STONES & METALS · LESSON 1 OF 7 · 14 MIN · FREE
Two thousand years of books on the virtues of stones, from Theophrastus and Pliny to the medieval lapidaries.
A lapidary is a book about stones: their kinds, where they are found, and above all their virtues — the powers they were believed to hold. For two thousand years lapidaries were standard reading for physicians, jewellers, priests and magicians.
A lapidary is a book about stones: their kinds, where they are found, and above all their virtues — the powers they were believed to hold. For two thousand years lapidaries were standard reading for physicians, jewellers, priests and magicians.
| Stone | Traditional virtue | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Amethyst | Prevents drunkenness | Greek a-methystos, "not drunk" |
| Coral | Protects children | Hung on infants (Pliny) |
| Jet | Drives away serpents and evil | Burnt as a fumigation (Pliny) |
| Lodestone | Attraction; reconciliation of spouses | The magnet's pull, read as love |
| Sapphire | Chastity, peace, piety | Worn by medieval bishops |
| Holed stones (hagstones) | Protection against witchcraft and nightmares | British folk practice |
Behind these claims lie three kinds of reasoning: sympathy (a red stone for blood), names (amethyst), and the stars (a stone carries the virtue of its planet or sign).
Ancient gem names do not always match modern ones. Pliny's sapphirus had gold flecks — almost certainly lapis lazuli; his smaragdus covered many green stones. When you read an old lapidary, treat the name as a clue, not an identification.
Modern "crystal healing" grew up in the 1970s and 80s. Scientific tests have not supported the claim that stones have physical healing powers. In magic, stones work as the lapidaries suggest: as symbols and anchors of intention, and as carriers of planetary correspondence. The rest of this track shows how.
Choose one stone you own or can easily find. Look it up in Kunz's The Curious Lore of Precious Stones (1913, free online), the Crystals & Stones tool or the Correspondences tool, and write down every virtue and association you can find. Which reasoning — sympathy, name or stars — lies behind each?
4 questions — choose an answer to check it.
1.What does the Greek name "amethystos" mean?
2.Marbod of Rennes's verse lapidary was written around…
3.Who wrote the earliest surviving Greek treatise on stones?
4.Which stone did the lapidaries say drove away serpents when its fumes were burned?
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