And therefore is Dan Cupid painted blind.”
Amongst the symbolic jewels of the Rosicrucians this stone was regarded as the centre stone of the vibrations of light and of its penetrating diffusions. All varieties of jasper are under the celestial Virgo.
JET
“Your lustre too ’ll draw courtship to you as a iet (jet) doth straws.”
Ben Jonson.
The name jet is derived from the Greek GAGATES, from GAGAS, a river in Syria. It is also written as jesstone, and jeetstone. Dr. Murray gives the following forms gete, geet, get, geete, geyte, geitt, gett, gette, geytt, gate, giette, geate, ieet, iete, ieit, ieate, iet, jeat, jett, jette. It is a variety of coal resembling cannel coal, but harder, of deeper colour and with a higher degree of lustre. Pliny writes that “Gagates is a stone so-called from Gages, the name of a town and river in Lycia.” When burnt it gives out a sulphureous smell which, according to the Venerable Bede (7th century), drove away serpents. Its virtue was esteemed in cases of hysteria, in detecting epileptic tendencies and in loss of virginity. A decoction of jet in wine was esteemed as a cure for toothache, and in combination with wax it was used in cases of scrofula. Magicians, it is said, make use of Gagates in the practice of what is known as “Axinomancy”—a form of magic in which a piece of jet is placed on a red-hot axe—prophesying events according to the burning of the substance. Jet is highly electrical and will attract fluff in the same way as amber does, hence it was known as Black Amber, especially in the 16th century, by the people of the Baltic coast. It was much used in magical ceremonies, especially those in connection with the dead, as a charm against evil magic, spells and envy, and as a cure for dropsy, colds, chills and loss of hair. The fumes from burning jet are no doubt very relieving in what is commonly known as cold in the head, the action being homœopathic in this case, as such discomforts are Saturnine and the employment of jet is the employment of a saturnine substance for the removing of a saturnine affliction. The use of jet for rosaries is noted by Cardan: it cooled the passions and protected the wearer against evil influences. Its fumes were considered potent in female disorders. Boetius says that it protected the wearer against nightmares and night terrors. Mr. King mentions the discovery of a number of jet ornaments at Cologne in 1846 which were believed to have belonged to the ancient priestesses of Cybele or Rhea, the goddess of the mountain-forests and caves of the earth. Her worship was wild and weird, her votaries with torches ablaze rushing through the trees in the darkness of the night, fighting and wounding each other to the accompaniment of the screeching of the pipes, the clashing of cymbals and the mad uproar of drunken song. Cybele was associated as a mountain goddess with the forest-god Pan, the goat-god, who is identified with the Zodiacal Capricornus, and jet was used in her worship. It was regarded as a banisher of melancholia and a protective badge for travellers. To dream of it was said to signify sadness. In the form of a shield against the bites of serpents it was advised that powdered jet be taken and mixed with the marrow of a stag. To many writers this has seemed ridiculous but beneath the surface the true meaning may be detected. Astrologically jet is under the zodiacal Capricorn and the planet Saturn, the stag is under Gemini and the planet Mercury, the marrow of the stag is ruled by Venus and in this case signifies the essence supreme, the serpent is under the planet Mars. Interpreted, this symbolic passage would read: Use wisdom and caution (Jet) knowledge (stag) and love (marrow) then wilt thou overcome, subdue and defeat the lower self (serpent) and the sting of sin. Crypts of this kind were very frequently employed by Hermetic brotherhoods for conveying their teachings to each other. The use of parables, secret signs, tokens and symbols was the real method of conveying truths employed by the ancient masters. By this means concentration was impelled and the soul prepared to receive great truths.
KAURI GUM
“As some tall Kauri soars in lonely pride.”
Renwick.
Kauri obtains its name from the Maoris and appears in various forms: kowrie, cowry, courie, coudie. It is gum of a light amber colour which has exuded from the Kauri pine (Dammara Australis) a species of Dammar growing in New Zealand. The gum is obtained by digging over spots where the trees once grew, and it is found sometimes in lumps the size of a football. Kauri gum is electric and much softer and less durable than amber. It has been suggested as a useful substitute for amber in throat troubles, asthma, hay fever and glandular swellings. It is under the celestial Taurus.