and beauty, and was known to the ancients. According to Pliny, this stone was used by old physicians for cauterizing affected parts of the body by directing the sun’s rays through it after the manner of a “burning glass.” It was carried in times of epidemics as a protective charm, and it was held to bestow a degree of craft and subtlety on the wearer. As a martial stone in harmony with Scotland, it was set in the head of dirks and other knives, and adorned the Highland dress. The Cairngorm was considered a talisman against venereal diseases, sore throats, etc.

It is under the zodiacal Scorpio.

CARBUNCLE

The name Carbuncle is derived from the Latin CARBUNCULUS, diminutive of CARBO, a coal. During the past centuries it has been written as charbucle, charbokel, charbokll, cherbukkill, carbokyl, charboncle, carbunculum, karboncle, carbunacle, carbuncle stone. Of it Dr. Wilkins writes: “It is believed that a carbuncle does shine in the dark like a burning coal, from whence it has its name.”

The carbuncle is the Iron Alumina Garnet known as Almandine or Almandite, which varies in colour shades from red, ruby red, columbine red to brownish red. The name is said to be derived from the town of Alabanda in Asia Minor where, according to Pliny, the Carbunculi Amethystozontes were cut. Dr. Holland’s translation of the passage relating to the carbuncle in Pliny, Book XXXVII, is as follows: “Amongst these red gems the rubies otherwise called carbuncles challenge the principall place and are esteemed richest; they have their name in Greek of the likenesse unto fire, and yet fire hath no power of them which is the reason that some call them apyroti.” The apyroti is our pyrope which indicates “fiery” in Greek. It is a magnesia alumina garnet and was, as it now is, cut en cabochon. Specimens chosen for this purpose are from deep to black red.

Almandines form the pathways of the Fourth Heaven (Dar as-Salam) of the Muhammedans; and the traditional symbol of the Ark illuminated by a large carbuncle stone occurs in the Rabbinical writings. To students of the mysteries this must ever appeal as a forceful and subtle symbol of man’s immortality and sublime power. Leonardus writes of the carbuncle “brandishing its fiery rays on every side and in the dark appearing like a fiery coal.” “It is regarded,” he says, “as the first among ‘burning gems.’” That the carbuncle gave out a glowing light without reflection is frequently repeated by ancient authors, and the Palace of the Magician in the Russian story of King Kajata was hewn out of a single carbuncle which lit up the whole surrounding district. Sir E. Tennant quotes from a Chinese work a narrative which tells that “early in the 14th century the Emperor sent an officer to Ceylon to purchase a carbuncle of unusual lustre which was fitted as a ball to the cap of the Emperor of that country. It was upwards of an ounce in weight and cost 100,000 strings of cash. Each time a grand levee was held at night the red lustre filled the palace, and hence it was designated the Red Palace Illuminator.”

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s beautiful story of “The Great Carbuncle” in his “Twice-told Tales” is based on the Indian tradition which is, he says, “too wild and too beautiful to be adequately wrought up in prose.” Nevertheless the author does so with old-world charm: “Some few believe that this inestimable stone is blazing as of old, and say that they have caught its radiance like a flash of summer lightning, far down the valley of the Saco. And be it owned that many a mile from the Crystal Hills I saw a wondrous light around their summits and was lured by the faith of poesy to be the last pilgrim of the Great Carbuncle.”

In the Middle Ages the carbuncle was worn as a charm to protect the wearer against the plague, and it was said to protect travellers on long voyages by sea from drowning, and by land from accidents. It was also credited with the power of resisting poisons, of averting evil thoughts and dreams. It was an up-lifter of the soul and a preserver of the health of the body. When its lustre changed, the death of the wearer was indicated. In addition to being the stone of undying hope and the dispeller of sadness, the Indians and Arabs credit it with protecting from wounds and harm in the midst of battle. A story was told to the author by the mother of an Australian Captain born, according to astrology, with the Sun rising in the sign of the Archer. This officer wore at the author’s suggestion a ring of carbuncle. At Gallipoli he, with a few men, was cut off by incessant gunfire which, although directed their way, did not injure them and from which they were eventually rescued. During this ordeal the Captain looked often at his calm, flame-burning ring, the unearthly brightness of which seemed to him an emblem of salvation.

