Rock On: 
The Evolution of the Birthstone for the Month You Were Born In

With the exception of the connoisseur, there aren’t many consumers who know their way around the colored gemstone world. But when I ask any number of my clients what their birthstone is and they likely can tell you without hesitation, proof that the long-ago idea of codifying a list of gemstones to drive consumer awareness has been a success.

BIRTHSTONES

A birthstone is associated with each of the 12 months of the year. For example, the birthstone for January is a garnet, while babies born in April get a diamond as their birthstone. The idea of birthstones has a place in many traditions, customs, and belief systems.

According to the American Gem Society, birthstones are believed to date back to the breastplate of Aaron, which contained 12 gemstones representing the 12 tribes of Israel. It wasn’t until 1912, though, that the first official birthstone list was established by the American National Retail Jeweler’s Association (now known as Jewelers of America). It has changed only a few times over the last century. According to Jewelers of America, it updated the list in 1952 to add alexandrite (June), citrine (November), tourmaline (October) and zircon (December) as birthstones, and again in 2002, when tanzanite became a birthstone for December.

The information about healing gemstones, crystals, and minerals are metaphysical symbolism, healing properties, powers, and spiritual meanings. The information below does not represent actual medical studies and do not serve as actual cures or remedies for any health issues that you may have. Please seek medical help from a doctor.

The birthstones featured below are arranged by each month of the year..enjoy!



January Birthstone - Garnet

The word “garnet” comes from the 14th century Middle English word “gernet”, meaning “dark red.” Garnets are a spiritual stone of higher and self-empowerment, strength and safety. This is a gemstone that has a strong healing capacity to help in purifying the bodily energies in removing toxins while cleansing the body, the mind, and the spirit. In addition it is said that Garnets are recognized as spiritual minerals able to heal and intensify relationships. But they can do more than that; they are able to bring certain relationships to a higher, more spiritual level.

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February Birthstone – Amethyst

The name comes from the Ancient Greek, derived from the word “methustos,” which means “intoxicated.” Ancient wearers believed the gemstone could protect them from drunkenness. Amethyst provides clarity when there's confusion in the mind, and helps to relieve stress and anxiety. This gemstone has a gentle sedative energy that can promote peacefulness, happiness, and contentment. It also is said to bring emotional stability, inner strength and is very well known since ancient times, as a sobriety stone. In addition, it is said that the Amethyst gemstone has healing powers to help with physical ailments, emotional issues, curing of nightmares and insomnia. 

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March Birthstone – Aqua Marine

The serenely colored aquamarine invokes tranquility of its namesake, the sea. In fact, the name aquamarine is derived from the Latin word “aqua”, meaning water, and marina, meaning the sea. Aquamarine is a symbol of friendship and courage. In the middle ages, people thought that aquamarine could overcome the effects of poison, and ancient mariners believed that mermaids’ lower bodies were made of aquamarine. It is synchronized with ocean’s vibrations that this gemstone can give calmness and mental clarity. It can remove phobias as it gives courage and self-knowledge. It may strengthen the sense of purpose, while it supports the ability to express and communicate with others. It is said to protect those who travel in the open sea.

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April Birthstone – Diamond

The diamonds structure makes it 58 times harder than anything in nature and can only be cut with another diamond. In fact, it’s the hardest gemstone and is made of just one element: carbon. This gemstone has become nearly synonymous with wedding engagements, you probably already know of the diamond’s toughness. Diamonds have been believed to improve one’s energy, environment, growth process, prosperity, love life, faith and endurance. The stone also attracts abundance, strength, power, courage, fortitude, creativity, imagination, purity, harmony, faithfulness, increased feelings of self-respect and relationships full of pure love. In fact, diamonds are believed to fill negative spaces in oneself with the purity of love.

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May Birthstone - Emerald

The emerald is a symbol of rebirth and is believed to grant the owner foresight, good fortune, and youth. Emerald, derived from the word “smaragdus,” means, quite literally, “green” in Greek. Emerald gemstone encourages spiritual growth, clear vision, memory, faith, intelligence and communication, inspiration, joy, intuition, clairvoyance, sensuality, love, romance, beauty, harmony, tranquility, serenity, clarity, cleansing, justice, friendship and unity. This gem can show you a crystal clear solution to a tough problem. Emerald is best known as a stone of both spiritual love and spiritual healing. This gemstone improves group unity and is especially helpful in large work situations promoting harmony within the group and helps them work together for solutions. It improves your memory & increases your mental skills.

