Touchstones: Myth, Magic, and Meaning from the Stone Age to the New Age  

David started cutting stones at the age of 10 years. After college he worked as a silversmith for 2 years and then started cutting stones and making beads full time.  He’s been at it full time for 25 years now.. There are a lot of questions out there lately about what stones mean, what are their powers (if any).  Can modern man be respectful of the old theories and still be meaningful of the possibilities that people are seeking.  David spoke to the stories behind the stones, bones, teeth, shells, and ruins and why value is always placed on certain items.

Humans have always focused on “consciousness”. Humans think about and search for meanings and metaphors in nature around them. David did a quick overview of human evolution.  4 million years ago we started to walk upright but it was only 100 thousand years ago that primitive shells with holes in them strung on cord were found being used as ‘beads’ in Israel.   Various cultures have believed in imitative magic and the “powers” of similarity, contagion, and correspondence.  Such as that like effects like: voodoo, talismans, cave drawings, relics, even the Holy Grail. Powers have been given to stones such as yellow citron as a cure for jaundice, bloodstone for blood disorders, walnuts (that look like the brain) being used to treat maladies of the brain.  Mankind has always asked “Why are we here?” with a sense of awe. These aspects are cross-cultural. The magical attributes exist throughout mankind around the world.

The color of physical things, specifically flowers, feathers, and gemstones, is inherently beautiful to humans. All cultures have seen rainbows as magical manifestations.  Red ochre is still used in painting as it is the color of blood.  Black brings on images of the night, darkness, death, the unknown and is found in jet, ashes, and asphalt ~ both of these colors were used by early humans to paint their bodies, their sculptures, and their environments with colors and symbols.

The construction of flowers as the sex organs of plants attracts pollinators to continue their existence.  Flowers have always been  inherently beautiful to humans. Birds are avian dinosaurs characterized by beautiful feathers as ornamentation, which humans have also always collected and used to decorate themselves with. Gemstones are simply a minerals with intense colors that appeal to us, especially when cut and polished to use as a piece of jewelry for our adornment.

Humans developed methods of counting for a permanent record of the present and history of the past.  Ways of counting were carved in clay or stone tablets, knots were tied and counted, beads were moved as on an abacus.

Astrology is a cross cultural phenomena for humans to understand the universe.  Some forms assigned various metals to the planets to bring them closer to mankind: gold for the Sun, silver for the Moon, copper for Venus, iron for Mars, tin for Jupiter, lead for Saturn, and mercury for Mercury.

Pliny the Elder AD 23-AD 79 compiled the first book listing stones and their properties and cataloged nature.  An example is amethyst, believed to prevent drunkenness and the word amethyst is the ancient Greek word for “not drunk.”  To this day some people in AA use amethyst as a touchstone for their sobriety.  People referenced his work for 1,500 years. Romans were into using gemstones to trade and for science. Christians used beads to count prayers and the word “BEDE” means to pray in old English and that is where we get the word BEAD.  Buddhists, Muslims, and other religions also use strung beads to count prayers (malas and rosaries).
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Why we love jewelry is because it was designed and created for the human body to communicate with others.  For example the symbolism of the ring on the finger meaning the institution of marriage.  There is much tradition given to wedding bands and engagement rings.  Jewelry is often used as a way to bridge between people, to communicate relationships or wealth, and wearers of jewelry also develop relationships with the artists who make the jewelry.

Superstitions assigned to stones are not rare.  The myth that opals were said to bring bad luck came after a book written in 1829 by Sr. Walter Scott had a protagonist who had an opal brooch and suffered bad luck. Another example is the Hope Diamond is said to be cursed, and that jade must be received as a gift and not purchased for oneself. Birthstones were developed as a means to market gems and have come to have their own superstitions, such as not wearing an opal unless it’s your birthstone.

Humans also have superstitions around numbers.  For example the number 12 was considered special as there were 12 months in the year, 12 stones in the breastplate of Aaron in the Bible, etc.

A personal talisman is an object that speaks to you and is often used for meditation and well being. But do be aware of attributes that others assign to stones as these effects are “channeled” by people and have no basis in facts.  However the placebo effect is a real phenomena but but is not a substitute for science and medicine.

Check out “Book of Sacred Stones” written by Barbara Walker and “Magical Jewels” by Joan Evans.

by marilyn peters

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