Carnelian Symbolism and Folklore - International Gem ...

Ancient peoples all over the world favored the warm, reddish gem known as carnelian. This material was easy to cut into jewelry stones as well as carve into ... CarnelianSymbolism TheLighterSideofGemology Profile Symbolism Articles Home»LearningCenter»Gemology»TheLighterSideofGemology»CarnelianSymbolism by FaraBraid Ancientpeoplesallovertheworldfavoredthewarm,reddishgemknownascarnelian.Thismaterialwaseasytocutintojewelrystonesaswellascarveintosealsandtalismans.Carneliansymbolismandlorecametoencompasshealth,luck,androyalty. By FaraBraid 4minuteread Carnelianseal withabullengraving,3rdcenturyCE,SassanidEra,fromthecollectionoftheLouvre,Paris,photobyRama.LicensedunderCCBy-SA2.0FR. RedfortheBody,BluefortheSpirit Likecarnelian,lapislazulihasbeenusedforjewelryformillennia.Whilebluelapisbecamefrequentlyassociatedwithspiritualityandpriests,carnelianbecameassociatedwithkings.Perhapsduetothestone’sblood-likecolor,healersoftenprescribedwearingcarnelianasageneralinvigoratorfortheblood.Somepeopleworeitforproblemssuchasnosebleeds,skindiseases,andPMS.Otherscarriedittostimulatesexualimpulses. Agate,carnelian,andamberstatementnecklace.Photo byHoney+Venom.LicensedunderCCBy-ND2.0 CarnelianSymbolismandGemLanguage Sinceancienttimes,manypeoplehaveconsideredthecarnelianaluckystone.Overthecenturies,thisbeliefhasgrownelaborately.TheEnglishandFrenchroyalcourtsofthe18thcenturyusedasymbolic“gemlanguage”toconveymessagesdiscreetly.Thefirstlettersofthegemssetinbroochesandotherjewelrypiecesconveyedamottoorsentiment.Thus,withthecorrectacrosticplacement,wearinga carnelianbroochtodinnercouldmeanyouwisheveryone“GoodLuck.” ArabTraditionsandCarnelianSymbolism TheArabpeoplesconsiderthecarnelianoneofthestonesofkings.Thestone’srich,warmcoloroftenlinksittoprojective,proactiveenergiesassociatedwithlionsandfire.Traditionally,thestonelendscouragetothoseinneedandhelpswithpublicspeaking.Itwouldcertainlybenefit akingtospeaklikealion,boldlyroaring,andwithfierypassion. TheProphetMohammedwassaidtohavewornacarneliansealsetinsilveronthelittlefingerofhisrighthand.ThismayhelpexplaintheappealofcarnelianintheArabandMuslimworld.Gemcuttersoftenengravecarnelianswithsmallprayersforluckortoturnawayenvy.InEgypt,peoplewearcarneliantowardofftheEvilEyeandinstillpeace. LostinTranslation:GemCarvings IntheMiddleAges,somescholarsmistakenlybelievedcarvedgemswerenaturalwonders.Inthe13thcenturyCEwork,TheBookofWings,Ragielgivesthesetraitstocarneliansfoundwiththeseinscriptions: Amanwithaswordinhishand,onacarnelian,preservestheplacewhereitmaybefromlightningandtempest,andguardsthewearerfromvicesandenchantments. Earliermagiciansandalchemistswroteaboutthepowersstonesreceivedfromcertainengraveddesigns.Theyoftenwentintogreatdetailoverhowtoplacetheappropriateimageonthecorrectstoneformaximumresults.Overthecenturies,thesepracticesdeclined,butwould-bepractitionerstookthesewritingssoliterallysomehumoroustranslationstookhold.InTheCuriousLoreofPreciousStones,GeorgeKunzoffersthisexampleofa15thcenturyFrenchtranslationboondoggle: “Ifyoufindadromedary(onehumpedcamel)engravedonastonewithhairflowingoveritsshoulders,thisstonewillbringpeaceandconcordbetweenmanandwife.”TheoriginalLatintextread,“IfyoufindAndromedaonastonewithhairflowingoverhershoulders,etc.” Ancientcarvedcarnelianonstring.Photo bydenisecarbonell.LicensedunderCCBy2.0. ThePerilsofWearingGemstonesYouDon’tBelieveIn DuringNapoleon’sEgyptiancampaign(1798-1799),heacquiredanoctagonal,inscribedcarnelianseal.BothNapoleonBonaparteandhisnephewNapoleonIIIheldthistalismaninhigh,evensuperstitious,regard.NapoleonIIIworethesealonhiswatchchain.Hegaveittohisson,thePrinceImperial,Louis-Napoleon,andinstructedhimtowearit.However,thePrinceImperialmerelyfollowedorderswhilewearingthispiece.Obviously,hisfaithinthistalismandidn’trunasdeepasthefaiththeZulusputintotheirweapons.WhentheyslewhiminSouthAfricain1879,theytookitfromhim. So,beyouPrinceImperialoralchemistextraordinaire,youmustbelieveinthegemsbeforethey’llwork. Properlywearinganengravedstonelikeacarneliancanhaveverydeepmeaningforthoseinclinedtostudythem.Carneliansymbolismcertainlyhasarichhistory.Youcantakeitseriouslyorsimplywishyourdinnerhostandhostess“GoodLuck”withtherightjewelry. I’llleaveyouwith“PledgesofBlessing”apoembyGoethefromhiswork,West-EasternDiwan,BookoftheSinger: CarnelianisaTalisman, Itbringsgoodlucktochildandman; Ifrestingonanonyxground, Asacredkissimprintwhenfound. Itdrivesawayallevilthings; Totheeandthineprotectionbrings. TheNameofAllah,kingofkings, Ifgravenonthisstone,indeed, willmovetoloveanddoughtydeed. Fromsuchagemawomangains Sweethopeandcomfortinherpains. Tumbledcarnelian,Botswana.PhotobyJarno. LicensedunderCCBy2.0. 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