Also known as ananeithidus, this was a stone said to conjure evil spirits. It is often associated with necromancy. Camillo Leonardi writes about its ability to bring these spirits out. The stone is often, and incorrectly, associated with Anachitis.
Though, they are apparently two different stones. Ananeithidus is more obscure and appears in limited writings by comparison, and it is possible that it is related by corruption.
What Is Anancithidus?
Anancithidus is a fairly obscure, legendary stone that has a long history and tradition in the Renaissance, especially around the occult and lapidary literature.
Perhaps the oddest thing about it is very little has been said about what the stone looks like. Even other legendary stones or stones with magickal properties had their features outlined. But not here. Very little has been said about appearance and origin.
Camillo Leonardi, Italian Renaissance physician, astronomer and astrologer, wrote that Anancithidus was a necromantic stone. He noted claims about how the stone supposedly could call forth evil spirits and ghosts. It is a fairly brief description. No color or shape is mentioned to imagine it. And no known locale is even alluded to. There’s not even much said about how to use this stone to call forth evil spirits.
Perhaps part of the issue is that Anancithidus is sometimes confused with Anachitis, another legendary stone that is said to summon supernatural beings or divine images. However, as far as the historical record says, it definitely seems like these were two entirely different stones that just happened to have similar names.
The reason why they seem separated is that Leonardi’s work references both Anachites and Anancithidus. So, they don’t seem synonymous at all, as it seems doubtful that Leonardi himself intended that. Though, we can’t rule out the chance Anachites and Anancithidus are descendents of the same family, even if Leonardi recorded them separately.
Anachites appears among the names associated with another magical stone credited with several properties, including obtaining responses from summoned spirits.
Anancithidus, by comparison, receives its own short entry identifying it specifically as a necromantic stone.
So, with no substantial, detailed physical description, it would be pretty much impossible to link Anancithidus with a recognized modern mineral or gemstone. Even if we were to accept that it is in fact Anachites, there is no singular recognized mineral as “Anachites.”
As such, anyone who claims to have identified Anancithidus as quartz, diamond, or something else should be treated with some skepticism unless they have a strong historical reference or source.
Was Anancithidus a Real Stone?
Well, this would depend on what is meant by “real.”
Sadly, we have very little to go on for any established modern mineral known as or called Anancithidus. With such little information, the trail quickly runs cold. It is references in magickal lapidary traditions, but it is still incredibly uncertain what it refers to.
