Five gemstone stories that are sus

So, as I have announced last week, I am doing Gemstone Folklore as this year's A to Z theme! I have done an insane amount of research in the past months, and not all of it is going to make it into my final posts. So, I made some extra posts. This is the first one.

Enjoy!

Five gemstone stories that are not "ancient"

While researching gemstone lore I kept running into enticing hints of "legends" and "folktales" that I tried to track down - and completely failed. I spent a whole post ranting about this: the crystal healing community tends to pass around stories that are labeled traditional and ancient, even though they are neither. I made a list of the ones that cost me the most time and frustration.

Fluorite, the Home of Rainbows

Many, many crystal handbooks claim that "according to folklore" (no one names which one, this is usally a red flag), fluorite was believed to be "the house of rainbows." I have done a lot of research into fluorite folklore because it was Mineral of the Year in Hungary in 2018 - but lo and behold, absolutely no evidence of such folklore emerged.

Amethyst and Dionysus

This one sounds like a real Greek myth: Dionysus, god of wine, chases a maiden who prays to be rescued from persecution. Artemis turns her into pure white crystal. Dionysus, feeling regret, pours wine onto the crystal, staining it purple. You can find this "myth" all over the internet, but in reality, it is not ancient or Greek at all: it was the invention of a 16th century French poet. See the original text here.

Venus' onyx nails

Another commonly shared "ancient myth": Venus, goddess of love is taking a nap, when her son Cupid comes along, and trims her nails with his arrow. The nail clippings fall into the Indus river and turn into onyx. Now, ónyx does mean fingernail in ancient Greek, but there is no trace of this actual myth, which has several dubious elements: 1. how does one even clip a fingernail with an arrow, 2. why would Venus' fingernails be black... As far as I can tell, the story shows up in the 18th century in esoteric writings, and has been passed around without a source ever since.

Labradorite and Northern Lights

This one is allegedly an Inuit legend, about how the Northern Lights were originally trapped in rocks, until a brave warrior (or shaman) broke them free. But some of the lights still remain inside, giving labradorite rocks their special hue. I have tried my darndest to track down this story, but it does not appear to have anthropological sources listed anywhere. Once again, crystal books passing it around without reference.

Anahí's ametrines

Various online sources talking about ametrine (a mixture of amethyst and citrine) quote a legend about an Ayoreo princess named Anahí who fell in love with a conquistador named Don Felipe de Urriola y Goitia. The famous Anahí mines in Bolivia were either her dowry, or her dying gift to he husband (stories vary). Once again, no one quotes a source, and I could not track down a single info about this either in English or in Spanish, outside of gemstone websites.

+1 The Malachite Box

Generations of children have adored the beautiful tales of Pavel Bazhov, published in the volume titled The malachite box. While many people count them as "folktales from the Ural mountains", Bazhov has done serious editing and rewriting on the stories - so, they are technically not folktales, but rather, literary stories based on motifs of folklore.

Now, a few things I'd like to note

1. Just because a story is not "ancient" or folklore, it can still be a good story. I am not trying to say that tradition tales should be the be all, end all of storytelling.

2. My problem with these stories is that people keep making false claims about tradition and other cultures through them. Especially with indigenous traditions, such as the Inuit, outsiders should respect the stories and not misquote or misattribute them.

3. I would love to be proven wrong. If anyone has actual sources for any of these stories, please do share!

4. Next week, I'll be sharing some actual folk stories about gemstones, together with sources, so come back on Monday!