====== Ruby ======
<div #singlebox>
---- dataentry gem----
latin_names: 
folk_names: Carbuncle
energy_tags: Projective
gender_tags: 
planet_tags: 
element_tags: Fire
deity_tags: Buddha, Krishna
effect_tags: Wealth, protection, power, joy, anti-nightmare
----
</div>
<ifauth @user>
===== Magical Uses =====
Rubies are truly precious stones. Perfect specimens of a deep, blood red hue are outrageously expensive.

Lower grade, nongem quality rubies are available at nominal cost and can be utilized in magic, as can the substitutions mentioned in part four.

In thirteenth-century magic, rubies were well established as wealth-increasing stones. They were especially effective if engraved with the image of a dragon or snake before using.

Ancient magic from India states that the possession of rubies helps their owner to accumulate other precious gems, perhaps because of the stone's wealth-inducing qualities.

Worn, the ruby was thought to convey invulnerability, or protection against all foes, wicked spirits, negativity, plague, fascination (magical manipulation), and famine. It was also a special mascot of soldiers, guarding against wounds in battle. Basically, the ruby strengthens the body's own psychic defense system when worn.

The ruby in the home guards it against storms and negativity, especially if first touched to the four outside corners of the house.

Similarly, touching trees or the boundaries of a garden magically protects them from lightning and the effects of violent storms.

Ruled by Mars, the ruby is worn during magical rituals to increase the energies available to the magician or it is placed on the altar beside a red candle to lend energy to you when you're feeling depleted or drained.

In a similar line of magical influence, wearing a ruby is said to increase the body's warmth.

Jewelry set with rubies is worn to banish sadness and negative thought patterns. Such jewelry also produces joy, strengthens will power and confidence, and also dispells fear.

Placed beneath the pillow or worn to bed, it assures restful sleep, undisturbed by nightmares.

Star rubies, those rare stones with a naturally occurring six-pointed star, are thought to be particularly potent in protective and other forms of magic since a spirit was thought to dwell within it. Star rubies can also be used

as divinatory tools by gazing at the crossed lines of light.
===== Ritual Lore =====
The ruby fashioned into a cabochon of a specific shape was known as "carbuncle" centuries ago. There is no stone of this name, though many books list carbuncle as a separate stone. Another example of the strangely convoluted history of gemstones!

This beautiful stone was considered the most perfect offering to Buddha in China and Krishna in India.

*A widely held belief:* Dreaming of rubies indicates coming success in business or money matters. If dreamt of by a gardener or farmer, the ruby denotes a good harvest.

This stone is one of many that is thought to grow dark when danger or negativity approaches its owner or when illness threatens. Whether this was psychically viewed, symbolic, or an actual change in color or clarity of the stone is undetermined, but was probably a psychic phenomenon. In this sense the ruby can be used as a tool of scrying, as can most of the transparent stones.</ifauth>