Those of the Ninth Order wear on their caps a silver button. The Military are distinguished by a rhinoceros and a clasp of buffalo horn, the Civilian by a long-tailed jay.
MEDIAN STONE. This is a mysterious gem, possibly symbolic, which is described as of black colour. Marbodus says “’Tis white to heal us, black to slay our foes.” It would then be symbolical of Black and White Magic.
MOLOCHITE. Mr. King is of the opinion that the Molochite is clear green jade, and so he agrees with Pliny’s description of the stone, “opaque of hue with the vivid green of the emerald.” Its virtue protected babies from harm, gave luck and beauty and opposed the spite of witchcraft.
OPHITES. Ophites or Snake Stones are stones of black or grey colour described by Orpheus as “black, hard, weighty, portentous balls surrounded by furrowed lines in many a mazy bend.” It is variously described. There are in India snake charmers called Sampoori who assert that they can extract the snake stone from the head of a snake, but these assertions are unfavourably commented upon by some Indian authors. Still, it has been shown by Sir J. Tennent in his work on “Ceylon” and by Buckland in “Curiosities of Natural History” that some striking cures from snake bite have ostensibly been effected by the use of a so-termed snake stone which is said to absorb the poison if applied to the bite with a little blood before the poison has had time to invade the system. Some authentic cures are quoted, notably that of a man bitten by a Cobra; in this case the man was saved by “two small snake stones the size of a large pea.” The snake stone, it is said, clings for a short time to the wound and then drops off. It is reported to be composed of some vegetable substance; the Cobra stone, according to Farraday, the distinguished chemist, is but charred bone filled with blood a number of times and then again charred. In England and Scotland snake stones strung together used to be given to cattle to chew if bitten by vipers. The stone was considered to be a very potent charm against the evil blasts of occult forces. Albertus Magnus carried a stone which guarded against epidemics, evil magic and the bites of serpents, and by the aid of which he was able to attract serpents.
ORITE. This stone is described as black and round. If mixed with the oil of roses it will cure fatal wounds, protect from wild animals and prevent childbirth.
OVUM ANGUINUM. The Ovum Anguinum is described by Pliny as a Druidic badge the size of an apple, surrounded by a gristly crust covered with protuberances like the suckers on the arms of a cuttle fish. The story goes that at a certain season of the year a crowd of snakes are found intertwined and bearing above them the magical Ovum, which the hunter had to catch in some soft material before it tumbled to earth, for if it did so it would lose its power. As soon as the hunter seized the magic stone the serpents rushed after him and his fate was sealed if they reached him before he crossed a flowing stream.
PANDARBES. Philostratus relates how Chariclea escaped unharmed from the funeral pyre on which she was condemned to perish by the jealous Arsace by secretly wearing the wonderful ring of King Hydrastes. In this ring was set a stone called Pandarbes which was engraved as a talismanic charm against the fury of fire.
PANTHEROS. It is probable from the description, given by old writers, that it was a mottled brown Egyptian Jasper Opal. It was said to protect the wearer from enemies, wild animals and fear, which last, according to the healthy philosophy of the Rosicrucians, is the greatest of the vices and the gateway of weakness and failure.
PHILOSOPHER’S STONE. The Philosopher’s Stone is also known as Lapis Philosophorum, the Eye of the Philosophers, the Egg of the Philosophers. French writers call it “Pierre Philosophale,” and German writers “Der Stein der Weisen.” In the Rosicrucian mysteries it is known as “The Stone of the Wise,” “The Sacred Stone,” “The Stone of Wisdom,” etc. In spite of the assertions made by over-sanguine critics as to the fallacy of the Philosopher’s Stone on the material plane, scientists—mystic and material—have never ceased to search for a substance so precious. Phillips (Transmutation of Metals, 1702) says that “this transmutation is what the Alchymists call the Grand Operation or Secret of finding the Philosopher’s Stone which they give out to be so curious an Universal seed of all metals. If any metal be liquefied in a vessel, and this ‘Power of Perfection’ be thrown into the mass it will transform it into gold or silver.”
