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serpentine - green stone magic
Like many other relatively common stones, serpentine has been used throughout history for a variety of objects: seals, magic amulets, personal adornment and funerary equipment, just to name a few.
The advantage of the cylinder seal was that it could be made to cover an area as large as desired, an advantage over earlier 'stamp' seals.
Inscriptions on cylinder seals were mostly carved in reverse, so as to leave a positive image on the clay with figures standing out. However, some were directly carved, leaving a negative imprint.
Some of the best preserved depictions of mythical events in the ancient world can be found on cylinder seals.
Seals served another important purpose other than personal identity -- they doubled as amulets: the depictions of mythological events and mighty deities carved on the cylinder was believed to also have the power to ward off evil demons or bring the wearer under the protection of his/her personal deity.
The type of stone from which the cylinder was made was important because respective stones were thought to possess certain powers. For example, Sumerians believe that a man's seal made from lapis lazuli "will possess a god...[who] will rejoice in him."
seals and signatures
For many peoples of the ancient world -- among them the Sumerians, Assyrians, Persians and Egyptians -- serpentine, with its smooth 'oily' surface, frequently served as the stone of choice for cylinder seals because neither sealing wax or wet clay adhered to it.
about cylinder seals Cylinder seals are small stone objects incised with graphic images and/or lettering that were used as the "signatures" of dignitaries, officials and the well-to-do in the ancient Near East, Rome, and Greece.

akkadian green serpentine cylinder seal, circa 2334-2154 bc depicting nisaba, the haldean goddess of barley and writing
photo: surena collection

Invented around 3,500 BC in southern Mesopotamia (now Iraq) or south-western Iran, cylinder seals � which coincide with the introduction of cuniform writing -- were used as an administrative tool, as jewelry and as magical amulets until around 300 BC.

Seals were made of hard stone, often black or dark green, such as serpentine -- but also of lapis lazuli, chalcedony, hematite, agate, jasper, marble, carnelian and crystal -- and were pierced through from end to end so that they could conveniently (before pockets) be worn on a string or pin.

The cylinder was rolled over wet clay to mark or identify clay tablets, envelopes, ceramics and bricks as signature, confirmation of receipt, or to mark clay tablets and building blocks.

Because they cannot be seen completely without turning them, cylinder seals are somewhat akin to Chinese scrolls in that they need to be "unraveled" or "rolled out" to see the entire graphic portrayed. Some have one continuous scene, others are "compartmentalized," and some have inscriptions.

Invaluable to historians and archeologists because they carry inscriptions naming the ancient owners, or giving other valuable information, Assyrian scholar, W. G. Lambert has observed that "cylinder seals are the only object from the ancient Near East surviving in quantity over the entire time span [of history]."
Italian streghe or witches, from Roman times well into the Middle Ages believed that small pebbles of serpentine would protect one from the bites of venomous creatures, mainly because the green color streaked with white resembles snakeskin. If a person had already been bitten by a snake or poisonous insect, serpentine was thought to help draw out the toxins.
Serpentine , or serpentinite , also refers to a mineral producing dry, nutrient-poor soil laced with magnesium, chromium and other metals toxic to most plants not specially adapted to its unusual chemistry. In folklore, the name "serpentine" is attributed to the soil's resemblance to a mottled greenish-brown snake dwelling on similar soils in northern Italy.
From the sixth century onwards, Orpheus was looked upon as one of the chief poets and musicians of antiquity, the inventor or perfecter of the lyre, who by his music and singing was able not only to charm the wild beasts, but even to draw the trees and rocks from their places and to arrest the rivers in their course.
Believed by some to be Greek, the tradition of Orpheus' Thracian origin was generally accepted. The great lyric poet Pindar (522-442 BC) speaks of Orpheus as "the father of songs."
Aristaeus was the patron god of cattle, fruit trees, hunting, husbandry and bee-keeping. He also taught humanity dairy skills and the use of nets and traps in hunting, as well as how to cultivate olives.
 the snake charm
It seems to have been a widely held belief in many parts of the world that anyone who carried an amulet of serpentine had protection from snake bites. Indeed, some people believe this association led to giving the mineral its name.

'the loss of eurydice' (1994)
artist elsie russell (1956- )

Others, however, think it more likely that the mineral was so-named because the colors and patterns of some fairly common dark green dappled serpentines closely resemble the mottled skins of some snakes.
A poem attributed to the mythical Greek poet Orpheus and said to have been written in the fourth century AD, shows how far back the association between the mineral and snakes was made:

"No more the trailing serpent's tooth to fear. Let him who by the dragon's fang hath bled, On the dire wound Serpentine powdered spread, And in the stone his sure reliance place, For wounds inflicted by the reptile race."

orpheus and eurydice
A supremely talented musician, Orpheus -- the son of either Oeagrus, king of Thrace or Apollo, and Calliope, the muse of eloquence and epic or heroic poetry -- was known for playing the lyre, composing his own songs and lyrics.

