The magical powers of precious stones

A popular legend tells that Jinn are afraid of wolves and according to this legend, If Jinn is seen by a wolf coming towards him he will not be able to move and if wolf urinate on him he will be transformed into a cameo , then Jinn will be locked into that shape , and he will stays in this way till finally falls into human hands, then he will appears in dreams visions of that human trying to offer his services in order to set him free from his transformed shape , This legend reminds us of the Aladdin’s magical lamp and genie inside, There is also there also a widespread belief established in people minds about the power and the influence of the precious stones as they (the stones) bring the livelihoodand eliminate the negative power of envy eye, or even help to increase sexual drive of men.

Amulets used by the ancient Egyptians

Ancient Egyptians believed that the jewelry have magical powers and effects beside its function in the adornment, so they used the jewelry as amulets attached to various parts of their bodies, and those amulets varied according to the purpose of hanging, as there were amulets for the lived people, and another for the dead, and also there were amulets for prevention of diseases and another for prevention of witchcraft, envy, and drowning .

These types of amulets differ in usage according to the social position, for instance the rich people used them made of gold and precious stones, while the public used the polished beads , Cyril Eldred mentioned in his book "The Pharaohs Jewelry" that jewelry were used to decorate the spell or the neck which evolved from a primitive form appearing in that amulet which was hanging from a string or strap surrounding the neck, which used by the primitive human to save himself/herself from the nature invisible forces, as he/she believed that it was sending the storms, floods, volcanoes and earthquakes, and cause diseases , Eldred also mentioned that the most commonly used amulets among the Ancient Egyptians were the spell amulets which made of beads, and that there was not a nation of the ancient world such as Egypt which made so much great and those huge quantities of beads to their sense of aesthetic aspect in the forms and colors of those natural materials as well as their belief in the magical powers of those beads , Also colors have had signs in the Ancient Egyptians jewelry, as they adopted 3 colors; red, green and blue, as the red color was symbolizing to the redness of the blood which is in the veins and granting life and activity, and the green color was symbolizing to the greenness of the crops that provide goods of the earth such as grains , fruits and vegetables, and the blue color was connecting with the sky and blueness where the sun swim in it (The sign of god Ra according to the Ancient Egyptians) and where the gods/goddess live in it and protect the humans and blessed them.

A Spreaded Myth

The idea of believing in the magical powers of the precious stones and beads moved (Read about The Legend of the Blue Bead) from generation to another until it reached today's world without knowing the source of this idea, or the origin of this myth, or even how to use them to prevent any particular thing and there are many beliefs prevail among the peoples of Iran, India and China that the "Jad" stone protects its owner from serious risk of heart disease, and the turquoise stone makes away many dangers and evils . In Nubia men ornamenting with a ring contains a white stone of precious stones as they believe that it protects its owner from being bitten by scorpions.

Also Read ...
- The Legend of the Blue Bead