Amber Legends and Lore

Amber represents the division between an individual's energy and cosmic energy, the individual's soul and the universal soul of all living things. It is the symbol of divinity. Ancient painters used the color amber to denote the divine. The faces of gods and goddesses, heros and saints were all painted amber.

When the Greek god Apollo was banished from Olympus, he wept tears of Amber.

In another Greek myth, the god Phaethon lost control of his father Zeus's Sun chariot, driving it too close to the Earth. It caught fire. This is the ancient version of the young son crashing the car, and Zeus was furious. Unfortunately, he didn't curb his temper, and when you can throw around thunder bolts, a temper is a bad thing to have. Zeus struck Phaethon dead with one such lightning bolt. Phaethon's body fell out of the heavens and into the Eridanus River. The nymphs of the stream collected the body and buried it on the shores of the river. Awhile later, Phaethon's three sisters, the Heliades, found the grave and mourned him day and night. They were so overcome with sadness that their bodies started to rot, and took root in the muddy shore. They were slowly transformed into trees and their tears hardened into drops of Amber.

Santi di Tito painted this scene magnificently in 1572 with oil on slate. Click here to see. Look closely and you'll see their tears are falling as Amber Nuggets. The cherubim and those beside them are picking up the amber on the ground.

The word "electricity" is derived from the Greek name for Amber, electrum. This is because Amber can acquire an electric charge when rubbed. Thales described this magical property in about 600 BC - and it remains one of the most useful methods of identifying real amber in gold and silver jewelry. There have always been claims that amber rosaries and amulets can actually conduct current, discharging excess energy in the body. Amber has long been worn and carried by men, as a talisman against sexual impotence.