====== Pearl ======
---- dataentry gem---- latin_names: folk_names: Margan (ancient Persian), Neamhnuid (Gaelic) energy_tags: Receptive gender_tags: planet_tags: Moon element_tags: Water, Akasha deity_tags: Isis, Aphrodite, Freya, Venus, Lakshmi, Diana, Neptune, Poseidon: all oceanic deities, though pearl is more specifically goddess-oriented; also associated with sky goddesses effect_tags: Love, money, protection, luck ----
===== Magical Uses ===== Pearls are intimately connected with the Moon, so much so that some will wear or use them in magic only at night, during the Moon's domain. Because of this connection with lunar energy they are usually worn by women and rarely by men. They have long been used in love magic, either worn or carried to spread loving vibrations. In India, women wear pearls as a magical insurance for a happy marriage. A simple money spell involves purchasing a cheap pearl, the cheapest you can find. After attuning with the pearl and giving thanks for the oyster's sacrifice, hold it tightly in your hand and visualize money flowing into your life. See yourself as using it wisely. Money is energy, and squandered energy leaves you little in return. Still visualizing, throw the pearl into a stream, the ocean, or any moving water. As the pearl contacts the element, it begins the process of bringing your need into manifestation. This ancient spell was once performed in a slightly different manner-the pearl was thrown into a pile of rubbish as an act of sympathetic magic. Obviously, anyone who can throw away pearls is rich. The action magically created the desired condition. Throughout the South Pacific, pearls are used by swimmers and divers as a magical protectant against shark attacks. It is also a potent household guardian against fire. For a general luck or good fortune attractant, set pearls around a ruby and wear. At various times and in various parts of the world, pearls have also been used by their wearers to lengthen life, promote fertility, drive off demons, preserve health, instill courage, and lend physical strength. Pearls are found in different shades. Each color, of course, has specific magical uses: black pearls as well as those of blue tints are thought to bring luck to the owner (but not, naturally, the oyster). Pink pearls are worn to manifest an easy, comfortable life. Yellow pearls, to the Hindus, bring wealth, and red pearls promote intelligence. ===== Ritual Lore ===== Pearl, like amber, jet, fossils, mother-of-pearl, and other substances used in magic, is the product of a living creature. Since the oyster must be killed to remove the pearl, some believe there is a heavy debt incurred by those who engage in trafficking pearls and by those who wear and use them. The choice is yours-to use pearls in magic if you can afford them, or not. In presenting this traditional magical information, gathered from around the world, I'm certainly not advocating their use. Popular folklore naming pearls as bringers of bad luck might be connected with the violence of their collection. You'll know intuitively whether you can use them or not. I don't, and not only because I can't afford them. The pearl's dramatic, unexpected appearance within an oyster has long inspired religious and magical lore; though in some parts of the world, pearls were considered nuisances to those eating oysters. Mystically, pearls symbolize the Moon, water, the center of creation, and the universe. Once incredibly expensive, virtually all pearls are now "cultured" by the Japanese and are available at more reasonable prices. Naturally occurring pearls are no longer available, except those 100 or more years old. Unfortunately, cultured pearls, made by inserting a bit of rounded shell into a living oyster, are mostly shell, not pearl and aren't as magically potent as naturally produced pearls. But their magical uses live on. Freshwater pearls, produced in Japan and the United States, have basically the same qualities as sea pearls. Mythologically, pearls were dedicated by the Romans to Isis after her worship was imported there from Egypt. They were worn to obtain her favors. They were thought to be the congealed tears of Freya in early Saxon religion, and the Goddess in ancient Syria was named the Lady of Pearls. Throughout the Mediterranean region, pearls were associated with various manifestations of the Goddess, the summation of all that is female, creative, and nurturing-the feminine aspect of deity. Pearls were once believed to be raindrops swallowed by oysters. In early Chinese belief, pearls fell from the sky when dragons fought among the clouds (i.e., during storms), and this relates to the raindrops notion. Dragons and pearls are closely associated in Chinese thought. ===== Notes ===== ==== Related Metals ==== * [[metal:silver]] ==== Related Stones ==== * [[Ruby]]