A symbolic image constructed by the Magi at the period of the Sun’s passage through the sign of the Lion, took the form of a crowned king enthroned, wearing a deep yellow robe, a globe at his feet and a raven by his heart. The crowned king, his yellow robe, the raven and the globe symbolize the Sun and its manifestations, and the Heart—the Sun of Man—symbolizes the Solar sign Leo. Another symbol of the Magi, shows a crowned woman in a four-horsed chariot (four being the negative or female side of the Sun), a mirror in her right hand, a staff in her left, and a burning flame on her head. These emblems were directed to be engraved in the Hour of the Sun, the Sun being in Leo, on a carnelian stone. The famous seal of Solomon and David—the Mogan Dovid—was most potent when engraved on a Sardonyx, a Carnelian or a plate of gold (metal of the Sun).
All conditions necessary for this stone of the breastplate are fulfilled in the Sardonyx stone which, engraved with the tribe of Zebulun, filled the fifth place.
The Sixth Stone of the Breastplate
The sixth stone of the Breastplate is, without doubt, the Jashpeh accepted by the Vulgate, Marbodus, Dr. Emil Hirsch and Dr. G. Deane. Translated correctly enough as Jasper, it is placed in the twelfth division in the Hebrew and Authorized Versions.
From an astrological point of view the Yaholom has no claim on the sixth House whilst Jashpeh undoubtedly has. The latter is the third stone of the second row of the Breastplate and the former is the third stone of the fourth row. In astrological science they are opposite in the Zodiac, the Jashpeh belonging to the celestial Virgo and the Yahalom to the celestial Pisces. The colours are given in the Midrash Bemidbah as “Mixed,” and this is more correct than the “black speckled with blue,” set down sometimes for the sign Virgo, but which scarcely expresses the aspect of Nature personified in the goddess Ceres. The Jasper stone has not lost its identity in the march of time, and there is no reason to doubt that the Aspu of the Assyrians, the Jashpeh of the Hebrews, the Jaspis of the Greek, or the Yash of the Arabs is any other than the Jasper, as we know it today. The Panther stone of the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan is the well-known and very beautiful Egyptian Mottled Jasper so greatly esteemed in the ancient world. The Jasper takes a very brilliant polish and is quite of the crystal brilliance indicated in the sacred books. It was the gem of the angel Raphael, emblematic of strength, courage, virtue and wisdom, and it is associated with a variety called the Graminatias, the markings of which resemble—to a very marked degree in some specimens—the letters of the Alphabet. Thus, it is the stone of Hermes or Thoth, the mercurial god who, possessed of illimitable knowledge, communicated it to the earth-bound spirit known as Man, by signs in the Heavens, in the air, in the sea, on the earth, in the flowers and stones of the earth, by omens, by hints and by incidents, but never—on account of his promise to Apollo—by spoken words. Jerome calls the Jasper “the stone of spiritual graces,” and from Hermes to Christ called Son of the Virgin, this stone descends with all its spiritual attributes. It is associated with the Virgins of Egypt who provoked the words set down in the eighth chapter of Jeremiah: “The children gather wood and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough to make cakes to the Queen of Heaven.”
The Jasper was a stone sacred to the Virgin Mary in Christian mysticism, and to the Son of the Virgin; and symbolically the Virgin of the Skies is ever immaculate, ever sublime and pure. The association of the sixth sign of the Zodiac with all virginity is further exemplified in the cult of the Virgins of Vesta. Corresponding with the sixth sign of the Zodiac these virgins were six in number, and the age of girls selected for the service could not be less than six years. The poets tell the story of the beautiful Astræa, the holy Virgin, who in pity remained with men after the gods, provoked by man’s wickedness, had departed in anger; remained with them until she was forbidden to gaze on a world defiled with crime and misery, and with bandaged eyes was led away to Heaven where her symbolic form stands eternally, scales in one hand, sword in the other. One gift she left with man—the gift of Hope which has as its emblem the unpretentious Jasper stone. The Virgin Astræa is familiar as the goddess of Justice, and her connection with Mercury—astrologically known as Lord of the Virgin—is apparent. Her special degree of the Zodiac is given as the twenty-third (“Zodiacal Symbology,” page 96), which is a degree of sympathy, and for the correct administration of justice, deep and generous sympathy is surely necessary.
According to Swedenborg and other mystical writers the Virgin symbolizes all chaste love, “affection for good, charity towards others, lovers of truth, spirituality and sympathy, and the kindness of men to one another, as opposed to the cruel malice of war and destruction which is likened to false reasonings, lies and opposed to Divine Providence.”
The Zebulon is the Haven into which they “who are weary and heavy laden” may enter, and it is significant that the Son of the Virgin dwelt in Capernaum which is upon the sea coast in the borders of Zebulon and Nephthalim (Matt. 4. 13).
Leah thanks God for “a good dowry,” and saying that now her husband will dwell with her because of her six sons, called his name Zebulun. In several ways a good dowry is associated with the sign Virgo, which is related to learning and commerce, will, patience, persistence and the reward of honest work. About the constellation of Virgo is the Argo or Ship of the Heavens, which star-lighted is ever gliding on the blue waters of the Celestial Harbour. A story of the loss of the Jasper from the Breastplate is told in the Talmud, and after a long search for another to replace it one was found in the possession of Dama, son of Nethinah, and purchased from him for about £60 in our money.
It is quite conceivable that stones were lost from the breastplate, and it was no doubt the replacing of them that caused so much confusion. Jasper as the sixth stone of the Breastplate is easily identified and the tribe of Issachar was inscribed upon it.