Emanuel Swedenborg compared the carbuncle with the good of celestial love, and it was regarded as a heart stimulant by some old medical writers. It represents the red arterial blood and is connected with the fiery sign of the zodiac Sagittarius. A great part of Australia is much influenced by this sign according to astrology and large quantities of extremely beautiful almandines—which were at one time mistaken for rubies and termed “Australian rubies”—have been already found.

To dream of the carbuncle was said to indicate acquirement of wisdom.

The carbuncle is under the zodiacal Sagittarius.

CARNELIAN

The Carnelian obtains its name from the Latin word Carnis, flesh, which describes its colour. The Sard (Greek, Sarx, flesh) called by Swedenborg and the ancients the “sardine Stone,” of a deeper brownish red is said by Pliny to have been named from Sardis in Asia Minor. Carnelian is also written cornelian, cornelien, and carnelion. Woodward in his “Natural History” (1695) alludes to the ancient Roman tradition that the pale red carnelians were called females and the deeper colours males. The yellow carnelian was anciently regarded as the female loved by the Sun. These gems are extremely sensitive, being affected by oils and acids. It has been demonstrated from olden times that carnelians exposed to the rays of the sun were brightened and heightened in colour, a result which could not be obtained by ordinary heat. The carnelian and sard were greatly used in all ages, and many beads, charms and ornaments have been found in the old lands. The writer had in his possession two beautiful Etruscan scarabs of sard—one bearing a portrait of Æsculapius and the snake, the other portraying Venus disrobing—neither of which had suffered much from the attacks of time.

Mr. King describes a sard intaglio showing an Ibis stepping out of a nautilus shell, seizing a snake—a symbol of the eternal war between the Sun, represented by the Ibis, on the stone of the Sun, and the earth moistures, represented by the snake. Another from the Rhodes collection represents Venus showing Cupid how to use the bow, appropriately cut on a sard or heart stone; another, also cut on sard, shows Cupid riding on a lion—symbol of the Sun and the heart (organ of the Sun in astrophilosophy).

Alaric the Goth entered the city of Rome with his victorious army August 27th in the year 410 A. D. His birthday cannot be ascertained with any degree of certainty, but it may have been somewhere near that time for he wore on his finger a large carnelian talismanic ring on which was engraved: “Alaricus Rex Gothorum.”

Madame Blavatsky relates stories of the Shamans of Tartary who carried carnelians under their left arms, and by employing these stones in certain ways they were enabled to separate the astral from the physical body. The carnelian was used by them in certain magical work and was reputed to be a stone of wonderful power. It is significant that these Shamans carried the carnelians on their left sides, near the great Sun of the human body—the heart. Madame Blavatsky herself possessed a carnelian to which special virtue was attached. She was born when the Sun was in the sign of the Lion, and the carnelian was therefore one of her chief talismanic gems. The carnelian was called the Stone of the Martyrs. It is said to bestow the power to see into the astral plane if, when placed before a light for about four minutes, it is steadily gazed upon. Considering the powerful effect the Sun has on the carnelian, it were best that, if phenomena of this order are to be obtained through the agency of such an instrument, the stone be first exposed to the rays of the Sun. It is inadvisable, however, to look directly at the sun with the naked eye.

