Belemnite, Lynx Stone

Thunderstone, Belemite, Dactylus, lapis Lincis

Lynx Stone is an ancient stone that was classically said to be the solidified Urine of a male Lynx, although later authors disputed this. By the 16th century, Belemnites were commonly accepted as ‘Lynx Stone’.
Picture Ortus Sanitatis, Beck, 1517

Picture Museum Wormianum, 1655

Picture Belemnites
Metallotheca Vaticana Opus Posthuman, 1719

Picture Various forms of Belemnite
Descriptiones Tubulorum Marinorum, Klein, 1731

Picture 1. Belemnites, or Dactylus Idaeus;  2. With a concave base; 
3. a type with no point;  4. A lesser variety
De Omni Rerum Fossilium Genere, Gemmis,
Lapidibus, Metallis, Gesner, 1565

Picture Legitimate Lynx Stone, according to
Aldrovani, Musaeum Metallicum, 1648

 Picture Above: Various Belemnites: 
1. (top left) Belemnite or Dactylus, Chalk colored; 
2. (top right) Inferior part, Lapis Radiata; 
3. Greater Belemnite of a bluish color; 
4. Lesser Round;  5. Black and ash-colored; 
6. Black and opaque;  7. Ash-colored, translucent.
Aldrovandi, Musaeum metallicum, 1648
Picture Belemite Fossils (Adam, 2021)

BUY BELEMNITE
Picture
Zoological name:
The Belemnitida are an extinct group of squid-like cephalopods. they existed from the Late Triassic to Cretaceous periods. They contained an internal pointed bone-like structure, the fossil of which was the Belemnite used in medicine.

Parts used:


Fossil internal bone of Belemnitida
A number of varieties were recognised. Salmon listed three main varieties:
  1. White
  2. Dusky-brown
  3. Pellucid like Amber

Temperature & Taste:


Cool, dry. Salty

Uses:


1. Clears Damp, Promotes Urine, Clears Stone:
-most used for Gravel and Stones; said to break and expel Stones
-Strangury
-Kidney and Back pain
-in Folk use for Rheumatism
-Jaundice (Cesalpinus)

2. Clears Heat, Astringes Leakage:
-Diarrhea; Dioscorides said it benefits the Stomach
-helps Conception and prevents Miscarriage

3. Clears Heat, Calms the Mind:
-Nightmares
-calms Lust, stops Lustful dreams

4. Clears Heat and Toxin:
-Pleurisy, Scrofula
-Fever, Malarial Fever
-also for Wounds

5. Externally:
-when burnt, they smell like burnt horn, some even like Amber
-fumes were used by some to promote Labor, and for Hysteria
-the fine powder was put into the eyes for Sore Eyes


Dose:


Finely levigated Powder: 300mg–1 gram

Preparation:


It is finely levigated with Water of Pellitory of the Wall, or another suitable distilled water.

Substitutes:


1. Lapis Judaiacus
​2. Amber

Comment:


Despite its uses being expanded over the centuries with various writers making various claims to its efficacy in different diseases, its prime use for Stones and Urinary diseases.

Main Combinations:


1. Stones:
i. Belemnite, Jew’s Stone (equal parts)
ii. Belemnite, Amber, Sponge stone
iii. Belemnite, Goat’s Blood prepared, Jew’s Stone, Sponge stone, Indian Spikenard, Tragacanth, Parsley seed, Carrot seed, Nettle seed, Burdock seed (as in Lithontripticon of Nicholas)
iv. Belemnite with Senna, prepared Goat’s Blood, Saxifrage seed, Gromwell seed, Parsley seed, Rue, Juniper, Turbith, Amber (as in Queen of Colen’s Electuary)
2. Nightmares, Lustful dreams, levigated Belemnite taken in a suitable distilled water such as Purslane, Lettuce, Nightshade, Plantain, or Poppy. (Salmon, Seplasium)

Major Formulas:


The Queen of Colen’s Electuary
Stone–Breaking Powder (Lithontripticon) (Nicholas)

Cautions:


None noted

Main Preparations used:



Salmon, Seplasium:
It is called in Greek Lunkourion, Belemnon; in Latin, Lapis Lyncis, Belemnites, Lyncurius, Dactylus Ideus; in English, the Belemnite, Lynx Stone or Thunderbolt. It is called Belemnite from its similarly to an arrow head. Found in Germany, Russia, Poland, Prussia, Sweden, Switzerland, England and elsewhere.

It was classically thought to be derived from the dried Urine of a Lynx, but as Salmon noted, that is fabulous. When burnt it was said to give off a smell of cat urine which may be the origin of the myth.

It is a small stone, an inch or 2 long, in form and thickness like the end of an arrow, usually dusky brown in color. The inside is sometimes hollow, sometimes filled with a substance like wood pith or a chalky substance.

There are 3 main types: 1. Whitish; 2. dusky brown; 3. pellucid like Amber.
 Cesalpinus said it helps pain of the Reins [Kidneys, lower back], breaks and expels Stones (having a nature like Lapis Judaicus) and cures Jaundice.

Dioscorides said it helps the Stomach and stops Fluxes of the Belly. Schroder said it cures Wounds and is good against Pleurisy.

Its fumes, though unpleasant, promote Labor.

The levigated powder taken with water of Purslane, Lettuce, Nightshade, Plantain or Poppy represses Lust and Lustful dreams and Nightmares.

Psellus (De Lapidum Virtutibus, 1745) said Belemnite caused the Conception of legitimate copulation to survive, otherwise it causes Miscarriage.
GENERAL / REVIEW
–Fossils as drugs: pharmaceutical palaeontology