WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES

1 Paper 2 Calico 3 Linen 4 Silk 5 Wood 6 Candy 7 Floral 8 Leather 9 Straw 10 Tin 12 Agate 13 Moonstone[440] 14 Moss agate 15 Rock-crystal, glass 16 Topaz 17 Amethyst 18 Garnet 19 Hyacinth 20 China 23 Sapphire 25 Silver 26 Star sapphire, blue[440] 30 Pearl 35 Coral 39 Cat’s-eye[440] 40 Ruby 45 Alexandrite 50 Gold 52 Star ruby[440] 55 Emerald 60 Diamond, yellow 65 Star sapphire, gray[440] 67 Star sapphire, purple 75 Diamond

[X]
Planetary and Astral Influences of Precious Stones

THE talismanic influence of the stones associated with the planets and also with the signs of the zodiac is closely connected with the early ideas regarding the formation of precious stones. In an old work on the occult properties of gems we read:

The nature of the magnet is in the iron, and the nature of the iron is in the magnet, and the nature of both polar stars is in both iron and magnet, and hence the nature of the iron and the magnet is also in both polar stars, and since they are Martian, that is to say, their region belongs to Mars, so do both iron and magnet belong to Mars.

The author then proceeds to describe an analogous relation between a man and any natural object or product to which his imagination draws him, and shows that, if this object be one that stands in a sympathetic relation with the star beneath which the man was born, the man, the star, and the object will constitute a triplicity of great utility. As an explanation of the peculiarly intimate relation between stars and precious stones we read, on page 12:

Metals and precious stones usually lie with their first seeds deep down in the earth and require continuous moisture and a mild heat. This they obtain through a reflection of the sun and the other stars in the manifold movement of the heavens.... Therefore, also, the metals and precious stones are nearest related to the planets and the stars, since these influence them most potently and produce their peculiar qualities, for they are enduring and unchangeable and show therein their concordance [with the stars and the planets].[441]

Hence it is that the influence over human fortunes ascribed by astrology to the heavenly bodies is conceived to be strengthened by wearing the gem appropriate to certain planets or signs, for a subtle emanation has passed into the stone and radiates from it. A combination of several different stones, each partaking of this special quality, was believed to have an influence similar to that exercised by several planets in conjunction,—that is, grouped in the same “house” or division of the heavens.

The same is true of the stones dedicated to the guardian angels; the color and appearance of the stone was not merely emblematic of the angel, but, by its sympathetic quality, it was supposed to attract his influence and to provide a medium for the transmission of his beneficent force to the wearer. The whole theory, whether consciously or unconsciously, rested on the idea of harmony, of the accord of certain ethereal vibrations, either those of the visible light of the stars and planets or the purely psychic emanations from the spiritual “powers and principalities.”

The wearing of the appropriate zodiacal gem was always believed to strengthen the influence of the zodiacal sign upon those born under it, and to afford a sympathetic medium for the transmission of the stellar influences. The gem was thus something more than a mere symbol of the sign. The same was true of the stone of the saint who ruled the month and that of the holy guardian angel set over those born in the month. In each and every case the material form and color of the stone was believed to attract the favor and grace of the saint or angel, who would see in the selection of the appropriate gem an act of respect and veneration on the part of the wearer.

The old writers are never tired of insisting upon the idea that, while the image graven upon a stone was in itself dead and inactive, the influence of the stars during whose ascendancy the work had been executed communicated to the inert material talismanic qualities and virtues which it before lacked. In these instances the images could be regarded as outward and visible signs of the planetary or zodiacal influence. Even in the case of the bezoar stone, a generally recognized antidote for all sorts of poisons, it was held that the scorpion’s bite could be most effectually healed by a bezoar upon which this creature’s figure had been cut during the time when the constellation Scorpio was in the ascendancy.[442]

In the production of engraved stones to serve as amulets, the influence of the respective planet was made to enter the stone by casting upon the latter, during the process of engraving, reflections from a mirror which had been exposed to the planet’s rays. In addition to this, the work was executed while the planet was in the ascendant, and the design was emblematic of it. With these combined influences the gem was believed to be thoroughly impregnated with the planetary virtue.[443]

An old writer finds in the hardness of precious stones a reason for their retaining longer the celestial virtues they receive. After they have been extracted these virtues persist in them and they keep “the traces and gifts of mundane life which they possessed while clinging to the earth.”[444] These “gifts of mundane life” signify the stored-up energy derived from the stars and planets, which penetrates the matter of the stone, and each stone is peculiarly sensitive to the emanations from a certain planet, star, or group of stars.

A fine carnelian gem engraved with a design consisting of a star surrounded by the images of a ram, a bull, and a lion, is described by M. Mairan.[445] He sees in the star the emblem of the splendid comet which appeared shortly after the assassination of Cæsar, and which, according to Suetonius, was believed to be the soul of Cæsar newly received into the sky; the ram, bull, and lion are the symbols of the zodiacal signs Aries, Taurus, and Leo, the first-named sign referring perhaps to the death of Cæsar on the Ides, or fifteenth of March; while the other two signs may allude to the position of the comet at different dates.

