Historic Superstitions About Fossils as Talismans

In olden times parts, or segments, of an animal were worn as a protection against harm from that particular creature, or else to endow the wearer with some of its real or fancied qualities. In modern times this tendency finds expression in the wearing of jewels of animal form, wherein precious stones are grouped and arranged so as to constitute different parts of the creature's body. Such jewels are often looked upon as "mascots."

A peculiar fossil was known to the Germans by the name of Mutterstein, and is called hysterolithus in the Latin treatises of Agricola, De Boot, etc., a word of Greek derivation signifying the resemblance of the object to an organ of the body. These fossils are formed from the contents of certain shells, and retain the shape of the enclosing shell, which has broken away. Some of these formations were called enorchi from a fancied resemblance to another organ and were regarded as phallic emblems, while others were thought to figure the heart, especially large specimens being named bucar dites, or "ox-hearts." This name is already employed by Pliny. The hysterolithus was used to cure various female diseases, and to the bucardites was accorded among other virtues that of increasing the wearer's courage. The hysterolithus is believed to be the same as the autoglyphus mentioned by pseudo-Plutarch as having been found in the river Sagaris, in Asia Minor. Its peculiar shape was regarded as symbolizing Cybele, the mother of the gods, and the story ran that if one of the unfortunate male victims of Eastern jealousy should obtain a stone of this kind he would become reconciled to his sad lot and would cease to regret his lost manhood.

If we were inclined to accord the title of precious stones to stones greatly esteemed for their talismanic virtues, a high place in this category would be assigned to the salagrama-stone of the Hindus. Among the aboriginal inhabitants of India this was regarded as a symbol of the female principle in nature, and of its representative the goddess Prakrti, and in the later Hindu belief the stone was looked upon as the special emblem of the god Vishnu, the "Preserver," the second personage of the Hindu Trimurti. It is therefore ardently revered by those who are more especially devoted to the worship of Vishnu. These stones are fossil formations, either of ammonites or univalve mollusks of a spiral order, and consist of a number of spirals surrounding a circular, central perforation. They are generally the hardened filling of the shell itself, which has entirely weathered away. For the stone to be an effectual talisman, the diameter of the perforation should not exceed one-eighth of the total diameter of the salagrama. The best specimens are said to be found in Nepal, on the upper course of the Gandaki, which flows into the Ganges from the north, and is called the Salagrama River, because the sacred stone is found in it.

There can be little doubt that we have here a substance similar to the fossils described by Pliny and his successors under the names brontia, ombria, ovum anguinum, and cornu ammonis, and it is most probable that in India, as in Europe, these fossils were believed to have fallen from heaven, and were associated with the thunder-bolt. Hence they would be regarded by the Hindus as more especially sacred to Vishnu, who was originally a divinity representing the various forms of light, one of his manifestations being the lightning.

The salagramas must be carefully chosen, for not all of them are luck-bringing, some being bearers of ill-fortune. A black salagrama brings fame to the owner, and a red one, a crown; but one with an unduly large perforation would cause dissension and strife in a family, one with irregularly formed spirals portends misfortune, and a brown one would bring to pass the death of its owner's wife. Each faithful worshipper of Vishnu has one of these stones, but two may not be in the same house. To give away a salagrama would be equivalent to casting away every prospect of good-fortune. However, only one who belongs to the three highest castes is entitled to become an owner of the sacred stone, in which the very spirit of Vishnu is supposed to dwell; neither a Sudra nor a Pariah enjoys this privilege, which is also denied to women.

The salagrama is carefully wrapped in linen cloths, and must be often washed and perfumed. The water with which it has been washed becomes a consecrated drink. The master of the house must adore the stone once each day, either in the morning or in the evening. As the salagrama not only brings happiness in this world but also insures felicity in the future world, it is held over the dying Hindu while water is allowed to trickle through the orifice. This ceremony appears to have a certain analogy to the rite of extreme unction administered in the Catholic Church.

It is stated by Finn Magnusen that in Iceland, toward the beginning of the last century, he saw superstitious peasants carefully guard small stones of peculiar appearance in pretty bags filled with fine flour. They treated these stones with great reverence and either wore them on their persons or placed them in their beds or other furniture.

The fossils known as brontiae, ombriae and chelonites were all believed to be antidotes for poison and also to make the wearer victorious over his enemies. Hence they were sometimes set in the pommels of swords. That these objects were equally potent in peace, is shown by the fact that Danish peasant women placed them in their milk pails to ward off the effects of any spell that might have been cast over the cow's milk by a malevolent witch.

David Reich notes the four kinds of astroites, or "victory stones," given by De Boot; the first, marked with small stars; the second, with rose-like figures; the third, with wavy lines, like the convolutions of a worm; the fourth, with obscure and indefinite markings. To these varieties Reich adds a fifth, the convex side of which was marked with black crosses, while the other, flat side, showed larger crosses surrounded by circles; all these markings were so perfect that an artist could scarcely imitate them; this specimen he had set, with other precious gems, in a silver cross, the flat side of the fossil, at the back of the cross, being covered by a heart-shaped topaz. These were all specimens of fossil coral.

The saga of Dietrich of Bern relates of King Nidung that on the eve of a battle in which his forces were much inferior to those of the enemy, he was filled with despair to find that he had left his "victory stone" in his castle, miles away from where he had pitched his tent. Overmastered by his desire to regain possession of his stone at this critical time, Nidung offered a large sum of money and his daughter's hand to anyone who would bring it to him before the battle began. The distance was so great and the time so short that the task seemed utterly impossible, and a young esquire, Velint by name, was the only one willing to risk the enterprise. He was favored in his quest by having a horse of wonderful strength and endurance, by whose help he barely succeeded in making the long journey to the castle and returning in time. King Nidung, wearing his invincible stone, was the victor in the battle, and he did not fail to carry out his rather rash promise.

Amulets of fossil coral are freely used in Italy, especially in the province of Aquila, and are called "witch-stones" (pietre stregonie). These are similar to one type of the "asterias" worn as amulets in ancient and medieval times. Many of the Italian amulets are incised or engraved with Christian subjects, one figured by Bellucci bearing the head of Christ on the obverse, and Christ on the cross on the reverse side; on others appears the image of the Virgin Mary.