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June Birthstone

June is one of only two months that has three (3) birthstones associated with it.

People born in June have a choice of gemstones between Pearl, Alexandrite, and Moonstone.

 Pearl

The name “pearl” comes from the Old French “perle”, from the Latin “perna” meaning “leg,” referencing the leg-of-mutton shape of an open mollusk shell. Pearl can bring you inner wisdom while helping to strengthen and nurture the growth of pure love. It will teach you to open up and find the meaning and the purpose of your “true self.” They enlighten the mind and inspire the mood, while helping you to learn to love yourself more and, in turn, love others more, as well. Pearl enhances feelings of good will and positive, uplifting feelings. Pearls have been used throughout medical history to help treat disorders of the digestive tract, muscular systems and the skin.

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Alexandrite

Alexandrite was discovered in Russian emerald mines located in the Ural Mountains. Legends claim that it was discovered in 1834 on the same day that future Russian Czar Alexander II came of age, and was named to honor him. Alexandrite can inspire your imagination while it encourages you to listen to your feelings and attunes your inner voice. It will help you achieve emotional maturity and can encourage you to find joy in everyday life. It is a stone of courage, allowing one to face change with no fears. Alexandrite assists in centering the self, reinforcing self-esteem and enhancing the ability to experience joy and beauty. 

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Moonstone

Moonstone was named by the Roman natural historian Pliny, who wrote that moonstone’s shimmery appearance shifted with the phases of the moon.  Moonstone is a stone of inner growth and strength as it soothes emotional instability, stress, and stabilizes the emotions, providing calmness.  Moonstone enhances intuition, promotes inspiration, success and good fortune in love and business matters. Moonstone has a gentle energy that can calm the mind. It is helpful to strengthen intuition and psychic perception for the users. Besides that this stone has a meaning that can improve creativity, feelings of affection for the couple and self-confidence.

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July Birthstone – Ruby

The name “ruby” comes from “rubeus”, the Latin word for red. In ancient Sanskrit, ruby translated to ratnaraj, which meant “king of precious stones.” It is said that wearing a Ruby will bring spiritual wisdom, mental concentration and confidence. The Ruby inspires creativity and is a stone of nobility. Since ancient times, this crimson colored gemstone has been known as the King of Gemstones, and has been considered to be a protective stone providing the wearer with benefits such as invulnerability and preserved health. Rubies worn by men signified manhood and nobility. Rubies worn by women were said to invoke passion and power. The energy of the ruby is intense and encourages one to follow bliss. It strengthens both the physical and emotional heart and instigates passion! The ruby gives positive life force qualities and reduces negative thoughts of a person.

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August Birthstone – Peridot

The name “peridot” is derived from the Arabic faridat, which means “gem,” but some believe it’s rooted in the Greek word peridona, meaning “giving plenty.” Perhaps that’s why peridot was, according to lore, associated with prosperity and good fortune. . Many healers believe even a tiny piece of rough Peridot have a vibration that will bring through a sense of well-being into your life. Many old world jewelry experts believed that Peridot has magical powers and it can help the wearer in making a direct communication with their fate. Additionally written is that Peridot gemstone will help to increase your self - esteem, aid you to let go of guilt from past experiences and to protect against negative emotions. Peridot opens, cleanses and activates the heart, which can help one to release old baggage, burdens, guilt and obsessions allowing a new psychological clarity and feeling of well-being to begin.

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September Birthstone – Sapphire

The name “sapphire” comes from the Latin sapphirus and Greek sappheiros, meaning “blue stone,” though those words may have originally referred to lapis lazuli. Some believe it originated from the Sanskrit word sanipriya which meant “dear to Saturn.” Sapphire gemstone has the ability to encourage faithfulness, friendship, imagination and peace of mind, by eliminating feelings of anxiety and nervousness as well as Sapphire gemstone is also good for helping solve problems and particularly aids in sexual relationships because it tends to make deep bonding between people and creates loyalty. The Blue Sapphire is traditionally associated with purity and love, Yellow Sapphire attracts wealth and brings prosperity to the home and the Pink Sapphire clears emotional blockages bringing peace and unconditional love. Many believe that Sapphire puts the mind in order and your emotions can naturally become more organized, more orderly, and more easily understood negativity and depression. Sapphires are said to align the physical, mental, and spiritual planes and restore balance within the body. 

