Having found lists of obscure/obsolete color names and rounded out the alphabet with a few simply-charming-to-me colors, each day, I’ll introduce a color and a swatch I’ve painted and then write about whatever comes to mind as I muse about the day’s color. Fair warning, my mind is a non-linear traveler, so who knows where my contemplations will take us.
S is for….
smaragdine – emerald green
Let me start ou with a tip of the hat to Ireland, that beautiful Emerald Island. I’ll never forget the first time I flew over and saw all that gorgeous green, and then as we got closer little dots of white that turned out to be sheep. I’m pretty sure I laughed out loud.
But musing on this color really has my thoughts turning to The Emerald Tablet. It is one of the most enigmatic and cryptic texts. Attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, who is considered to be a syncretic combination of the Egyptian god Thoth and the Greek god Hermes.
The Emerald Tablet is the most famous of the Hermetic teachings, and is held to offer the true nature of the cosmos. The text has been of great interest to alchemists, who believe it contains the secret of the Prima Materia – the base of all matter and existence which is formless and beyond definition.
I’m quite fascinated by the Hermetic teachings and actually came to them through my devoted study of the Egyptian god Thoth.
The actual emerald tablet is believed to be real (as ancient tablets were indeed carved into stone), but lost. However, the the text of the Emerald Tablet first appears in a number of early Arabic writings, first dating from the eight century. It was translated into Latin several times in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and many interpretations and commentaries followed.
I have a talisman created by artist/sacred jeweler David Weitzman. It has a partial translation of the Emerald Tablet text, some hieroglyphics, and a tiny emerald chip in the center.
Salvador Dali created a body of graphic work in 1976 entitled Alchimie des Philosophes. It consists of ten prints (done in intaglio, lithography, and serigraphy) in a large portfolio box. The subject of these prints are ancient alchemical texts from the 3rd through the 17th centuries. The set was released in a limited edition of 275 copies.
One of the prints is his interpretation of The Emerald Tablet. If you’re interested in seeing the image and learning more about it, you can check it out here.
Contemplating smaragdine also reminded me of an image in one of my journals.
I’m fascinated by hands. I’m always tracing mine, Xeroxing them, writing words on them; and I collect images of them as well. I may have to admit to having a little bit of an obsession going on here.I was thinking about three people in my life, all important, all very different. And yet the image of a hand kept coming to mind for all of them.
For I, whom we are always teasing about her desire to know the destination, I saw a map in the hand and a loving reminder about the journey. So I included some dictionary bits both because she likes things defined.
For T, I saw new symbols showing up. So I added some foreign-to-me characters on the fingertips. These are from little metals bits that I imagine are some kind of printing typeset. For my beloved partner, I saw a hand that is never emply. It was filled with the gift he always offers – reminders not to cover up one’s uniqueness..
Strung all together, their messages to me become a map for this life’s journey:
Discover yourself. Affirm yourself. Honor yourself. Nurture yourself. Share yourself.
Now what about you? Did you know about The Emerald Tablet? Ever been to the Emerald Island? Ever think about the lines on your hands? Do tell – you know I’d love to hear.
I love your thoughts about the hands of the special people in your life. I’ve never liked my hands but will now look at them with fresh eyes. I love emerald green; it’s one of my favorite colors.
I love the expression “fresh eyes” – it feels so full of possibility and expansion. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and wonder if my eyes are fresh enough to see something entirely unseen by me before.
Pretty color. Interesting about the hands. I think about mine since I use them all the time but I’ve never drawn them. I’ll have to take that to my journal now!https://deborah-weber.com/tag/a-to-z-blogging-challenge/
Oh, indeed Janet.
A favorite color, maybe due to my Irish heritage on my mother’s side.
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A bit of emerald in the bloodline. 🙂
I like the idea of the hand as a map. It looks interesting. I’d never heard the word smaragdine. I love that the online dictionaries also speak the pronunciation to you now. It wasn’t where I was originally going with it.
Thanks for stopping by, Jennifer. The online dictionary pronunciation tools are great, aren’t they?
I’ve been to Ireland, Belfast in fact on an exchange teachers visit. I remember visiting a classroom where the children had painted white sheep with black legs and heads, silhouetted against the green grass..
What a fun way to visit, Linda. And the art work makes me smile.
Haven’t been to Ireland, I want to travel to Orkney Islands, but that is probably as close as I will get. I didn’t know about other terms for emerald green, but I love greens. Life, spring, I love them.. I know of Hermetic texts but have not examined them. Your interests are interesting!
I’ve never been to the Orkney Islands, but I understand they’re beautiful. I hope you make it there. I imagine there will be plenty of green to admire.
I used to live in Ireland but haven’t heard of the Emerald Tablet – sounds intriuing though, what tales it must have!
Yes, I imagine there are indeed some amazing tales.
I’ve never been to Ireland. I never heard of the Hermetic texts but they sound quite interesting. I drew my hands a long time ago, when I was about 20 in a drawing class. I should do them now at 76. They are quite different.
Interesting post.
I imagine drawing your hands again would be very interesting. All the experiences they’ve had and all the things they held over that span of years.
I had never before heard of the Emerald Tablet. Fascinating.
I think so too. Thanks for stopping by, Liz.
I have been to Ireland three times and absolutely find it magical. And that dark, deep green is very dream-worthy. If it’s good to have a green thumb, presumably it’s even better to have hands that are green all over.
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Magical is a perfect word for Ireland. And I think you’re right, a green hand would seem to be exponentially better than just the thumb. My brother for sure has a green thumb, but usually he’s hands are in the dirt so I can’t tell if it’s only his thumb or not.
Lovely color.
i did not know about The Emerald Tablet, and I haven’t been to the Emerald Island, however I’ve been to the Emerald CITY (Seattle) multiple times 🙂
Can’t say that I think about the lines on my hands too much, hey, I even try to avoid thinking about any lines and wrinkles on my body!
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The Emerald City is worth multiple visits for sure! I have a friend who often implores her mirror: “Mirror mirror on the table, make me lineless if you’re able.” I’m not sure she’s been successful, but you could always give it a try. :0
“if you’re able” – cute!
🙂
I would like to visit Ireland one day but thus far have not had that particular travel experience.
I do like emeralds though, and that color green you’ve painted reminds me of the evergreen trees that inhabit the Pacific Northwest. We are never lacking for rich velvety fir greens here; it makes the winters less bleak, seeing the green despite all the grey.
Oh yes, I can see how the fir trees would make winter less dreary. The Pacific Northwest is such a lovely lush part of the country.
I grow clover on my urban garden plot to enhance the soil, and I just love the emerald green when it pops up in the spring. Generations ago, one of my great-grandfathers traced my toddler grandmother’s hand on the back of his life insurance form — which I still have among my papers. They are both gone, but that tracing of her little hand lives on.
Oh, Molly, what a fabulous and precious piece of ephemera! And yes, to Clover and its gorgeous greening. For a while, I had some that flowered pink and delighted me every time I saw it.