Onyx
Also Sardonyx, Banded chalcedony
Opaque black, or straight parallel bands of black and chalk white; sardonyx bands brown and white. Waxy lustre, takes a mirror polish
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Hardness
- 6.5-7 Mohs
- Handling
- Hard, stable and safe in water. Worth knowing that most black onyx on sale is grey chalcedony dyed black. The dye is stable in ordinary handling, but it can lift in hot water or solvents, so wash it cool and briefly and dry it.
- In water
- Safe
What it is held to be for
The Greeks called it onyx, fingernail, for the pale band running through the dark. The story ran that Cupid cut Venus's nails with an arrowhead and the Fates turned the clippings to stone. Pliny knew it as a carving stone, and cameo cutters have worked its layers ever since. Agrippa sets it under Saturn. It is held to hold a thing steady rather than to lighten it.
Pliny XXXVII, on onyx; Agrippa I, things under Saturn
Correspondences
These are the tradition's ascriptions, not properties of the mineral.
- Planet
- Saturn, Mars
- Element
- Earth
- Signs
- Capricorn, Scorpio
- Chinese phase
- Metal
- Year animal
- Rooster, Ox
- Centre
- Root Muladhara
- Sephirah
- Binah
How it is used
Worn as a ring where it is out of sight, under a cuff or on a cord inside the shirt. Kept for long tasks rather than daily carry. Set it on a plan while the work goes on.
Today
Put it in your pocket before a conversation you expect to be difficult. Touch it once before you answer anything. Then answer more slowly than you want to.
A longer working
Choose one commitment you have let slide. On a Saturday, set the stone on a written copy of it. Each day for a week, do one small piece of the work, and afterwards move the stone a hand's width nearer the door. On the seventh day, if the thing is done, carry the stone with you as a marker. If it is not done, put the stone away and write down honestly why it was not.
Works with
- Herb
- Comfrey
- Incense
- Myrrh