Back to the Twelve Stones
Foundation 8 of 12
Revelation 21:20
Beryl
βήρυλλοςEmerald's kin without the chromium: the same light-splitting lattice in aquamarine, gold, and rose.
Mineralogy
- Greek name
- bēryllos (βήρυλλος)
- Modern identification
- Beryl
- Chemical formula
- Be₃Al₂(SiO₃)₆
- Crystal system
- Hexagonal
- Optical class
- Uniaxial (−)
- Birefringence (Δn)
- 0.004–0.009
- Refractive indices
- 1.565–1.602
- Color / appearance
- Various (aquamarine, golden, pink)
Same species as emerald; lower chromium content.
The light between
Beryl is anisotropic: enter it with a single ray of light and it leaves as two, split apart by the crystal's inner order. This is birefringence, the same property shared by every one of the twelve foundation stones, and by none of the cubic stones left out of the list.
In the high-priestly breastplate of Exodus 28, this position held Agate in the Septuagint reckoning.
Hold the light in your hand
The Revelation Stones collection brings each foundation stone into the room with you, and the Light Between research explains what you are looking at.