Some of the philosophers call it “The Stone,” Noster Lapis, “The Sublime Stone,” “Our Stone.” It is related that King Henry VI granted “4 successive Patents and Commissions” to several knights and Mass Priests to find “The Philosopher’s Stone.” In his recent work on Alchemy, H. Stanley Redgrove, B.Sc., F.C.S., etc., writes: “We must not assume that because we know not the method now, real transmutations have never taken place. Modern research indicates that it may be possible to transmute other metals (more especially silver) into gold, and consequently we must admit the possibility that, amongst the many experiments carried out, a real transmutation was effected.” Timbs (Alchemy and Chemistry) emphasizes the fact that many of the opinions of the alchemists have been vindicated. He specially notes the condition of Allotropism or the quality which certain bodies possess of assuming two marked phases of chemical and physical existence. “This shatters the opinion,” he writes, “on which our absolute repudiation of the doctrine of transmutation was based.” Dr. Colange explains Allotropy as that branch of chemical science which takes account of the different sets of properties possible to one and the same body. Organic solids occur under one of the three conditions, viz., the crystalline, as the diamond; the vitreous, as glass; the amorphous or shapeless, as clay, chalk, etc. But there are many bodies any one of which without undergoing a change in chemical composition may yet appear under one of the above three conditions with striking changes in physical and even chemical properties while still retaining, so to speak, its chemical identity. Thus, ordinary white phosphorus may by the application of heat be converted into a hard amorphous substance which is its allotrophic form. An excellent paper on “Allotrophy or Transmutation” was read before the British Association at Sheffield, England, a few years ago by Dr. Henry M. Howe. In it Dr. Howe dealt at greater length with what has been previously advanced on the subject. Since the discovery of Radium and the extensive experiments of the late Sir William Ramsay, Mr. Cameron and others in the department of transmutation and disintegration, modern science has projected itself into the Halls of Alchemy and has joined hands with its parent science to search for that which the world of a few years back regarded with ignorant ridicule. In the space at disposal it is impossible to enter into details of the numerous accounts of successful alchemy recorded. A number of these will be found in Dr. Franz Hartmann’s works and in the excellent works on the subject by H. Stanley Redgrove and others. Perhaps the case noticed by Dr. Franz Hartmann is one of the most romantic. It came before the court at Leipsig on August 9th, 1715 and is reported in the acts of the judicial faculty of that town. A gentleman came late one night to the Castle of Tankerstein where the Countess of Erbach resided. He said that having accidentally killed a deer which belonged to the Palatine of Palatia he was being pursued, and therefore he asked protection. The Countess hesitated, but being impressed with the stranger’s appearance she ordered that a room be given him. He remained in the castle several days, and then being granted an interview with the Countess, he thanked her for her protection in return for which he offered to transmute all her silver into gold. The lady was incredulous but, her curiosity overcoming her, she gave the stranger a silver tankard which he melted and with a stone transmuted into gold. The Countess sent the gold to a goldsmith in the town, who having tested it pronounced it to be the purest gold. After this she asked the adept to transmute all her silver into gold. This he did and receiving the lady’s thanks as he tendered his own, departed. The Countess’s husband, a great spendthrift, serving as an officer abroad, hearing that his wife by some means had suddenly become wealthy returned home quickly. He demanded the gold for himself but the Countess would not surrender it. Thereupon the Count brought his wife before the Court, claiming that as Lord of the territory (Dominus Territorii) on which the Castle belonging to his wife was built, all treasure found upon the land was his. He asked that the Court should order the gold to be sold and that after new silver had been purchased for his wife the balance of the money be paid to him. The defence urged that as the gold had been artificially produced it could not come under a law relating to buried treasure; again that the silver had been transmuted into gold for the sole benefit of the Countess. The Court was asked to allow the lady to retain the gold thus obtained and judgment was given in her favour.