[Jewelry making - Article 00019] - [Orchid] [Tidbits] Turquoise Mask Of a God

[Benjamin Mark]

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Turquoise Mask Of a God

    So...where to begin?  It is the fifth month of the year. A young man
    is chosen to live in luxury. It's not unlike winning a lottery. For
    the next 365 days he will live like a prince. He will pretend he is a
    god. Four beautiful girls dressed as goddesses will attend to his
    every whim. He will want for nothing. He is destined...for on the
    last day of his term...there will be a great feast...and our prince
    will be regally led up the steps of a small temple...where his heart
    will be cut out in sacrifice to Tezcatlipoca...Aztec god of  the
    night sky...of the moon...of the stars...and of young men. 

    I know I've mentioned the Aztecs before...and their antics may be a
    bit barbaric for most tastes...and their fascination with skulls may
    be more than a bit eccentric ...but anybody can have pablum and
    pap...and why choose those when you can have blood and guts? Or
    whatever. 

    For the most  part...our mask is made of turquoise mosaic and
    obsidian. Obsidian is a volcanic glass seldom cut and used as a
    gemstone but often used by the Aztecs when making images of their god
    of the night sky who represented the dark side of existence.
    Turquoise--the Apache name is Duklij--is a stone found in abundance
    in South America and had special talismanic virtues attached to it.
    Is it a wonder then that it was used in conjunction with obsidian to
    create images of the late great Tezcatlipoca? 

    There is much turquoise jewelry in the world today...and it occurs
    to me that many of you might own a ring or a thing made of that
    gemstone...and it occurs to me that some of you might want to know
    just what talismanic virtues the stone has...just in case...one
    day...you might have to call on those very properties to give a
    helping hand in a moment of crisis. One can never be too well armed. 

    So...here's what Turquoise can do. Should you be racing on horseback
    along a deserted stretch of rough terrain...and should your horse
    stumble...causing you to fall headlong down a steep rock-ridden
    ravine...not to worry. If you are wearing your Turquoise...you will
    not be hurt. Need I say more? Is this not enough? This--my
    friends--is the chief asset of the Turquoise. It is in fact, its very
    "raison d'=EAtre". During the seventeenth century...for those who need
    to know these things...turquoise was worn almost exclusively by men.
    It was a Man's Stone...rarely worn by women. 

    Did Tezcatlipoca ever wonder I wonder--in his brooding moments of
    evil--that he might one day fall...metaphorically speaking? Is this
    why he directed his masks to be made of turquoise? I can not answer
    all questions my friends. Some I leave to you to figure out in your
    collective quests for knowledge. I will--however--introduce you to
    our Turquoise Mask Of a God. 

    For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits...may I
    direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
    scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that says
    Tidbits...and then click on the link that says: Turquoise God...where
    you will see a graphic of  Tezcatlipoca's mask. 

    And there ya have it. That's it for this week folks. Catch you all
    next week. Benjamin Mark 

TYLER-ADAM CORP.--Jewelry Manufacturers
Tel: 1-800-20-TYLER
E-Mail to: webmaster AT tyler-adam.com

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