Orpheus fell in love with Eurydice, and they married. Shortly after their wedding, Eurydice, fleeing from Aristaeus, was bitten by a serpent and died. Overwhelmed with grief, Orpheus was determined to journey to the underworld and try to bring Eurydice back by charming Hades, god of the underworld, with his songs.

Successful in his quest to obtain permission from Hades, Orpheus was given one condition: he could not look back at Eurydice as she followed him back to the realm of earth.

Just as they were leaving through the gates of the underworld, Orpheus inadvertently glanced back to make sure Eurydice was behind him. Instantly, she vanished back into the underworld.

Sadly, Orpheus was not permitted to return and spent the rest of his days wandering and playing his lyre, mourning Eurydice.
Although amulets are usually something tangible, an amulet can be just words. For example, at one time a person might say "vade retro, Satanas" -- Latin, for "go back, Satan" -- to repel evil or bad luck.
Sang-i-yashm , a bowenite type of serrpentine from Afghanistan, was used widely as a jade substitute in the ancient world.
Green, to the Egyptians, was the color of new life, growth, vegetation and fertility -- and most importantly, the Nile -- literally the life-giving waters that ensured Egypt's existence. A person was said to be doing "green things" if his behavior was beneficial or life producing. Wadj , the Egyptian word for "green," also meant "to flourish or be healthy."
Chapter 77 of the Book of the Dead makes reference to the deceased becoming a falcon "whose wings are of green stone" -- referring to new life and rebirth.
The term "faience" includes finely-glazed ceramic beads found in both ancient Egypt and the Indus Valley Civilization.
Several chapters in the Book of the Dead are dedicated to the preservation and protection of the heart.
The text of the heart scarab addresses the heart of the deceased and pleads that it not rise up and witness against the spirit, thereby influencing the weighing of the heart in the balance of judgment.
The Egyptian god Khephir was also known as Kheper, Khepera, Khepri or Chepri . God of the sun, creation, life and resurrection, Khephir was the spiritual power regulating reimbodiments and transmigrations.
 precious protection
Serpentine's smooth 'greasy' finish -- and its range of green to blue-green colors -- has made it a favorite material in many cultures for creating amulets (a word derived from the Latin amuletum meaning "a method of defense"). But nowhere was the color green more important than in Egypt.
From specimens preserved in museums one can see that, particularly in Egypt, any greenish stone might be selected, preferably those yielding a high, vitreous polish such as jadeite, turquoise, or "precious serpentine."

sacred serpentine scarab on armband
photo: smithsonian magazine

The most important green amulet was the heart scarab -- symbolically as sacred to the Egyptians as the cross is to Christians. The heart was vital because Egyptians considered it to be the seat of emotions and intellect, and it was believed that the heart had a will and existence of its own.
Believed to guarantee resurrection in the afterlife, dung beetles or 'scarabs' -- scarabaeus sacer -- were held in special reverence by the ancient Egyptians who frequently included them in the mummy wrappings (worn over the heart as a replacement heart for the afterlife as the real heart was removed in the mummification process).
egyptian amulets
In ancient Egypt, small images or symbols of the gods called amulets were worn by the living as well as the dead to ward off evil and bring good luck.

Egyptian amulets -- often worn as jewelry, pierced lengthwise, strung with a cord and worn as a necklace, or mounted and worn as a ring -- were made of gold, wood, ivory, semiprecious stones or faience, a ceramic-like quartz mixture baked until it formed a glossy bluish or greenish surface.

khephir

Amulets were frequently carved in the shape of a dung beetle, the symbol of life -- but more importantly, the symbol of rebirth -- arguably the most fundamental concept of Egyptian belief system.

Dung beetles are known for rolling bits of animal dung into holes in the ground and laying their eggs in this substance. The sight of young beetles emerging almost instantly from the ground led the Egyptians to name them kheper, meaning "he who came into being."

Depicted as a dung beetle or as a human with a dung beetle head, Khephir was believed to roll the disk of the sun (as the scarab pushes the dung) across the sky each day -- bringing it safely back the following morning, a guarantee that life would continue.
A man (king or noble) who had green stone was thought to be far richer, more powerful and of higher status than one who had the equivalent in mere stockpiles of gold.
Not long before Bartholom de Alva's time, Europeans in the Middle Ages believed that serpentine protected them against disease and sorcery. 'Fright stones' -- pocket amulets carved out of serpentine mineral in the shape of ugly-faced amulets -- were carried to scare away 'things that go bump in the night.'
At one time (and possibly still), the Indians of Oaxaca (pronounced "woe HOK a") would take the largest ear of corn in a field and wrap it up in a cloth with a chalchihuitl. At the next planting, the packet of corn and green stone would be buried in the field in order to ensure a plenteous maize harvest. This practice is believed to be related to the worship of the ancient Zapotec deity Quiegolani (pronounced "kee-e-go-LAH-nee") who presided over cultivated fields.
Today, the word chalchihuitl is the Mexican name for "turquoise."
Over half of Mexico's indigenous people groups are located in Oaxaca.
 chalchihuitl
Like the Egyptians, green stones also had great significance for the indigenous population of southern Mexico and Central America. Olmec, Aztec and Mayan kings in Central America revered green and blue-green stone beyond all other earthly objects.

