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Garnet
(January) |
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- It is said that King Solomon wore a large red
garnet along with eleven other magical gems
(representing the 12 steps of Jacob's Ladder) in
his breast plate to help him win battles and to
keep him in touch with the deity.
- In the 13th century, they were worn to repel
insects and evil spirits and the evil eye of
others.
- In Egyptian times they were taken into the tombs
with the dead as payment to the gods of the
nether worlds and for their passage through the
nether world safely.
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Garnet | Amethyst | Aquamarine | Diamond | Emerald | Alexandrite |
| Ruby | Peridot | Sapphire | Opal | Topaz | Blue
Zircon
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Amethyst
(February) |
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- The amethyst has over an 8,000 year history of
usage in China.
- Amethyst is a purple quartz crystal and is
steeped in ancient lore, mysticism and old magic.
The stone's availability and magical qualities
made it the stone of preference for commoners and
kings four thousand years ago and it traveled all
over the globe as a form of trade exchange. It is
still one of the most popular stones in the world
and used in many different countries for common
and uncommon purposes.
- Legend has it that the amethyst originated from
Bacchus, the god of wine. Bacchus became angry at
the mortals and vowed that the next mortal to
cross his path would be eaten by tigers.
Amethyst, a beautiful young maiden, was on her
way to worship the goddess, Diana. Diana turned
her into colorless quartz to keep her from being
eaten. Bacchus observed the miracle and repented
his hasty decision, and poured wine over the
young maiden, leaving her feet and legs
colorless. This is the reason that amethyst
crystals are usually uneven in color and have a
colorless base at the bottom. They say the
goddess of love and the god of wine, when
entwined, will have light and dark envolements.
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Garnet | Amethyst | Aquamarine | Diamond | Emerald | Alexandrite |
| Ruby | Peridot | Sapphire | Opal | Topaz | Blue
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Aquamarine
(March) |
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- The aquamarine was the stone of the sea-goddesses
and sirens of the past times. Beads of aquamarine
are found in ancient Egyptian mummy tombs. They
were used as a tribute gemstone to the Gods of
the Nether world for safe passage. King Solomon
is said to have worn one in his breast plate of
the 12 holy gemstones.
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Garnet | Amethyst | Aquamarine | Diamond | Emerald | Alexandrite |
| Ruby | Peridot | Sapphire | Opal | Topaz | Blue
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Diamond
(April) |
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- Legend has it that Europeans first discovered
African diamonds in a Shaman's leather pouch. The
African Shaman used his diamonds as Shamans of
the world use quartz crystals. Anciently,
diamonds were worn as unpolished stones. They
were treasured for their beauty and powers.
- The Philosopher's Stone: The diamond is
an ancient symbol of the perfected man whose
divine spirit shines forth. As the rough diamond
is dull and lifeless when first removed from the
earth, so the spiritual nature in its
"earthly" state reveals little of its
inherent luminosity. In the hands of the skillful
lapidary, the diamond is transformed into a
sparkling gem from whose facets pour streams of
rainbow colored fire, so upon the lathe of the
Divine Lapidary, the spirit of man is ground and
polished until it reflects the glory of its
Creator from every atom. He lives by spirit.
- Kings, in old days, led the battles on the battle
fields. They wore heavy leather breast plates
studded with diamonds and other precious stones.
- Because it was believed that diamonds were
fragments of stars and the tear drops of the
Gods, the diamonds possessed magical qualities of
the Gods and had powers far beyond the
understanding of common man. The warriors stayed
clear of the Kings and those who were fortunate
enough to have the magical diamonds in their
breast plates. So, they survived the wars by the
magic of the diamonds and were blessed by the
Gods and had lives of good fortune. Much of this
lore still lives today in a simply saying,
"diamonds are a girls best friend." In
ancient Greece and Summaria, diamonds were the
status symbols of Kings and the very wealthy.
- The Greek word "adamas," meaning
unconquerable and indestructible, is the root
word of the word diamond. Diamonds were worn
because they were thought to give a person
strength, invincibility, courage, and magical
powers over the dark side of life. Rainbows of
color gave the stones magical powers over the
evil eye of the sorceress and magicians of the
day.
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Garnet | Amethyst | Aquamarine | Diamond | Emerald | Alexandrite |
| Ruby | Peridot | Sapphire | Opal | Topaz | Blue
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Emerald
(May) |
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- In ancient Egypt, emeralds were mined close to
the Red Sea. This tranquil green gem was highly
prized by the wealthy and the priest craft. The
high cost made it far beyond the average
Egyptian's pocketbook.
- It's said that Isis wore a green emerald—all
who looked upon it were guaranteed a safe trip
through the land of the dead.
