Pure specimens of alabaster were also employed as milk-stone talismans. Oriental alabaster, known as the Algerian onyx, is a solid crystalline carbonate of lime, precipitated from water in stalagmitic form. This Oriental alabaster is considerably harder than true alabaster which is easily scratched. Pliny writes of columns of alabaster over thirty feet in height. In ancient times it was regarded as a species of onyx, and was made into cups, vases and other utensils. Pliny says that it was “of the colour of honey, opaque and spirally spotted.” There are also specimens in colour brown mixed with lemon, and others of the colour of the finger-nail.

Leonardus regards alabaster as the right substance for preserving unguents, and Dioscorides employed it in medicine. It was used as a charm against accidents, especially whilst travelling, for securing public favour, for success in legal affairs, etc.

It may be mentioned that the beautiful sarcophagus of alabaster which was found by Giovanni Belzoni in 1817 in the tomb of Seti I (circa 1400 B. C.) and purchased by Sir John Soane for £2000 sterling, now rests in the Soane Museum in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London. It is adorned with texts and scenes from the Book of the Gates. In this old Book the names of the Twelve Gates of the Tuat, or underworld, and of the Guardians of the Gates are given. The denizens of each section are identified, as well as their petition to Ra and his responses. The Book of the Gates, rich in magical formulae, is one of the oldest books in the world.

Alabaster proper and Oriental alabaster are under the zodiacal Cancer.

ALEXANDRITE. The Alexandrite is a variety of the chrysoberyl. This remarkable gem was discovered about 60 miles from Ekaterinburg, on the birthday of Czar Alexander II of Russia, from whom it obtains its name—The Horoscope of that Emperor indicates the stone as a symbol of misfortune to him.

The alexandrite presents the curious phenomenon of changing its colour according to the different rays of light to which it is exposed. By daylight the gem is of a charming olive or emerald green tint, which changes in artificial light to a columbine or raspberry red. The stone is favoured by Russians on account of its blend of national colours, red and green. These mixed colours are distinctly Aquarian. No mention seems to have been made of this peculiar variety of chrysoberyl in ancient writings, and it stands as a herald of the new Aquarian Age into which we are now moving. The Alexandrite has been described as an emblem of loyal regard, and to dream of it is a symbol of struggle and progress. It is under the zodiacal Aquarius.

AMAZONITE OR AMAZON STONE. The Amazon Stone is a green variety of Feldspar. The name is said to have been derived from the Amazon River, but no specimens have been found there. The meagre evidence available about this stone certainly does not favour its connection with the Amazon River in any way. This river was named the Amazon in the 16th century by the Spanish explorer Orellana in consequence, it is said, of an encounter he had with a band of women warriors on its banks. He called the mighty stream the Amazon after the women described by Herodotus, Diodorus, etc., and the Amazon stone also was named after them. In a letter to the author (1905) the late Comte de Glenstrae wrote: "It is to the Amazons led by Myrina (Diodorus Siculus) that we owe the establishment of the Samothracian mysteries which their Queen founded after aiding Isis and Horus in the war against Typhon, as the Amazons of an earlier date had aided Neith (Athene) and Amoun against the usurpation of Chronos. I have always had a great admiration for the Amazons, and few again have noticed that the coins of the seven cities of Asia (Apocalypse) bore generally the figure of an Amazon as each of those cities was said to have been founded by one of their Queens. There is much in their symbolism. That story of their breasts being amputated is nonsense, being refuted by every monument. As Sanchoniathon says, “the Greeks confused nearly every legend.” It was said that the Amazons had their right breasts singed off, the better to enable them to draw their bows; but the word Amazon does not mean “without breast,” nor does it appear to have any connection with the word “mazos” meaning “a breast.” There does not seem to be any reason to doubt that the Circassian word “Maza,” the moon, explains its origin. The Amazons of Thermodoon in Asia Minor are termed “worshippers of the moon.” The Amazons were votaries of the “chaste Diana” in one of her attributes, and no male was allowed to live among them. No matter by what name she is called, Diana is a moon goddess and a woman’s goddess, and no male was allowed to offend her modesty. Actaeon who saw her bathing was charmed into a stag, and fell a victim to his own hunting dogs, while the hunter Orion, ardent in his passion for Eos, the Morning, was slain by the “sweet arrows” of Diana.

Thus, the Amazon stone received its name from the romantic Amazons or worshippers of Maza, the moon. It is under the Zodiacal Cancer.

CHAPTER XII
AMBER—AZURITE

AMBER