Agate / Carnelian

Common Name: Turquoise. Persian: *Piroza*. Arabic: *Firoozaj*. Hindi: *Firoza*. Nature: It is a green stone with a bluish tint that comes from Nishapur, Shiraz, Bhutan, and Kerman. The finest is the Nishapuri. Temperament: Cold in the first degree and dry in the third. The fine quality is formed in mines with slight amounts of sulfur and mercury. Color and Odor: The turquoise color is extremely famous. Taste: Tasteless, like other stones. Harmful Effects: Harmful for kidney diseases. Corrective: Tragacanth gum (*Katira*) and mucilaginous and moist substances. Substitute: Emerald is its substitute in most of its actions. Planetary Association: Associated with the planet Neptune based on temperament. Special Benefits: Strengthens the heart, brain, and eyesight; exhilarating, and an antidote to poison. Maximum Dosage: Up to two *mashas*, more or less as needed. Minimum Dosage: Up to one *masha*, slightly more. Actions and Properties: It is exhilarating with antidotal properties. Applying it as *surma* (collyrium) absorbs eye moisture, stops tearing, removes cataracts, strengthens eyesight, cures night blindness, and is beneficial for most diseases of the eye layers. With honey, it is useful for epilepsy and swelling of the spleen; it expels kidney and bladder stones. With appropriate medicines or electuaries, it strengthens the heart and stomach, and is useful for palpitations, dysentery, intestinal ulcers, and all internal wounds. Half a *dirham* is an antidote for all poisons, and one *dirham* repels the effects of severe poisons. One *masha* removes the effect of scorpion venom and is tested. Hanging it (wearing it) strengthens the heart, repels the fear of enemies, and hardens soft metals. In English, it is called Turquoise because it comes from the country of the Turks. It is also called Callaite, Agaphite, and Johnite. There are two main types of turquoise as follows: (1) Eastern Turquoise: Its color always remains stable, and it is extracted from old rocks. It is composed of 30.9 parts phosphoric acid, 44.5 parts alumina, 3.75 parts copper oxide, 1.8 parts iron oxide, and 19 parts water. (2) Western Turquoise: This is also called bone (odontolite). Its color deteriorates and turns green, and it is considered a product of newer rocks. A major component in it is bone, i.e., calcium phosphate. Therefore, it is composed of 80 parts calcium phosphate, 8 parts calcium carbonate, 2 parts iron phosphate and magnesium phosphate, 1.5 parts alumina, and 1 to 6 parts water. This type is found in Simore and Lower Languedoc (a province in France at 43 degrees North-East). Persian scholars describe its following types: (1) *Fathi*. (2) *Azhari*. (3) *Sulaimani*. (4) *Draldi*. (5) *Aasman Goon* (Sky-colored). (6) *Abdul Hamidi*. (7) *Andeshi*. (8) *Ganjvina*. The first five types are khaki (dust) colored. The remaining three are found in the mountains and valleys. The pieces found in Kerman and Shiraz have a white color mixed in them, and they are called *Sabangi* and *Sarboom*. Those having a blue stripe are called *Neelboom*.

Common Name: Moonga. Persian: Marjan. Arabic: Marjan. Hindi: Moonga. Nature: It is a stony body, resembling a tree under water. Temperament: Cold and dry in the second degree; black variety is inferior. Color and Odor: Red, white, and black (inferior). Taste: Tasteless and gritty. Harmful Effects: Harmful to the kidneys and causes agitation. Corrective: Tragacanth gum (Katira), moist items, and Mars (planetary association/remedy). Substitute: Busud (Coral root) of equal weight. Planetary Association: Associated with Saturn (Zuhal). Special Benefits: Astringent, desiccant, and an antidote to poisons. Maximum Dosage: Up to four and a half mashas. Minimum Dosage: One to two mashas. Actions and Properties: Drinking it acts as an astringent, desiccant, and hemostatic. One dirham serves as an antidote for all poisons. Hanging it over the stomach is beneficial for all stomach ailments and useful for children who get scared or startled in their sleep. Its powder is hemostatic. Its calx (kushta), when white in color, is extremely beneficial for coughs and asthma, useful for spermatorrhea (jaryan-e-mani), dries stomach secretions, and is an appetite stimulant; in some temperaments, it also acts as a retentive (mumsik). General Description and Biological Nature: Coral, known in Hindi as Vidrum or Parval and in Punjabi as Moonga, is a product of a marine animal. Due to its beautiful color and fine luster, it is classified among gemstones. Ancient scholars were convinced that coral belonged to the plant kingdom, but through the microscope, the organisms (worms) that create it were observed. These organisms belong to the Polypi family. Although many types of organisms are included in this category, we are concerned here with the type responsible for creating this gemstone, known in English as Isis Nobiles (Coral). The creation of these polyps takes the form of a leafless branching tree. Its trunk can grow as thick as a human body, but it is generally one foot high and one inch thick. It possesses a fine red color and can take a high polish. It contains chambers built like a honeycomb where the organisms live. Over the trunk is a soft skin, and over that is a mesh-like membrane created by these organisms. The bodies of these organisms appear to be made of a gelatinous substance. When they sit comfortably in these chambers and are viewed through a microscope, eight triangular tentacles are visible around the mouth of each, used to catch food and pull it into the opening. If one tentacle is touched, all the organisms are alerted. Some researchers believe that the sense of sensitivity in these organisms is so shared that the organisms and the trunk appear to be a single body. If the organism or the trunk is touched even slightly, all the organisms become aware. Although these organisms appear to possess such awareness, in reality, they have no muscles or five senses. Food enters a hole in their stomach, mixes with water, and circulates through small, interconnected veins throughout the bodies of all the organisms. Their food consists of small marine insects or plant particles. They are very easily frightened by light or movement in the water. These organisms build this red tree-like structure on rocks six to seven hundred feet below the sea, which is perforated like a beehive, as mentioned earlier. These chambers are built by the polyps for their own residence. Chemical Composition: According to chemistry, it contains 1% magnesia and 38.07% carbonate of magnesia. The color of coral is not due to chlorine; it is due to alkali and other sulfuric acids. Mr. M. Vogel is of the opinion that the coloring matter of coral must contain small amounts of iron oxide, carbonic acid, and lime. Exposure to sunlight is essential for its formation. Persian Perspective: Persian scholars describe the origin of coral as follows: "It is found attached to the ground in the palace of the sea and is nourished by air, water, and those aquatic substances that cling to it through the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. Its height and quantity depend on celestial attraction."