“Melochites is a grene stone lyke to Smaragdus and hath that name of the colour of Malawes.”
Trevisa.
The Malachite derives its name from the Greek MALACHE, marsh mallow, from its resemblance to the soft green leaves of this plant. It is variously written as melochite, malachquite, etc. It is a green carbonate of copper which comes to us through the ages as a symbol of children and of the child of the year—eternal Spring. It has been confused with the Molochite of Pliny, but it is more likely the smaragdus medicus, as identified by Mr. King, and the chrysocolla of Theophrastus. In Rosicrucian philosophy it was the symbol of the vernal equinox and the arising of the spiritual man. Malachite and azurite (q.v.) have been found together in single specimens. Malachite is much employed for decorative purposes by the Russians, who have produced some excellent works of art in this material. It was greatly favoured by the Egyptians and antique camei and intagli have been frequently found patinated by the hard hand of age. The virtues ascribed to this stone are many. It strengthened the stomach, head and kidneys, prevented vertigo and rupture and saved the wearer from evil magic, seduction, falls and accidents. The Egyptians held it to be efficacious in cholera and rheumatism. It was said to bestow strength on children, to aid them during dentition, to ward off convulsions, all harm, witchcraft and the evil eye. Some old writers give directions for swallowing powdered malachite, especially for cardiac affections—a practice dangerous and undesirable. The action of stones and gems is subtle and the intense vibratory action is so gentle as to be usually quite unfelt by the material senses. Powdering a specimen disturbs the cohesive molecules and deprives them of their insidious action. A stone multiplies from without and by the laws of correspondence its action on man is always from external to internal. The Malachite was also called the Sleep Stone from its reputation of charming the wearer to sleep. It was also regarded as a protection from lightning. Massive malachite bears a close resemblance to the kidneys in the human body. It is under the zodiacal Libra.
“Inspiration”
Marble Group in Central Hall, Art Institute, Chicago. Signed—Kathleen Beverly Robinson. Memorial to Florence Jane Adams. Presented by Friends and Pupils of Mrs. Adams, 1915
By kind permission of The Art Institute of Chicago
MARBLE
“And the cold marble leapt to life, a god.”
Milman.
Marble derives its name from the Latin MARMOR, cognate with the Greek MARMOROS, from MARMAIRO to sparkle. It has been variously written in England as marbre, marbyr, marbel, marbal, marboll, marbelle, merbyl, marbill, marbyll, marbull, marbell, etc. It is carbonate of lime, pure when the colour is white and of various shades of colour when combined with oxide of iron and other substances. The marble favoured by the ancients was the Parian which is finely granular, waxy when polished, and lasting. The beautiful Venus de Medici and other exquisite Greek statues were formed of Parian. Another favourite variety was the more finely grained and whiter marble of Pentelicus from which the Parthenon was built. The Pyramid of Cheops and other famous structures of the kind were built of a variety known as nummilitic limestone, which is composed of numerous disk-shaped fossils known as nummilites. Portor is a deep black Genoese marble with yellow veinings. The deep black marble of antiquity is known as Nero-antico; Rosso antico is a deep blood-red besprinkled with white minute marks; Verde antico is a misty green; Giallo antico a deep yellow with yellow or black rings. Carrara marble is greatly used by modern sculptors and was well-known to the ancients; it is a fine-grained pure white marble traversed by grey veins. Pure white marble was an emblem of purity and as such has always been regarded as fitting for tombstones and other sepulchral monuments. As an emblem of immortality it is expressed by the triform symbol of the planet Mercury (the cross, the circle and the crescent), with which is associated the Christ resurrection in Christian mysticism. Amongst Rosicrucian students the cross is symbolical of the pain of matter, for on it matter is fixed;—the circle the ascent of the soul which is above matter and never ending; the semi-circle which surmounts the whole, the spirit which is over all everlastingly. Evidences of the old custom—still followed in many countries—of placing pieces of white marble in the grave with dead bodies was some few years ago brought to light in Ireland. Dr. Holland’s translations from Pliny record “a strange thing of the quarries of the island Paros, namely, that in one quarter thereof there was a vein of marble found which when it was cloven in twaine with wedges shewed naturally within the true image and perfect portraiture of Silenus imprinted on it.” All marble is under the celestial[celestial] Gemini.
MARCASITE. See [PYRITE].