In the Cabinet du Roi, in Paris, there was an engraved carnelian, the design showing Jupiter enthroned, with thunderbolt and sceptre, and Mars and Mercury standing on either side of the central figure. Separated from the gods of the upper air by a bow, probably representing the arch of the sky, appears the bust of Neptune, emerging from the sea. The border of the design is formed by the twelve signs of the zodiac, Virgo being of an unusual type,—the virgin and a unicorn,—said to have been used only during the reign of Domitian (81-96 A.D.).[446]

Some choice examples of astrological gems may be seen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; among these is a green jasper bearing symbols of Luna, Capricorn, and Taurus. This gem is from the collection of the late Rev. C. W. King, which has been acquired for the Museum, and is described as figuring the horoscope of the owner. In the same collection is a banded agate engraved with Sagittarius as a centaur, surrounded by the stars of this constellation in their proper order. King states that this was the earliest horoscopical gem known to him. Still another gem of this collection is a sard bearing the symbol of Aries carrying a long caduceus; this type appears on the coins of Antioch, because that city was founded in the month over which the sign Aries presides.[447]

The Austrian Imperial Collection in Vienna contains the celebrated Gemma Augustea, sometimes called the Apotheosis of Augustus. This commemorates the Pannonian triumph of Tiberius, 13 A.D., and above the figure of Augustus appears the sign of Capricornus, the constellation of his nativity; beneath the figure of Tiberius is engraved the sign of Scorpio, under which that emperor was born. This celebrated cameo, the work of the famous gem-engraver Dioskorides, is mentioned in an inventory of the treasury of St. Sernin, in Toulouse, dated 1246. It is said to have been offered by Francis I of France to Pope Clement VII, on the occasion of their meeting in Marseilles in 1535; however, as the gem only reached Marseilles two days after the pope’s departure, Francis decided to retain possession of it. The royal treasure at Fontainebleau was plundered in 1590, and the stone was offered for sale, and was purchased, in 1619, by Emperor Rudolph II, for the sum of 12,000 ducats.

THE ZODIACAL STONES WITH THEIR SIGNS.

Old print illustrating the influence believed to be exerted on the different parts of the body by the respective zodiacal signs, and through their power by the stones associated with them. This belief often determined the administration of special precious-stone remedies by physicians of the seventeenth and earlier centuries.

A ruby called sandastros is described by Pliny as containing stellated bodies which he compares to the Hyades; hence, says he, they are the objects of great devotion with the Chaldæi or Assyrian Magi. According to Morales (De las piedras preciosas), the ruby and the diamond were both under the influence of the sign of Taurus; the same writer informs us that the Hyades and the sun were supposed to have a potent effect upon the ruby or carbuncle. In ancient Babylonia the sign of Taurus was regarded as the most important, and Winckler believes that the presence in this sign of the five stars of the Hyades and the seven of the Pleiades was brought into connection with the twelve-fold division of the zodiac. The Hyades signified the five signs visible in Babylonia at the summer solstice, while the Pleiades typified the seven invisible signs. It seems probable that the Pleiades were associated with the diamond, although Morales, who was very familiar with the Moorish astrology current among the Spaniards of his time, attributed the crystal to this group. His attribution proves at least that the stone of the Pleiades was a colorless one.

In Sanskrit the diamond is called vajra, “thunderbolt,” and also indrâjudha, “Indra’s weapon”; another name is açira, “fire,” or “the Sun.”[448] All these designations are probably suggested by the brilliant flashes of light emitted by this stone. It is not easy to determine the reason that induced the Hindus to dedicate the diamond to the planet Venus rather than to the Sun or to the Moon. However, as the most brilliant of the planets, Venus was not unworthy of the honor, and if we substitute the Goddess of Love for her planet, it seems quite appropriate that she should be adorned with the most brilliant of precious stones. Certainly these sparkling gems are often enough offered at the shrine of Venus in our own day, and they often serve to win the good graces of the divinity to whom they are presented.

The Sanskrit name for the sapphire, nîla, signifies “blue,” so that, as the topaz is the “yellow stone” par excellence, the sapphire is the blue stone (nilaçman). In both cases the name indicates a variety of corundum, distinguished merely by the coloring matter. As a talisman the Hindus believed that the sapphire rendered the planet Saturn favorable to the wearer, an important consideration from the astrological point of view, for Saturn’s influence was generally supposed to be unfavorable. The Hindus distinguished four classes of sapphires, corresponding to the four castes: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras. The respective sapphires were light blue, reddish blue, yellowish blue, and dark blue. The same distinction is made in the case of the diamond, and a like rule applies to both stones, namely, that only the appropriate stone should be worn by the members of each caste, in order to profit by the virtues inherent in the sapphire or diamond.[449]

One of the Sanskrit appellations of the hyacinth (zircon) is râhuratna,—that is, the jewel dedicated to the mysterious “dragon,” that was supposed to be the cause of the periodic eclipses of the Sun and Moon.[450] As the stone was sacred to this malevolent influence, we need not be surprised that it was believed to avert misfortune, for nothing was so effective against the lesser spirits of evil as an evil genius of great power.

According to the Hindu mystics it was very lucky to have a turquoise at hand at the time of the new moon, for whoever, after first looking at the moon on the pratipada (the first day after new-moon), should cast his eyes upon a turquoise, was destined to enjoy immeasurable wealth.[451]