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Tourmaline forms in elegant crystals that are quite
striking to the eye. These crystals may be translucent or
transparent. If colored, tourmaline may be pink, green, black, or
blue. Tourmaline is found worldwide.
Tourmaline is mildly responsive to various magics,
and these magics are often keyed to the hue of the tourmaline stone.
Green tourmalines are best used in magics related to blessings, pink
tourmalines are good for religious matters, blue tourmalines are
good for summoning spirits, clear tourmalines are generally useful
for spiritual matters, and black tourmalines are useful in sorcery.
Tourmaline’s greatest power lies in another matter, however. It is
not unknown for tourmaline to shift from one hue to another in the
same crystal -- in fact, it is fairly common. These multi-hued
stones carry a power all their own that is particularly potent in
casting illusions and glamours. Many hedge-witches of various races
will carry such a stone among their magical paraphernalia.
Blue tourmalines are treasured by the Vaikalimara
clan of giantmen. Many Vaikalimara carry or wear a blue tourmaline
crystal, which is unmarked aside from being engraved with the name
of its owner in Saramar runes. If it is worn, then claws, fangs,
feathers, and other trophies of the hunt are often strung alongside
the crystal, but some Vaikalimara choose to adorn theirs with carved
wooden beads or even silk ribbons instead. What the exact purpose of
the tourmalines may be, only the Vaikalimara know -- and no
Vaikalimara will betray her clan's secrets.
In River’s Rest, green tourmaline is associated
with the romantic and tragic tale of Tandrik and Estamil of the
Bridges. According to the story, the engagement ring that the human
soldier Tandrik presented to the elven bridge-builder Estamil was
made of silver and set with a green tourmaline to match her eyes.
After finding true love, the unlikely lovers were destroyed by a
necromancer’s unethical quest for knowledge. Citizens of River’s
Rest leave offerings of green tourmaline at a beach near Maelstrom
Bay in order to honor the couple’s memory.
The name tourmaline comes from a Singhalese word, "touramalli",
meaning, "mixed colored stones", and was originally applied to an
assortment of colored stones consisting mainly of
zircons.
Tourmaline occurs in every color of the rainbow and in combinations
of two or three colors. Sometimes the colors are at different ends
of the crystal, while other times one color is in the heart of the
crystal and another on the outside. When the later combination
displays a pink center with a green rind, it is called "watermelon
tourmaline".
Tourmaline has another feature that attracted the
attention of scientists since ancient times. The philosopher
Theophrastus wrote 23 centuries ago that "lyngourion",
probably the mineral tourmaline, had the property of attracting
straws and bits of wood. This effect, called pyroelectricity,
occurs when the crystal is heated, causing it to yield a positive
charge at one end of the crystal and a negative charge at the other
and attract lightweight substances. This is why tourmaline was
called "asshentrekers" or ash drawers by the Dutch during the
eighteenth century.
The ability of this stone to look like other gemstones led to some
confusion. Many gemstones in the Russian Crown jewels from the
17th Century once thought to be
rubies
are in fact tourmalines. In South America, where the
majority of such gem-quality material is found, green tourmaline is
still referred to as the "Brazilian emerald". The quantity of such
green stones, which were mined in the early days of the Portuguese
colonization and sent to Portugal as
emerald,
will probably never be known.
Tourmaline was prized as a gem through history, but her main admirer
was Tzu Hsi, the Dowager Empress who ruled China from 1860 to 1908,
and then wielded her power behind the throne until her death in
1911. This last Empress of the Ch'ing Dynasty loved this stone so
much that she bought enormous quantities of it when a new mine
opened in California. The gem was used for carving purposes and
for fashioning toggles or buttons for the jackets worn by the royal
court and by other wealthy individuals. Even now, her body rests
eternally on a tourmaline pillow.
Tourmalines are credited with
the power to enhance one's understanding, increase self-confidence
and amplify one's psychic energies, and aid in concentration and
communication.
Tourmalines were also believed to be useful in relaxing the body and
the mind, and to help in the treatment of many different diseases
such as anxiety, blood poisoning, arthritis, and heart disease.
Conversely, they are said to neutralize negative energies, and
dispel fear and grief. Tourmaline, along with
opal, is the
birthstone for October and corresponds to the astrological sign of
the Libra. Multi-colored Tourmaline is the anniversary
gemstone for the 8th year of marriage. |
