Hi everyone!
This week's blog post is all about the warm fire like carnelian!
Carnelian Family
Carnelian is part of the Chalcedony family which is a branch coming away from the Cryptocrystalline Quartz family. It is the orange variety of the Chalcedony family. It gains its orange colour due to inclusions of Iron and comes in the colour variations of red, orange, brown and yellow. It is found unusually near alkaline and acid Volcanic rock. It is a trigonal crystal system. The darker variation of Carnelian is called Sard. It ranges from being translucent to opaque. It is found in Brazil, India, Uruguay, England (Cornwall), France, Japan, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Peru, Iceland and Romania. Its Chemical Composition is SiO2 + (Fe, O, OH). It is usually used in carved ornaments, Jewellery and tumblestones. The hardness of Carnelian on Mohs scale is 6-7. You do have to be carefully whether your carnelian is a Carnelian or whether it is a heated treated Red Agate as most labelled carnelians are red agates. You must pop the carnelian into the sunlight and if you see stripes it is an agate. Carnelian does not have stripes naturally. History and Mythology of Carnelian
Carnelian has a very long history of usage. It is also known as being spelt Cornelian. It got its name due to the stone being similar in colour to the Kornel Cherry.
In Ancient times it was a stone of spirituality and a protection for the dead as well as associated with royalty. There was found in a 3rd century BC Sumerian Queen's tomb, a robe which was encrusted with Carnelians.
The Egyptians used carnelian for amulets, jewellery for carvings and we have many examples throughout museums of the world, from various ancient Egyptian tombs of its usage. They believed that it Carnelian was 'the blood of Isis' who was a very important goddess of the Egyptian Pantheon who was a magician and protected put together and brought back to life Osiris, her deceased husband, when he had been cut up and bits of his body have been placed in each Egyptian Nome. The Egyptians believed that their dead became Osiris and so Carnelian was very important for protecting the dead on their journey to the afterlife. The amulet of carnelian has usually been found by the throat.
The Ancient Greeks used carnelian as a type of lucky charm to bring courage and confidence to the wearer.
The Romans believed the shades of Carnelian represented the different genders. So Dark versions of Carnelian like Sard, were masculine and to be worn and carried by men, while the lighter shades were feminine and used by women. They again believed in the protective powers of Carnelian and the strength and courage it brought. Many Carnelian ring seals have been found that are dated to Roman times and were used by many high-powered Romans to seal ownership and wax tablets, with many having carvings. This picture is from the British museum which has a carved cupid in the carnelian.
The Arabs believed Carnelian was the stone of the Royalty and associated it with lions and fire due to its warm, fire-like tones. It was also believed to help with communicating to large communities and doing speeches which a King has to do to control and rule their peoples.
Traders in the Middle-East wear Carnelian with a prayer carved in it - this is to protect from envy from other traders.
It is believed the Prophet Muhammed worn carnelian seal ring on his finger.
The Bible also mentions Carnelian as it is in first row of the breastplate of Aaron.
In the Middle Ages, it was believed to help to stop bleeding and calmed anger.
In the 17th century, they used Carnelian against haemorrhage as they associated the colour as being able to help with the blood and stopping blood clots, and other blood diseases. They also believed that it helped against poisons. It was ground down into a powder and ingested.
Crystal Healing Properties
Carnelian has many uses in Crystal Healing. It is known to help cleanse other crystals that are around it.
It is known to help re-energise and bring vitality back into your life, especially good for the elderly in this respect. It helps in work spaces as it energises and boosts the surrounding environment so creating a work grid helps this. Carnelian is also good for the workplace as you can carry it round to meetings and places where you are hoping for success.
In your home life, carnelian if placed at the front door, invites positive energies, protection from jealousy and invites life to your home.
It is believed to help with creativity so that you make the right decisions and brings abundance to your life.
In addition, it is a great stone for revising or learning as it helps with your concentration and memory levels. Due to this help in concentration it helps meditation.
Emotionally, it helps ground you from all abuse, mental or physical and well as helping with depression. It also aids removing fear of death and replaces it with courage and acceptance about it. It is believed to protect against anger, jealousy and resentment.
Physically it aids:
the metabolism
Reproductive organs
Heightens the want for sex (place on the area for 20 minutes)
Lower back problems
Rheumatism, arthritis and neuralgia
Bones and ligaments (pop on the area affected)
Circulatory system especially the blood as it helps flow.
Helps absorption and regulation of minerals in the body
Thirst
Digestion
Gallbladder
Thyroid
Liver
Lungs
Kidneys
Spleen
Helps against eating disorders
asthma and hay fever
Colds, bronchitis and infections
Jaundice
minor cuts and grazes
You can combine carnelian with other quartz such as Amethyst and rose quartz to unite all 7 chakras. Using Smokey quartz with it on your root chakra for extra grounding. Using Moldavite on your heart chakra with Carnelian with boost your energy levels. Carnelian is associated with the Sacral and Root chakras due to its grounding and fertility crystal healing associations. It is also associated with the Star sign Sagittarius. Here's a list of books I have used for this blog, feel free to check them out! Bibliography https://www.gemsociety.org/article/history-legend-carnelian-gems-yore/ https://accessgems.com/carnelian-stone-meaning-short-history/ The Pocket Book of Stones, Richard Simmons, 2015 Gemstones of the World, Walter Schumann, 5th edition The Healing Power of Crystals, Cass and Janie Jackson, 2001 The Lure of Gems, Steve Bennett, 2014 Crystal Healing, Judy Hall The Crystal Healer, Philip Permutt, 2015 Crystals for Everyday Living, Christina Rodenbeck, 2015 Crystal Power, Crystal Healing: The Complete Handbook, Michael Gienger, 1998 Crystal Bible, Judy Hall, 2009 Thanks for reading and I hope its been informative!