Gemstones

Stones and crystals appear throughout the correspondence traditions, assigned to planets, signs, chakras and elements, and used in amulets, talismans and healing practice. Lapidary texts cataloguing the virtues of stones are old and widespread, from Pliny's Natural History and the medieval lapidaries through to the birthstone lists and the crystal lore of the modern New Age.

Each stone is credited with properties (protective, healing, fortunate), and tied by colour, hardness or tradition to a planet, a sign or a chakra, so that it can take its place in the wider web of correspondences.

The atlas distinguishes the layers: the ancient and medieval lapidary tradition, in which stones were set in rings and amulets under the right stars for medical and magical virtue; the birthstone custom, largely fixed by the modern jewellery trade; and the contemporary crystal-healing movement, which assigns stones to chakras and energies. Each is a distinct body of lore.

The atlas gives each stone its correspondences and its traditional virtues, noting which are ancient and which recent. The planets, signs, elements and chakras the stones are assigned to are treated in their own categories.