Agate, also known as agate, carnelian, horse brain, etc., is a kind of chalcedony mineral. It is often a band-shaped block mixed with opal and cryptocrystalline quartz, with a hardness of 7-7.5 Degree, specific gravity 2.65, the color is quite layered. Available in translucent or opaque. It is often used as an ornament or as a gift. Strings of agate balls can often be seen among ancient funerary objects.
"Supplementary Materials on Materia Medica": It mainly wards off evil, and the eyes will turn red and rotten.
"Outline": The main eye is blocked, which is the end and sun point.
"Compendium of Materia Medica": Agate is the same as coral, and it is particularly good to light the eyes to remove obstructions.
Agate is one of the Seven Treasures of Buddhism. It has been used as an evil spirit and amulet since ancient times, symbolizing friendly love and hope.
In Western magic, people are taught to write their wishes on a piece of paper, fold it, wrap it up, meditate quietly, and then put it into an agate cornucopia. Leave it for at least a day and night to let the energy in it. Stir it up and strengthen it. After taking it out, burn it by fire. With the help of the power of fire, your wishes can be transmitted into nature, and all your wishes will come true.
According to experts from the Donghai Shengshi Crystal Museum, the agate cornucopia is named "Dragon's Cave" because it gathers tens of millions of crystals and rare agate, just like a paradise where gods live. It is also a gathering point for energy. In an agate basin split into two, crystals cluster on the agate wall like a dense jungle. The agate cornucopia is rich in powerful and restrained magical energy and is a treasure of the God of Wealth. According to legend, the cornucopia can increase wealth at a rate that is multiplied and doubled. Wealthy people often use it as a mascot to display treasures and attract wealth. Agate cornucopias have always been a very popular Feng Shui sacred object. There are no exactly the same cornucopias in the world. Each one is unique and out of print in the market! When it is opened, it is to receive and store Qi, and when it is covered, it is incubating and strengthening.
In Japanese mythology, the piece of crescent-shaped green agate dedicated to Amaterasu by the Kushimei Tamatsuma was one of the three sacred artifacts in Japan. "Taiping Guangji" also says "Agate, transformed by the blood of ghosts." It adds a bit of strangeness to the agate.
Agate has been regarded as a symbol of beauty, happiness, auspiciousness, and wealth since ancient times. Because of its three major characteristics: magnificence, hardness, and rarity, agate has won the title of "jade". Fuxin, located in western Liaoning, is China's main agate origin, processing place, and agate product distribution center. It has abundant agate resource reserves, accounting for more than 50% of the country's reserves, and its texture is excellent.
Because of the ancient legend that agate can make people invisible, agate has been highly respected and loved by people for thousands of years. Because of agate's beautiful appearance and tough texture, people make it into decorative items and practical items. Agate is one of the oldest known jade stones, as evidenced by its widespread use in amulets, vessels, and decorative pieces by the ancient Sumerians and Egyptians. In Roman times, onyx intaglio (intaglio) seals and rings were particularly prized. Agate is one of the “stones of fire” recorded in the Bible (Old Testament). There are records in the Bible of giving agate to Moses and wearing it on Aaron's breastplate (Exodus). The agate series---red striped agate is one of the twelve gemstones used in the foundation stone of the Jerusalem city wall ("Revelation"). According to the interpretation of the early writer Andrew, Bishop of Caesurae, the twelve gemstones in Jerusalem symbolized the twelve Christian missionaries, and the red striped agate symbolized the James missionaries.
In the Middle Ages, people tied agates to cow horns to pray for good harvests. This peculiar custom greatly increased the value of agates. The ominous result is that the beasts of burden often disappear without a trace due to wearing agate and are difficult to retrieve!
Agate has the effect of treating insomnia, having sweet dreams, avoiding disasters and evil spirits, strengthening the body, and prolonging life. People are convinced of this.
Agate is said to prevent colds, wind chills and frostbite. Agate is different from other agate, so it is extremely difficult to find a slightly larger piece of agate, and the price is naturally high.
Agate is caused by the eruption of volcanic magma and is scattered on the ground. After the long-term silicification of earth materials and the repeated evolution of orogeny, it can become agate.
When a volcano erupts, the hot lava falls to the ground, releasing a large amount of heat, merging with the surrounding materials, and being covered with thick dust and sand. Therefore, the surface of the cooled agate will inevitably undergo qualitative changes, which determines its surface characteristics. The shells of rocks are almost the same. People without certain practical experience will naturally be unable to distinguish stones and agate from the outside with the naked eye; and agate belongs to the broad category of jade, but it does not meet the "five virtues" of jade, that is, it is not real jade. Whether agate is jade or stone has been controversial since ancient times. Emperor Wen of the Wei Dynasty Cao Pi's "Ma Nao Le Fu" said "Ma Nao Le Fu"; Wei Zhang Yi's "Guang Ya" said "Ma Nao Le Shi Jade" Wang Jia of the Eastern Jin Dynasty's "Shi Yi Ji·Volume 1·Gao Xin" said that "agate is a kind of stone"; Song Yingxing's "Tiangong Kaiwu" of the Ming Dynasty said that "any agate is neither stone nor jade".
Agate was a rare treasure that was not found in Jingchu at that time. Although many agate cups, balls, etc. were unearthed from the tombs of many high-status kings and generals, there is no trace of the Bian He era. The land of Jingchu is very unfamiliar. Jingchu agate has not been naturally tempered by wind and sand like Inner Mongolia Gobi agate, nor has it been transported and washed by river beds like Nanjing Yuhua stone. Because it is buried deep in the mountains, it cannot be "clearly seen at a glance". "It was discovered that if it weren't for the construction of the mountain in recent years, the locals would not even know that the mountains covered with wattle in their hometown contain many beautiful and high-quality agate stones.
Green agate is a rare variety: Jingchu agate is close to Fuxin agate, Liaoning, especially a grass-green sandwich agate, which is very consistent in quality with Fuxin's specialty aquatic agate. Du Guangting, a Taoist priest at the end of the Tang Dynasty, described in the "Strange Stones" chapter of Volume 7 of "Lu Yi Ji" that He's Bi "is white when viewed from the front, and bluish when viewed from the side." Grass green sandwich agate and Fuxin water grass agate have this characteristic. These two kinds of agate have a fluorescent white color when viewed directly, and a green color when viewed from another angle, with color-changing properties.
"Shuowen" explains: "Bi, the green and beautiful stone." The basic meaning of Bi is, firstly, green jade, and secondly, green.
The main formation of agate is caused by the reaction of silica, rainwater or groundwater, manganese, iron and other ore oxides in various volcanic ash. This is why agate has white, red and blue colors. , grey, brown or black are the main causes of colorful textures.
Agate comes in various shapes, both transparent and opaque. In terms of types, agate can be divided into blue agate, blue agate, random agate, green agate, Indian agate, fire agate, tree agate, onyx, red striped agate and wooden agate.