Before the British attempted to colonize India, this was the land of enchantment and mystery. It was a land known for its rich resources, mineral and vegetable, as well as a deep spiritual heritage. Diamonds were plentiful in India prior to the 19th century, and they were found along the banks and rivers of this exotic locale even though today they are absent. Other deposits of diamonds had yet to be discovered and for that reason India became synonymous with diamonds and their magical and mystical lore.
Diamonds
Most of Indian culture revolves around their spiritual beliefs. Diamonds thus attained a significance in this country that seemed substantiated by the fact that they were not located elsewhere until the mid 19th century. Gemstones were associated with astrological planets and even gods or goddesses. Indians believe that the planet associated with the diamond is Venus. They believe that gemstones also had an effect on the spiritual properties of the person wearing them, either to increase good qualities or to cause bad luck, depending on the astrological chart of the wearer.
Use In Religious Icons
One of the world’s most infamous diamond is said to have possibly been cut from a much larger diamond that originated in India: the Blue Hope Diamond. This diamond was said to have been embedded in a religious idol as the eye and stolen later on. The diamond was then sold to Tavernier who sold it to Louis the XIV. The bad luck that followed the wearer of the Blue Hope Diamond gave rise to the legend that it had been cursed by the Indian priests to assure no one would own this religious object for long.
Royalty
Battles were fought and lost over diamonds and commoners were not allowed to own this precious gem. This might be the reason there were so many superstitions surrounding the diamonds that ranged from happiness and prosperity to bad luck and fearful circumstances. The more mystique that surrounded diamonds the less likely anyone would steal them. There was even the superstition that anyone wearing diamonds was invincible, so royalty wore them to psychologically outwit the opponent’s armies and keep their person safe since no one dared approach.
Diamonds For Health
In the tradition of eastern medicine, diamonds also had many healing properties. They are said to transmit a color called indigo that is associated with cosmic energies. These energies help people with skin, lymph, reproductive, and bone problems. Even the shape of the diamond was said to be important, with some shapes being good for reproduction and other shapes being bad overall. For a diamond to be good for healing, it had to be without flaws or defects. Different colored diamonds also were said to aide people in different occupations. White diamonds enhanced intelligence and spirituality, while soldiers and administrators benefited from pink diamonds. Even the time of day one wore a diamond might have some significance. They were said to particularly good for people who had Venus rising in Pisces or Taurus in their astrological charts and were good to wear on Friday, Venus’s day.
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