PHENOMENAL GEMS FOR THE DAYS OF THE WEEK

SundaySunstone
MondayMoonstone
TuesdayStar sapphire
WednesdayStar ruby
ThursdayCat’s-eye
FridayAlexandrite
SaturdayLabradorite

Fashion in some parts of the Orient dictates the use of special colors for raiment and jewels to be worn on the different days of the week. In Siam deep red silks and rubies are appropriate for Sunday wear; white fabrics and moonstones are prescribed for Monday; light red garments and coral ornaments are favored for Tuesday; striped stuffs and jewels set with the cat’s-eye are considered the proper wear for Wednesday; green materials and emeralds are decreed for Thursday; silver-blue robes and ornaments set with diamonds are chosen for Friday, and on Saturday those who obey the dictates of fashion are clad in dark blue garments and wear sapphires of a similar hue.

Our age is not satisfied with the marvellous progress of science, which has rendered possible the realization of many of the old magicians’ dreams. In spite of this there seems to be a growing tendency to revive many of the old beliefs which appeared to have been definitely discarded; therefore we need not be surprised that the nineteenth century offers us a work on the magic art, written precisely in the spirit that animated an Agrippa or a Porta in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.[439] This work gives elaborate directions as to the manner in which the “Magus” should proceed to perform his magic rites.

Each day has its special and peculiar ritual. Sunday is the day for the “Works of Light,” and on this day a purple robe should be worn and a tiara and bracelets of gold; the ring placed on the finger of the operator should be of gold and set with a chrysolite or a ruby. A white robe with silver stripes is to be worn on Monday, the day of the “Works of Divination and Mystery,” and the high-priest of the mysteries wears over his robe a triple necklace of pearls, “crystals,” and selenites; the tiara should be covered with yellow silk, and bear in silver characters the Hebrew monogram of Gabriel, as given by Cornelius Agrippa in his “Occult Philosophy.” Tuesday is assigned to the “Works of Wrath,” and on this day the robe must be red, the color of fire and blood, with a belt and bracelets of steel; the tiara should have a circlet of iron, and a sword or a stylus is to be used in place of a wand; the ring is set with an amethyst. The day for the “Works of Science” is Wednesday, when a green robe is worn and a necklace of hollow glass beads, filled with quicksilver; the ring is adorned with an agate. On Thursday, appointed for the “Works of Religion or Politics,” a scarlet robe is worn; upon the forehead of the operator is bound a plate of tin, engraved with the symbol of the planet Jupiter and various mystic characters; the ring bears either an emerald or a sapphire. Friday, the day of Venus, is naturally dedicated to the “Works of Love,” and the celebrant wears a sky-blue robe; his ring shows a turquoise, and his tiara is set with lapis-lazuli and beryl. The “Works of Mourning” belong to Saturday, when a black or a brown robe is worn, embroidered in orange-colored silk with mystic characters; from the neck of the operator hangs a leaden medal, bearing the symbol of the planet Saturn, and on his finger is a ring set with an onyx, upon which a double-faced Janus has been engraved while Saturn was in the ascendant.