The carnelian is said to bring content to the wearer, and Albertus Magnus said that it made the soul happy, drove away the evil effects of sorcery, witchcraft, enchantment and fear. It was the stone of the victor and of victory, and was used as a charm against bad temper—for bad temper according to the masters is a form of black magic. Black magic was evilly directed in the light of a waning moon, and it was detected by the varying sheen of the protective carnelian or sard. Also in dreams the stone was a symbol that evil thoughts were being directed against the dreamer. It represented the magical force of Faith and the weakening folly of scepticism in the Rosicrucian mysteries. Medicinally the stone was used to stop bleedings, and in the Middle Ages it was administered in powdered form. At this period it was stated that the yellow variety was the gem for Dies Solis or Sunday. Both the carnelian and sard are attached to the zodiacal Leo, the Mansion of the Sun, and the connection apart from tradition is proven scientifically by the effect of the solar rays on the stone itself. It is said to promote coolness in argument and dignity in dispute, and the Muhammedan tradition tells that Muhammad held that to procure contentment and blessings, it was necessary with right mind to Allah, to wear a carnelian.

CATSEYE

The catseye is a chalcedonic quartz, translucent, of various colours—yellow-green, yellow-brown, hyacinth-red, grey, green-grey, etc. It is of a peculiar opalescence, resembling the eye of a cat, when cut en cabochon, an effect produced by amianthoid asbestos filaments which run parallel through the stone. The virtues ascribed to the catseye are many. It was said to put colour into pale faces, to give pleasure to the mind, to relieve the soul of melancholy, to cure chronic disorders and wasting diseases, and to keep the wearer from financial distress and ruin. It is said to have been successfully employed in relieving croup and asthma. Pressed on to the forehead between the eyes it aided thought and helped foresight. Carried by those with Capricorn rising in the horoscope, or with the Sun, Jupiter or Venus in Capricorn, it is credited with especial value as a charm for success in speculative ventures. Enwrapped in women’s hair, it was employed as a birth charm, and if calcined and applied to wounds, said Rabbi Ben Adoulah, it healed them. Further, it cured inflammations of the eyes, if lightly rubbed on the closed lids. To dream of a catseye was said to warn of treachery. It was the Eye of Belus in old Assyria, and a talisman which made the wearer invisible to his enemies. Old Indian masters advise that the specimen worn be as perfect as possible, saying that bad stones should not be worn at all.

The Catseye is attached to the sign Capricorn.

CEYLONITE. (See SPINEL.)

CHALCEDONY

The chalcedony obtains its name from Chalkedon in Asia Minor, and appears written as calcedony, calsydoyne, calcidoine, chalcedun, calcideny, chalcidonye, calcedon, calchedonie.

This stone includes a number of varieties such as carnelian, sard, agate, catseye, prase, plasma, heliotrope, chrysoprase, moss agate, onyx, sardonyx, hornstone or Chert, and flint. Chalcedony is classed under the great Silica family. It is translucent, waxy, white, pale grey, light brown or bluish.

The Blue Chalcedony is identified with the ancient Sapphirine—a stone confused with our sapphire. Mr. King says that the “finest Persian cylinder known, engraved with the usual type of the King fighting with the lion, was formed out of this variety: the signet doubtless that once graced the wrist of some Darius or Artaxerxes of the latter days of the Persian monarchy.”

It is said that Albertus Magnus first identified the chalcedony of today in the 13th century, although according to many authorities this was not done until the 15th century at the very earliest. The ancient chalcedony is classed amongst such stones as the Leucachates and Cerachates. Pliny describes the ancient chalcedony as of “green mixed with blue as the feathers of the peacock’s tail or of the pigeon’s neck,” and Holme quoting from Pliny in the Armoury, 1688, says: “The chalcedon or calchedoine, being well chafed and warmed, will draw a straw or a rush to it.” The calcedon described by Pliny was not found in his time, but our chalcedony was greatly used in fine art work in all ages. A chalcedony showing tiny red and brown spots has been termed the stone of St. Stephen, in allusion to the martyrdom of that Saint as described in Chapter 7 of the Acts.

The chalcedony is a symbol of enthusiasm, and is the emblem of Victory Divine amongst the jewels of the Rosicrucians. It has also been termed the Mother Stone, and under the name of Leucachate was sacred to Diana. It protected the voyager on the ocean tracts from tempests and terrors, drove away evil spirits, banished sadness and melancholy, secured public favour and protected the wearer in times of political revolutions.

