Carnelian

Years ago, in a Hecht's department store in a Maryland mall, I came across a silver ring with a carnelian cabochon that I couldn't resist.  I bought it and wore it all the


time, and subsequently lost it.  (I could fill Ali Baba's cave with jewelry
I've lost through the years.)

But after that first encounter, I was gripped by carnelian fever.  Luckily, carnelian is a semi-precious stone, so I could indulge my passion without spending a fortune.  I bought a pair of carnelian earrings.   For a few pennies, I got a couple of loose carnelians that I sometimes carry around in my hands.  One is a dark brownish red, the other a pale orange.  Not only are they beautiful, but they make a satisfying "clack" when I strike them together.

I also own a silver pentacle pendant with a dark red carnelian at its center.  Having a pentacle does not, unfortunately, make me a witch.  I wear it in the same spirit that I wear my First Communion medal with the Virgin Mary on it, as an acknowledgement of the Divine Feminine.  (When I wear the pentacle, people think it is a star of David.)

Speaking of witches and weirdness, I found a number of websites that describe the many mystical properties of carnelian.  In fact, if you were to add up all the things that all the websites say carnelian will do for you, they would cover the universe of mystical properties.  But all the sites agree on this:  that carnelian gives energy and spurs creativity.  If I were so inclined, I might conclude that the Divine Feminine Herself took me by the hand and led me to that Maryland mall, to the jewelry department at Hecht's, and to that particular carnelian ring.  Clearly She knew what I was most desperate for.

Things get really spooky when I look at my dogs.  Take a look at Wolfie's eyes:  two carnelian cabochons.  As for Bisou, whom the Cavalier people refer to as a "ruby,"  except for her nose she is carnelian from head to toe.

Do these two living carnelians give me energy, spur my creativity?  Often they sap my energy.  But they do make me awfully happy, and I cannot ask for more than that.

(Photo by Bisou's breeder and dog boarder extraordinaire who can be found here)