- Emeralds in ancient Rome were highly prized and
valued for the calming and soothing effects. Nero
watched the Roman games in the coliseum through a
set of highly prized emerald glasses. With the
conquest of South American by the Spaniards in
the 16th century, emeralds became more plentiful
in Europe.
- Pizarro and Cortez subdued the Inca and Mayan
civilizations and took over the existing emerald
and gold mines and began shipping these captured
fortunes of gold and gems back to Spain, who in
turn shipped them to India and Philippine trading
ports where they found their way to China,
Mongolia, and Delhi. These early thefts allowed
Spain to become one of the leading world powers
at the time.
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Garnet | Amethyst | Aquamarine | Diamond | Emerald | Alexandrite |
| Ruby | Peridot | Sapphire | Opal | Topaz | Blue
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Alexandrite
(June) |
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- Alexandrite was discovered in 1830 on the
birthday of Alexander II in the rural mountains
of Russia, and named after him.
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| Ruby | Peridot | Sapphire | Opal | Topaz | Blue
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Ruby
(July) |
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- This stone was given as offerings to Buddha in
China and Krishna in India.
- A common belief was that dreaming of rubies meant
the coming of success in business, money matters,
and love.
- The ruby is thought to change colors (grow
darker) when the owner was in danger or when an
illness was coming. It was also thought that it
would chase off the spirits of the dead and evil
spirits not contained in hell.
- In China and Europe, in the 10th century, dragons
and snakes were carved in their surfaces to
increase the flow of money and power to their
owners.
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| Ruby | Peridot | Sapphire | Opal | Topaz | Blue
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Peridot
(August) |
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- Two thousand years ago, in the Roman empire,
peridot was called "olivine." Italian
peridot is olive in color. American peridot is a
light yellow-green.
- Anciently, large chunks of peridot were found in
Hawaii. These large pieces found their way around
to the Egyptians, who made small drinking vessels
out of them. They were used in rituals, and the
priests would drink soma from them. The soma
would put them in touch with the nature goddess,
Isis.
- The breast plates of Solomon and the high Priest
Aaron were said to carry them among them 12
stones to protect them from wounds and death in
battle. These 12 stones were credited with the
showing of true spiritual teaching by creating
miracles of healing performed by the high
priests.
- Legend has it that King Solomon traded many cedar
trees from Lebanon for 12 soma drinking cups and
144 liters of soma. The Egyptians made this trade
for ramp logs to build their pyramids at Gisa.
King Solomon was said to have been made wise and
enlightened by the drinking of soma from the
peridot cups.
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Garnet | Amethyst | Aquamarine | Diamond | Emerald | Alexandrite |
| Ruby | Peridot | Sapphire | Opal | Topaz | Blue
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Sapphire
(September) |
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- Egyptians associated the clear sapphire with the
eye of Horas. Greeks identified the white
sapphire with Apollo and was used by the oracles
at Delphi.
- The stone was used by the Greeks to stimulate the
opening of the third eye and to tap into the
subconscious and super conscious overmind. Clear
sapphires, like diamonds, are the guardians of
love. When given to one another it enhances love
for each other and tunes your psyches to one
another. In the old days, it was used to banish
envy and jealousy. It also promotes chastity in
virgins and insures fidelity in marriage.
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Garnet | Amethyst | Aquamarine | Diamond | Emerald | Alexandrite |
| Ruby | Peridot | Sapphire | Opal | Topaz | Blue
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Opal
(October) |
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- The Romans believed it was the symbol of hope and
purity. They called opal "Cupid
Paederos" (a child beautiful as love) and
thought it kept the wearer safe from disease.
- The Arabs believed that opals fell from heaven in
flashes of lightening, and that's how they
received their fiery color.
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Garnet | Amethyst | Aquamarine | Diamond | Emerald | Alexandrite |
| Ruby | Peridot | Sapphire | Opal | Topaz | Blue
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Topaz
(November) |
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- In the past, peridot and olivine were called
topaz. All three stones were used to make the
wearer become invisible, through meditation and
ritual. It was thought to allow this invisibility
to be accomplished in the astral body which
normally can not be seen by others, unless they
have studied and practiced the arcane art.
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Garnet | Amethyst | Aquamarine | Diamond | Emerald | Alexandrite |
| Ruby | Peridot | Sapphire | Opal | Topaz | Blue
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Blue Zircon
(December) |
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- The legend of Zircon began when Hyacin, the Greek
youth, was killed. A blue hyacinth flower grew
from the spilled blood. The blue color of the
zircon found in Greece matched the blue of the
flower. Pliny, the elder, started this legend by
his written comparison of colors.
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| Ruby | Peridot | Sapphire | Opal | Topaz | Blue
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