The mineral gold is almost always mixed with a small amount of silver, and sometimes contains traces of copper and iron. A gold nugget is usually 70 – 90 percent gold, and the remainder mostly silver. The color of pure gold is bright golden yellow, but the greater the silver content, the whiter the color.

Most gold is mined from ore, containing tiny amounts of gold in the ore. The ore is brown, iron-stained rock or massive white quartz. To extract the gold, the ore is crushed, then the gold is separated from the ore by various methods. Gold is less commonly found as nuggets. Nuggets are formed when erosion causes a large piece of gold to separate from its mother rock, and then gets carried away into a stream or river. The flowing water tumbles the gold, giving each specimen a distinct shape. The gold eventually settles at the bottom of the water, and due to its heaviness remains there. Other nuggets also get caught in the same area, forming a placer deposit. An even rarer form of gold is as crystals. Even when the gold occurs in crystals, they are distorted or are almost microscopic.
The finest gold specimens that have been found since early times have been smelted for production. Nice specimens, therefore, are regarded very highly, and are worth much more than the standard gold value.

Gold is one of the heaviest minerals, and therefore can be panned easily because the gold sinks to the bottom, below the other substances. In addition, it can be easily separated from other substances due to the weight differences. Gold is the most malleable and ductile substance known. It can be flattened out to less than .00001 of an inch (less than .000065 cm) and a 1 oz. (28 gram) mass can stretch out to a distance of over 50 miles (75 kilometers)! Tt is also one of the most resistant metals. It won’t tarnish, discolor, crumble, or be affected by most solvents.

Gold Nugget

Gold has been used as a precious metal throughout the history of mankind. This is due to its resistance, beauty, rareness, and the fact that it is very easy to work with. In addition, in the olden days gold didn’t have to be extracted, because a large amount was found in a pure state. Many gold ornaments from the past have been found. Most noted are from the tombs of the Pharaoh in Egypt, where gold masks, statues, coins, and much jewelry was archaeologically excavated. Gold has been used for coinage throughout the centuries, and is currently accepted internationally as a standard value. Nowadays the main use of gold is for jewelry.

Due to gold’s distinctive properties as a metal, it has several industrial uses. It is also used for photography, dentistry, coloring, and being studied for treatments in cancer.
Energy: Projective
Planet: Sun
Element: Fire
Powers: Power, Healing, Protection, Wisdom, Money, Success
Traditionally the noblest of the metals, gold expresses the splendor and radiance of the Sun. As the only metal which never tarnishes, it will resist the fiercest fire. Its sun-like nature is evident, for it needs to glitter in the sun to express itself, and has a unique relation to light and color. Colloidal gold solutions, in dilutions of parts per 100 million, produce a wide variety of colors. The sun manifests the color of gold at sunrise and at sunset. The latin word for gold, aurum (thus, the chemical symbol Au), derives from the Greek word Aurora – the golden Goddess of the dawn.

Alchemical symbol for gold

Until very recent times gold was used as a heart remedy, this being the organ associated with the sun. Homeopathic doctors still use it in this manner in high dilutions and regard it as a remedy for depressive or suicidal conditions: a `total eclipse of the heart’. Its distribution within the human organism reaches its highest concentration in the region of the heart. Gold is used by doctors to diagnose heart problems. As the highest concentrations of gold in the human body occur around the heart, a radio-isotope of gold has been developed the Au-195 isotope), which can give an image of the blood-containing structures within the heart, a process called ‘heart-imaging’.

Gold, perhaps the most magically potent of all metals, is utilized in magic to lend its energy to rituals. Worn during magic, gold jewlery enhances the magician’s ability to rouse and send forth power. Wearing fold during your everyday life increases your personal power, thus promoting courage, confidence, and willpower.

Gold tools were traditionally used to collect herbs. Legend states that the Druids collected mistletoe with sickles of gold. Chains of gold are worn around the neck to preserve health, and to alleviate arthritis. gold worn habitually is said to ensure a long life. Owing to its solar gleam, gold is also a protective metal. Plain gold can be carried or worn as a guardian. A special ring made of gold and studded with gold nails is also protective. To this day, small children in India are guarded by tiny gold amulets.
During protective or defensive magic, place gold objects or jewelery on the altar. A simple gold chain place around a white candle can be the focus of protective rituals.
Gold is also utilized to promote wisdom. For this purpose it is not carried but given to another, with no conditions. This is done to bring illumination to the giver.

Traditionally the noblest of the metals, gold expresses the splendor and radiance of the Sun. As the only metal which never tarnishes, it will resist the fiercest fire. Its sun-like nature is evident, for it needs to glitter in the sun to express itself, and has a unique relation to light and color. Colloidal gold solutions, in dilutions of parts per 100 million, produce a wide variety of colors. The sun manifests the color of gold at sunrise and at sunset. The latin word for gold, aurum (thus, the chemical symbol Au), derives from the Greek word Aurora – the golden Goddess of the dawn.

Until very recent times gold was used as a heart remedy, this being the organ associated with the sun. Homeopathic doctors still use it in this manner in high dilutions and regard it as a remedy for depressive or suicidal conditions: a `total eclipse of the heart’. Its distribution within the human organism reaches its highest concentration in the region of the heart. Gold is used by doctors to diagnose heart problems. As the highest concentrations of gold in the human body occur around the heart, a radio-isotope of gold has been developed the Au-195 isotope), which can give an image of the blood-containing structures within the heart, a process called ‘heart-imaging’.
Gold, perhaps the most magically potent of all metals, is utilized in magic to lend its energy to rituals. Worn during magic, gold jewlery enhances the magician’s ability to rouse and send forth power. Wearing fold during your everyday life increases your personal power, thus promoting courage, confidence, and willpower.

Gold tools were traditionally used to collect herbs. Legend states that the Druids collected mistletoe with sickles of gold. Chains of gold are worn around the neck to preserve health, and to alleviate arthritis. gold worn habitually is said to ensure a long life. Owing to its solar gleam, gold is also a protective metal. Plain gold can be carried or worn as a guardian. A special ring made of gold and studded with gold nails is also protective. To this day, small children in India are guarded by tiny gold amulets.

During protective or defensive magic, place gold objects or jewelery on the altar. A simple gold chain place around a white candle can be the focus of protective rituals.
Gold is also utilized to promote wisdom. For this purpose it is not carried but given to another, with no conditions. This is done to bring illumination to the giver.
Since it has long been used as a medium of exchange, and due to its great value, gold often figures in money rituals. Even the tiniest flake or leaf of gold can be used to attract more money or “gold”. Gold nugget jewelery is worn to bring a continuous flow of money into the magician’s life by those fortunate enough to possess such rings. It is thought to be particularly potent for miners and for those investing in mines or precious metals.

As a symbol of the Sun, gold is often utilized in success rituals.
Sources:
Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem Metal Magic – Scott Cunningham
The Mineral Gold – The Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom
Gold and the Sun – Nick Kollerstrom

Research submitted by Heather Cole, High Priestess of The Apple Branch – A Dianic Tradition