serpentine frog pendant, 1200 ad, costa rica
photo: indian artifacts

Green stone amulets and charms, called chalchihuitl (pronounced "ch�l`chė`wėtl"), made of stones such as jadeite, nephrite, turquoise and serpentine were of peculiar religious significance to the indigenous populations of southern Mexico and Central America and in fact are still cherished among them today.
The stones are often carved into images, either in human form or representing a frog, the latter a symbol of precious water, fertility and abundance.
confessionary tales

fat lord with frog (popol vuh), messenger to the underworld, guatemalan lowlands, late classic maya ,ad 700-900
photo: jay i. kislak foundation

Bartholom de Alva, a Spanish priest in Mexico in the 1860's, refers to the amulets in a passage of his Confessionary. The priest asks the penitent:

"Dost thou possess at this very time little idols or frogs of green stone? Dost thou put them out in the sun to be warmed? Dost thou keep them wrapped in cotton coverings, with great respect and veneration?

"Dost thou believe, and hold for very truth that these green stones give thee food and drink, even as thy ancestors believed, who died in their idolatry? Dost thou believe that they give thee success and prosperity and good things, and all that thou hast or wishest?

"Because we know very well that many of you believe [this] at this time�"
To the Maoris, green stone was "green gold." Made into carving tools used by expert tohunga whakairo (master carvers), war weapons and amulets as well as religious objects, it had spiritual properties and was used in religious ceremonies.
So important was green stone in the Maori culture that it was considered a taonga ("treasure") by the Maori and protected as such under the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
Maoris went to great lengths, journeying to Piopiotahi in Milford Sound (South Island) from considerable distances to gather the soft, translucent stone we know as serpentine (williamsite) but which the Maori know as tangiwai . Carving it into a range of items, foremost among these was the mere, a flat hand-held weapon which was highly treasured -- and in the hands of the right warrior, lethal.
The courage, endurance and skill involved in locating and working green stone added to its prestige.
Heitiki , or pendants, were also carved, often in the form of mythical spirits and monsters. These tiki were passed down from generation to generation, each time, increasing in mana (spiritual power).
The Maori name for New Zealand's South Island is te wai pounamu which means "the place of the greenstone."
Tangiwai is also the name of a terrible New Zealand train disaster that occured in 1953.
 tangiwai and pounamu
The Maori of New Zealand carve beautiful tools, jewelry and ceremonial objects from local olive green to blue green serpentine (bowenite), which they call tangiwai, meaning "tears."

a piece of tangiwai, anita bay, june 2001
photo: te runanga

Found mainly near the entrance to Milford Sound in the South Island, the word tangiwai comes from a Maori legend relating to a lamenting woman's tears that petrified. It is referred to as koko-tangiwai, koko meaning "ear pendant," signifying its predominant use.
Another green stone, pounamu -- the Maori term for both nephrite (a kind of jade) and bowenite (serpentine) -- is also known as "greenstone" or sometimes as "New Zealand jade."
The very discovery of New Zealand is connected with green stone. One story from New Zealand's West Coast tells how Ngahue, discover of Aotearoa (New Zealand), discovered greenstone at the same time.
green stone's creation
Ngahue was driven from his home in Hawaiki by a woman, Hine-tu-a-hoanga, who invoked the aid of a great green taniwha (water monster), Poutiri, to capture him.

maori carving; tangiwai from piopiotahi, south island

As Ngahue approached Aotearoa, the mountain Aorangi (Mt Cook) beckoned to him and instructed him to proceed to the north.

Continuing, Ngahue arrived at the mouth of the Arahura River which he entered. But, as luck would have it, Poutiri, who still pursued him, failed to negotiate a fearful rapid in the river causing him and his boat to sink -- at which point Poutiri was changed into greenstone.

Ngahue settled at Arahura for a time and came to appreciate the valuable qualities of the greenstone. When he was ready to return to Hawaiki he quarried as much of the greenstone as he could conveniently carry in his canoe and took it with him.

Finding his people at war; he persuaded them to emigrate. With axes made from the green stone they felled the seven trees from which they made the canoes which carried the people from Hawaiki to Aotearoa in the 'great migration.'