Silver Jewelry Alchemy And The Number 7 - Part I The 7 Metals Of Antiquity

Today, if someone is asked to find a silver or goldpersonified the Sun, and silver with its shimmering luster
color in nature the chances are their eyes will searchwas the embodiment of the Moon. All that they
skyward to the attendant lights of our sibling planets,needed to do now was to assign each metal a
gold to the sun and silver to the moon. But the colorfulsymbol. The circle, the Sun sign of perfection, was
relationships drawn between terrestrial metals andgiven to the oldest and most precious of metals: gold.
celestial bodies are far from being tenuous reveries;The second most precious, silver, given the Moon's half
they form the very framework on which civilization iscrescent. Accordingly the less noble a metal the more
built.flawed the circle.
It all started in the 'Chalcholithic' period of westernIn both Mesopotamia and Egypt some of these
Anatolia, now called Turkey, after the first discoveriessymbols were already in use, designated to the deities
of a series known later as the 'Seven Metals Ofof planets. The circle in Egypt was the sign of the Sun
Antiquity'. Preceding both iron and bronze ages thegod Amun, in Mesopotamia the sign of Shamash. The
'Chalcholithic Period', translated into plain English as thecrescent in ancient Egypt denoted the 'Mother of
'Copper Age', marked the transition of Neolithic manHeaven' and 'Goddess of the Moon': Isis. It's from this
and his use of stone, obsidian and flint tools into theassociation that the crescent shaped hieroglyph
first organized societies. This stage in humanity'sbecame the alchemic symbol for silver, and why we
evolution is based upon the use of ores transformedassociate silver with the moon today. These symbols,
into metallic implements and items of jewelry such asalthough evolving slightly overtime, were to be used by
rings, earrings, pendants, necklaces and bracelets.alchemists such as Robert Boyle and Sir Issac Newton
For a period of more than 7000 years, from 6000 B.C.right up until the 18th Century A.D.
until 1400 A.D., there were only seven metals known toIn ancient Greece the moon goddess was called
man. These metals are collectively known as theSelene, to the Romans she was known as Luna.
'Seven Metals Of Antiquity': Gold, Silver, Copper, Iron,Despite the fact that Luna's powers were not as
Tin, Lead and Mercury. Mercury was mistakenlyrevered as her Egyptian counterpart, Isis, they were
thought to be a type of silver, and in Greek was calledpowerful enough that her name was given as an
'Hydrargyrum', meaning 'Watery Silver,' this morphedelement in another concept based around the number
into the English 'Quick Silver.'7. A concept that had its roots in ancient Mesopotamia
From the archaic to the medieval, civilizations and theirand Egypt, and one which forms the very foundation
leaders venerated silver and the other six metalsof modern civilization: Time.
above all else. The common notion of theseThe indispensable silver light of the Moon goddesses
pre-scientific periods was that the Earth, andLuna was absorbed into the concept of time and
everything on it, was a reflection of the heavens: 'As itcelebrated by 'Dies Lunae' meaning the 'Day of the
is above so it is below,' this is the fundamental belief ofMoon'. We now know that time period not as Moon
alchemy. So, when the high priests, oracles andday, but as Monday one of the seven days of a
alchemists looked to the skies and saw sevenweek.
heavenly bodies, they found their equivalent number inRead Silver Jewelry The Alchemists And The Number
the powers and properties of their most precious of7 - Part II The 7 Days Of The Week
materials: metal.Copyright © SilverShake Corporation. All Rights
It was clear to see that gold with its radianceReserved.