The chalcedony is under the zodiacal Cancer.

CHALCEDONYX. The chalcedonyx is really a chalcedony adorned with lines of white and grey. It is included in the zodiacal Cancer.

CHIASTOLITE

The Chiastolite obtains its name from the Greek word CHIASTOS, crossed. It is also known as Macle, from the Latin Macula, a spot. It is a form of Andalusite found in certain metamorphic rock. During the process of crystallization certain impurities of a carbonaceous nature are dispersed across the stone which displays from this cause different forms of cross, tessellated or lozenge-shaped markings, which show out curiously when the stone is cut or broken. The hardness of the stone is not great—specimens sometimes being as low as 3 in Mohs’ scale. The colour varies from grey to yellow, pink, red, white, and deep brown.

The chiastolite is reported to have been first found in Andalusia in Spain, at which place legend says St. James suffered martyrdom. A further amplification of this legend tells that the origin of the chiastolite dates back to that time when it sprang into being just where the Apostle laid his hands on the rocks. At the time of Pedro the Cruel of Spain (14th Century), a peasant, by name Miguel Perez, found a rare specimen of this stone over an inch in diameter, exhibiting two crosses, the most marked being of a rich dark red hue. Wishing to obtain this remarkable gem as a present for his ally Edward the Black Prince (whose title, be it said, was not bestowed from the colour of his armour but as Froissart says, “from the terror his arms inspired”), Pedro ordered the peasant to bring it to him. When Perez was ushered into his presence the King demanded the gem under pain of death. The terrified peasant, after faltering for a few moments in nervous fear, at length held out the gem for the King to take. As Pedro was about to seize it, the blood-red cross met his gaze and he fell in a swoon on the palace floor. The stone seems to have disappeared for a long period, and it is believed to have been discovered in the possession of Philip V of Spain who carried it as a jewel charm till his death when it was hung about the neck of the statue of St. James in the St. Jago di Compostella. Marshal Soult, having plundered the Cathedral during the Peninsular War, gave the stolen stone to Napoleon Bonaparte, who presented it to Murat. Astrologically, the chiastolite would not be a fortunate stone for Pedro, Soult, Napoleon, Murat or the Black Prince—notwithstanding the latter’s name. It would be a fortunate stone for Philip V.

It is quoted as a fact that when Columbus sailed on his voyage of discovery to America he wore a charm of chiastolite. The historical Chiastolite of Spain is said to be at the present time in the possession of the French family De Bodts.

The chiastolite is a symbol of prudence, faith, caution and sincerity. To dream of one is a sign of struggle, delay or limitation. It is a stone of the zodiacal Capricorn. Chiastolite is also written as chiastolith and chiastolithe. The name was bestowed on it in the year 1800. Some very fine specimens have recently been found in South Australia.

CHRYSOBERYL

The name is derived from CHRYSOS, golden, and BERYLLOS, beryl. Suitable stones are cut into catseyes of opalescent gleam. The chrysoberyl is harder than the topaz, and is composed of alumina and glucina. The colours of the stone are asparagus green, grass green, greenish white. The Alexandrite variety changes its colours in real and artificial light.

The chrysoberyl was credited as a charm against evil spirits and a disordered imagination, against deceit, craft and conspiracy. To dream of a chrysoberyl was a warning against waste. It is under the zodiacal Pisces.

CRYSOCOLLA. This hydros copper silicate derives its name from the Greek CHRYSOS, gold, and KOLLA, cement. It obtained its name from its resemblance to a gold solder known and used by the ancient Greeks. It is a very soft, light substance, varying in colour from a blue-green to a sky or turquoise blue. The texture is enamellike, and the occurrence is earthy and massive. Chrysocolla is a musical charm, to dream of which was favourable for musicians, florists and singers. It is under the zodiacal Taurus.