Carnelian Heart

History of Carnelian

Carnelian has one of the oldest and most detailed historical traditions of any healing stone. It is included in virtually every known lapidary, texts which describe gemstones and their powers. Some of the most ancient traditions concerning Carnelian date back to the very dawn of human civilization and probably originated long before that! It is found in many localities worldwide and is included in the folklore of many different cultures and civilizations.

The name Carnelian is a modern variation on the name Cornelian, which comes from the Latin cornum, referring to cornelian cherries, a red berry which the stone resembles. During the 15th century, the name Cornelian was incorrectly believed to originated from the Latin carneolus, meaning flesh. As a result, Cornelian was renamed Carnelian.

Many indigenous tribes still follow traditions concerning Carnelian, traditions which likely date back to time immemorial. Among the Aboriginals of South West Australia, Carnelian beads are worn by men to cure all sickness and it is forbidden for women to touch these beads. The Zulus of South Africa likewise claim that a man wearing Carnelian beads cannot be harmed by a falling house or wall. A similar belief was echoed in both Native American traditions as well as in European lore. The Bghai tribes of Burma carve fetishes out of Carnelian and feed them with blood, since Spirits good and bad dwelt in stones and if we don’t give them blood to eat, they will eat us!¹

Carnelian was one of the first stones to be used in ancient Egypt, since it is a relatively soft stone which is easy to carve. Carnelian was commonly used for cylinder seals and for burial amulets. In The Book of the Dead, more correctly translated as the Book of Emerging Forth Into The Light, a funerary text dating back to 3400 BCE, is contained a series of magical spells which, if used correctly, were thought to help the souls of the dead travel safely through the Underworld. The book recommend carving Carnelian into a heart as well as a scarab, the symbol of eternal life. In Chapter 156 of The Book of the Dead, it says,

“The is the Chapter of the Buckle of Carnelian, which is put on the neck of the deceased. The blood of Isis, the virtue of Isis, the magic power of Isis, the magic power of the Eye are protecting the great one; they prevent any wrong doing from being done to him…The buckle of Carnelian is dipped into the juice of aukhama, then inlaid into the substance of the sycamore wood and put on the neck of the deceased. Whoever has this chapter read to him, the virtue of Isis protects him; Horus, the son of Isis, rejoices in seeing him, and no way is barred to him.”

Carnelian is also revered in numerous religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. It is mentioned in both the Bible and the Torah, as the first of twelve stones which decorated the breastplate of the High Priest of ancient Israel. The design for the Breastplate was given by God to Moses, whose brother Aaron was the first to wear it. Each of the gemstones on the Breastplate were inscribed with the symbol for one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Carnelian was most likely inscribed with the Tribe of Reuben. The children of Israel were said to have brought Carnelian with them in their flight from Egypt and carved the stones with sacred symbols while they wondered through the desert for forty years.

In the modern Middle East, Arabs still carve Carnelian amulets to ward off envy, since many people believe that if someone is envied, the quality that is coveted can be drained out of them. However, a Carnelian amulet which is engraved with a sacred poem can prevent this draining from happening. Such charms read: “In the name of God, the Just, the very Just! I implore you, O God, King of the World, God of the World, deliver us from the Devil who tries to do us harm and evil to us through bad people, and from the evil of the envious.”²

Muslims in particular love Carnelian since it is said that the Prophet Muhammad wore a silver ring set with a Carnelian seal on his little finger. As a result, many Muslims wear a similar ring and it is believed that anyone who owns such a ring can never truly be separated from God.

The Buddha is also connected with Carnelian, and it is said that he offered a vase crafted of Carnelian to Virupaka, one of the Four Heavenly Kings who watch over the four cardinal directions. Virupaka is the God of the West and the one who sees all. He is symbolized by a snake or dragon, and is a also depicted as an eye in the sky who sees unbelievers and converts them to Buddhism.

Carnelian is mentioned in virtually every medieval European lapidary. In the 13th century Lapidario of Alfonso X, Carnelian is credited with bringing courage, a strong voice, and charm, and in the Book of Wings it is said to stop the flow of blood and bring honor. During the next century, Chevalier Jean de Mandeville wrote in his lapidary, “It will bring peace and concord and give honor and victory. It will restrain the bleeding of a wound or of a nerve, it will also restrain the flow of a woman’s bleeding and will appease anger as well as the enemy of he who wears it.” Similar views were echoed by lapidaries for centuries afterwards.

The German writer and statesman Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749-1832) summed up Carnelian’s attributes as, “Carnelian is a talisman. It brings good luck to child and man… It drives all evil things; to thee and thine protection brings. The name of Allah, King of Kings if graven on this stone, indeed, will move to love and doughty deed. From such a gem a woman gains sweet home and comfort in her pains.”