Today's #MinCup23 match is calcite vs opal. This'll be a thread.
Calcite reminds me of a story from Costa Rica. A chief called Nandayure owned a magic wand that could make disappear anything that contained calcium. One day he saw his people dancing, wearing lots of white body paint, and grew so angry at the decorations he aimed the wand at them. You know what else has calcium? Bones. Oops.
(He managed to reverse the spell by destroying the wand)
#folklore #folktales #minerals #gemstones #thread
As for opals
The Holy Roman Emperor's crown used to have a big white opal, the Orphan Stone. The 12th century German romance of Duke Ernst tells the origins of the stone.
Ernst, stepson of the emperor, is exiled from his home and heads to the Holy Land. On the way he gets lost, and goes through a series of Sindbad-like adventures, featuring bird-headed people, giants, griffins, and a Magnetic Mountain. He finds the opal in a magic cave.
More here
http://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.com/2022/04/w-is-for-weise-stone-gemstone-folklore.html
There is a legend about the origin of opals from the Wanggumara people in Australia. It tells of a pelican who undertakes a dangerous journey, carrying water in its beak, hoping to find a place where it turns to gold. However, the pelican is mortally wounded on the way; the water spills and turns to gold, and the pelican's blood turns into fire opals.
More here
http://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.com/2022/04/f-is-for-fire-opals-gemstone-folklore.html
@TarkabarkaHolgy 1) fantastic story, thanks! 2) caught a typo: “who promises that the gold would turn into gold”