Emerald
Also Smaragdus, Green beryl
Transparent to translucent deep green, almost always with visible internal fractures and inclusions; the trade calls that internal world the jardin, the garden.
- Crystal system
- Hexagonal
- Hardness
- 7.5-8 Mohs
- Handling
- Hard but brittle, and riddled with internal fractures. Almost every emerald on the market has been filled with oil or resin to hide them, and hot water, detergent, solvents and ultrasonic cleaners strip that filler out, after which the stone visibly worsens. Rinse cool and briefly, or simply wipe it. Do not make an elixir: you would be steeping the filler, not the stone.
- In water
- No
What it is held to be for
Pliny holds that no colour is more pleasing to the eye than the emerald's, and reports that gem-cutters rested their sight on one after fine work. From that comes its whole tradition: the stone of the long look and the patient love. Lapidaries gave it to lovers as a truth-teller, and said that it clouded when a vow was broken.
Pliny, Natural History XXXVII, on smaragdus; Agrippa, Occult Philosophy I, on the things of Venus
Correspondences
These are the tradition's ascriptions, not properties of the mineral.
- Planet
- Venus, Mercury
- Element
- Earth
- Signs
- Taurus, Gemini
- Chinese phase
- Wood
- Year animal
- Dragon, Rabbit
- Centre
- Heart Anahata
- Sephirah
- Netzach
How it is used
Worn on the hand or at the throat, and traditionally exchanged rather than bought for yourself. Kept for anniversaries and long promises rather than beginnings; the tradition treats it as a stone for what has already lasted.
Today
Look at the emerald until your eyes rest. Then look up, name the promise you are still keeping, and go and keep it today.
A longer working
On a Friday, take the emerald and a promise you made long ago and have let slide. Hold the stone and look into its fractures; every emerald has them, and that is the point. Say the promise aloud in the words you first used. Then say what part of it you have not done. Do one piece of that part before the day ends. Wipe the stone dry and put it away.
Works with
- Herb
- Yarrow
- Incense
- Storax