About Birthstones
January - Garnet
While red is the most common color, Garnet comes in many colors with the exception of blue.
Garnets are known to stop hemorrhaging, cure inflammatory diseases and manager anger.
This stone symbolize fidelity, loyalty, sincerity, grace and faith.
February: Amethyst
The Amethyst has long been believed to guard against drunkenness and has a sobering effect for those excited by passion and love. This gemstone symbolizes peace, protection, tranquility, and sincerity.
March: Aquamarine
The aquamarine is said to offer protection from evil and bring love and affection back into a failing relationship.
This gemstone is a symbol of love, honesty, loyalty, and beauty.
April: Diamond
The diamond is thought to provide those who wear them with better relationships, balance, clarity, abundance, and an increase in inner strength.
The most coveted gemstone to date, diamonds are a symbol of eternal love.
May: Emerald
Some cultures believe emeralds grant their owner foresight, good fortune and youth. The name emerald is derived from the Greek word “smaragdus” meaning green.
Thought to improve memory, faith, and intuition, emeralds are a symbol for constancy and true affection.
June: Pearl
People have coveted natural pearls as symbols of wealth and status for thousands of years; the oldest written mention being in 2206BC. In ancient China, pearls were believed to guarantee protection from fire-breathing dragons. In Europe, they symbolized modesty, chastity, and purity.
July: Ruby
A ruby provides strength, vigor, and nobility, helping protect its wearer from the evils of the world. It signifies love and passion while attracting good luck.
August: Peridot
The gemstone symbolizes dignity, fame, and prosperity.
Peridots have been used in jewelery through the ages to achieve peace and success, as well as to attract love and good fortune. Hawaiians believe the traces of peridot found in volcanic ash are the tears of the volcano goddess, Pele.
September: Blue Sapphire
In ancient Greece, royals were convinced that blue sapphires protected their owners from envy and harm.
During the Middle ages, people thought the gem attracted heavenly blessings. Others instilled sapphires with the power to guard chastity, make peace between enemies, influence spirits, and reveal the secrets of oracles.
October: Opal
Because opal has the colors of other gems, the Romans thought it was the most precious and powerful of all.
The Bedouins believed that opals contained lightning and fell from the sky during thunderstorms. The ancient Greeks believed opals gave their owners the gift of prophecy and guarded them from disease, while Europeans have long considered the gem a symbol of hope, purity, and truth.
October: Pink Tourmaline
Very few gems match tourmaline’s dazzling range of colors. From rich reds to pastel pinks and peach colors, intense emerald greens to vivid yellows and deep blues, the breadth of this gem’s color range is unrivaled. The confusion about the stone’s identity is even reflected in its name, which comes from “Toramali”, which means “mixed gems” in Sinhalese (a language of Sri Lanka).
November: Citrine
The first uses of citrine in jewelry can be dated back to the Hellenistic Age (323-280 BC) in Greece. At one time it was used as a talisman against alcholism, evil thoughts, overindulgences, scandal, libel, and treachery. Some also carried it as protection against plagues, epidemics, as well as venomous snake and reptile bites.
December: Blue Zircon
Since the Middle Ages, Blue Zircon has been believed to aid in spiritual growth and to promote wisdom. Those who wore Blue Zircon, it is said, will find beauty and peace.
December: Tanzanite
As a relatively new gemstone, Tanzanite dose not have any mythical or mysterious powers associated with it. But what it lacks in history, it compensates with beauty in it’s deep blue and purple tones.
December: Turquoise
Turquoise attracts money, success and love. Its powers include protection, healing, courage, friendship, and luck. This gemstone relaxes the mind and eases mental tension.
***Please note that all metaphysical or healing properties listed are collected from various sources. This information is offered as a service and not meant to treat medical conditions. Beads by Beth does not guarantee the validity of any of these statements.
My Favorite Gemstones
Larimar
The meaning of Larimar is peace and tranquility. It is the stone of the spiritual consciousness and stability. When you touch a Larimar, you will feel lightweightedness.
Miguel Mendez was one of the early artisans using larimar and he named the beautiful material larimar after his daughter, “LARISSA”, and the Spanish word for sea, “MAR”.
Very few gemstones originate from the Caribbean Islands, but larimar is by far the most popular. It is often referred to as the Gemstone of the Caribbean because the blues and whites mimic the sky and sea of the Caribbean where it is found.
Amethyst
Ancient Greeks and Romans believed this gemstone could ward off the intoxicating powers of Bacchus and keep the wearer clear-headed and quick-witted. English regalia were decorated with Amethysts during the Middle Ages to symbolize royalty. Amethyst jewelry has been found and dated as early as 2000 BC.
Referred to as the “sobriety stone”. Brings stability, peace, calm, balance, courage and inner strength. It is thought to help with physical ailments such as headaches, insomnia, arthritis, pain relief, circulatory system issues, endocrine system problems, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, immune system deficiencies and general healing.
Turquoise
History of Turquoise: The earliest evidence of turquoise gemstones comes from ancient Egyptian tombs, which contains elaborate turquoise jewelry dating back to 3000 BCE. Egyptians set turquoise in gold necklaces and rings, used it as inlay, and carved it into scarabs.
Turquoise tempers excesses, restores calm after a storm, relieves stress and neutralizes extremes.
Pearls
Pearls were presented as gifts to Chinese royalty as early as 2300 BC, while in ancient Rome, pearl jewelry was considered the ultimate status symbol. So precious were the spherical gems, that in the 1st century BC, Julius Caesar passed a law limiting the wearing of pearls only to the ruling classes.
Healing properties of pearls: For physical illnesses, pearls have the reputation of assisting with digestive disorders, heart problems, eye ailments and improving the skin. Pearls have also been used to help with fertility and to ease pain during childbirth.
