Posted by Alicia E. Staz on October 30th, 2006 — Posted in Crystals
Aquamarine is believed to endow the wearer with courage, happiness, and everlasting youth. It is said to increase intelligence and have a positive influence on love realtionships, especially married couples, by smoothing out differences. Aquamarine comes from the Latin term aqua marina which is translated “water of the sea”. It is the March birthstone and a suggested gift for the 16th and 19th wedding anniversaries. Hey, do ANY of these birthstones cause bad things to happen to the wearer??? I think not. {VBG}
Aquamarine is a member of the beryl family and ranges in color from an almost colorless pale blue to blue-green or teal. The most prized color is a deep-blue aqua color. It is 7.5-8 on the Mohs scale of hardness and has a hexagonal crystal structure.
A notable biblical mention of the stone is found in the Song of Solomon,”O daughters of Jerusalem, this is my beloved, and this is my friend. His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl.” In the middle ages, beryl was supposed to give its wearer cheerfulness. It was called the “sweet-tempered stone,” and these qualities might perhaps account for the presence of a piece of beryl in the English crown. In the Middle Ages it was believed to give the wearer foresight and freedom from insomnia. Water in which an aquamarine had been soaked was believed to cure eye troubles and hiccups. Legends also say that it is the treasure of mermaids with the power to keep sailors safe at sea. This may explain why sailors have carried them so faithfully.
Ready for trivia…? The British Museum of Natural History owns an 879.5 carat flawless aquamarine with a lovely sea-green color.
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Posted by Alicia E. Staz on October 16th, 2006 — Posted in Crystals
Amethyst is thought to encourage celibacy, piety, and sobriety. “Amethyst” comes from the Greek word amethystos which is basically translated “not drunken.” The Catholic church has used it in decoration since the Middle Ages. Amethyst is the birthstone for February and a suggested gift for the fourth, sixth and seventeenth wedding anniversaries.
I love the Greek legend that explains the origin of amethyst. One day Dionysius, the god of drunkenness, was insulted by a mortal and swore that he would cause the next mortal he came across to be mauled by tigers. As it happened, the next mortal to cross his path was Amethyst, a beautiful young girl on her way to pay tribute to Diana. Diana, having known of Dionysius’ plan, turned Amethyst into a crystal statue to protect her from the tigers’ claws. When Dionysius saw the statue and realized what he had done, he cried tears of wine that stained the statue purple thus creating the stone we know today.
Unlike garnets that are found in many different colors, amethysts are all purple. The colors range from pale lilac to deep purple, with the deep colors being the most valuable. Amethyst can occur in 2 different forms: long prismatic crystals with a point (six-sided pyramid) at either end or druzes (crystalline crusts) with only one pointed end. Amethyst has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness.
Just a bit of trivia - one of the largest amethysts ever cut is 343 carats and is housed at the National History Museum in London.
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Posted by Alicia E. Staz on October 4th, 2006 — Posted in Crystals
The garnet has been dubbed the gem of faith, constancy and truth. Accordingly, the garnet is a symbol of friendship, love and devotion. It is the birthstone for January and the suggested gift for the second anniversary. Garnet happens to be my son’s birthstone as he was born on New Years’ Day, January 1, 2005. It is one of my favorites and graces my Mother Bracelet.
Garnets are most commonly red in color but can be found in a variety of colors, including purple, red, orange, yellow, green, brown, black, or colorless. So what makes a garnet a garnet and not an emerald, or amethyst? The garnet group of minerals shows crystals with rhombic dodecahedrons and trapezohedrons. The chemical elements in garnet include calcium, magnesium, aluminium, iron2+, iron3+, chromium, manganese, and titanium. The hardness is 6.5-7.5 and the specific gravity is 3.1-4.3.
The word “garnet” appears to originate with the Latin word granatus which means “grain.” This is possibly a reference to the Latin phrase granatum malum which means “pomegranate.” Pomegranate a red fruit with seeds (grains) similar in shape, size, and color to some garnet crystals.
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