Medical and Astrological Mineralogy of Precious Gem Stones

MEDICAL MINERALOGY:

From the time of his first appearance upon the earth, man has been subject to malady and death. That is to say, medicine is as old as humanity.

It is probable that the earliest medicines were derived from vegetables, and that certain animal substances were next made use of; but it was long before people thought of employing mineral substances in medicine. This we first hear of in early Greek history.

Certain earths, generally aluminous, administered in various ways, were said to produce salutary effects. These earths were sold in little packages marked with different names, generally referring to the places of their origin. They were rendered still more efficacious by having a special seal affixed to them by the priests of various divinities, whence the term terra sigillata (sigillum, a seal). Among the most celebrated of these "sealed earths" was the earth of Lemnos, sold by the priestesses of the temple of Ephesus, in packages stamped with a goat, the sacred seal of Diana.

In the ancient pharmacopoeias, precious stones are counted among the most valuable remedies. Special virtues were attributed to the ruby, topaz, emerald, sapphire, and hyacinth, which were rendered famous in medicinal annals under the title of "The Five Precious Fragments."

ASTROLOGICAL MINERALOGY:

Astrological mineralogy had its origin in Chaldea. A work of Abolays, translated by Jehuda Mosca about the middle of the thirteenth century, contains a catalogue of 325 stones, distributed by the Chaldean astronomers among the twelve signs of the zodiac, according to the relationship supposed to exist between the different stones and the constellations.

Later a single stone was specially consecrated to each sign of the zodiac, and consequently to each month of the year.