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October Birthstone 

October is a month that has two (2) birthstones associated with it. . People born in October have a choice of gemstones between Opal and Tourmaline. Each birthstone comes in a rainbow of shades and color combinations, giving thos borm in October a variety of options.

Opal

The name “opal” originates from the Greek word opallios, which meant “to see a change in color.” The Roman scholar Pliny used the word opalus when he wrote about this gemstone’s kaleidoscopic “play” of colors that could simulate shades of any stone. Opals are stones are said to help balance and aid in encouraging expression of creativity, imagination and inspiration. However, since they are also a sensitive stone that can attune itself to its owner, they do notice any stress that their owner may feel, which can cause them to split apart and break. One thing to keep in mind concerning opals is that they attract to you the types of feelings, temperament and thoughts that you focus on. This means if you produce positive influences in your actions they will return to you in the same manner.

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Tourmaline

The name "tourmaline" comes from the Sinhalese words “tura mali”, which mean "stone of mixed colors." As its name implies, tourmaline stands apart from other gemstones with its broad spectrum of colors in every shade of the rainbow. Tourmaline is a powerful mental healer as it balances the right and left hemispheres of the brain and changing negative energy into positive. Tourmaline can be helpful in treating paranoia, dyslexia, improves hand/eye coordination. Tourmaline helps to cleanse, purify and transforms dense slow moving energy into lighter vibrational energy. Tourmaline can also help you understand yourself and others as it promotes self-confidence and lessens fear. It banishes feelings of being a victim. Tourmaline attracts inspiration, compassion tolerance and prosperity. 

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November Birthstone – Citrine

The name citrine takes its name from the citron fruit because of these lemon-inspired shades and was used to refer to yellow gemstones as early as 1385, when the word was first recorded in English. Citrine has powers over the Mind, Cash flow, and Healing abilities. Mentally, the stone can increase self-confidence, protect against the malignant energies from someone abusing you, opens your mind to new thoughts, insights, and perceptions, and promotes an adept mind by clarifying thought. Citrine is known as the "success stone" because it promotes success, prosperity, and abundance. Along with prosperity and good fortune, citrine imparts generosity, to share the wealth, so to speak. As for the healing aspects of citrine, there are quite a few, so it is a very useful stone. Citrine also reduces self-destructive tendencies. Citrine helps eliminate fears caused by others' ideas and suggestions. It can help one overcome emotional traumas and grief. Sensuality and sexuality can also be heightened by citrine. Physically, citrine can help with the digestion system (by alleviating constipation and diabetes) and endocrine system.

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December Birthstone – Blue Topaz

The name topaz comes from the Greek word topazion, which may originate from the Sanskrit tapas, meaning, “fire.” The name might also come from the name of the Egyptian island of topazos (now St Johns island) in the Red Sea. The meaning of blue topaz is symbolizes fidelity, eternal love and mutual understanding. It’s a spiritual stone that bring much metaphysical properties. Most blue stones symbolize the” God Power”. The Blue topaz healing is known to help heal, kindle, rejuvenate and motivate a de-motivated person, to promote truthfulness in a relationship and also helps people who can't forgive easily and also helps a person remain in perfect health as it wards off diseases and keeps a person fit. Blue topaz brings leadership ability to anyone who wears or carries it and wears it if you wish to be clear-sighted as legend has it that it dispels all enchantment and helps to improve eyesight as well. The ancient Greeks believed that it had the power to increase strength. 

Gemstones are Gifts of Nature

Enjoy wearing all the beautiful gemstones of our earth and take these special forces as your unique natural powers!

I hope you enjoy the information here, and I welcome any comments you may have which can be sent to my email; argenti722@aol.com

Love, Good Health, Light and Laughter for you always.

For more gemstone information
A Complete Guide to Birthstones: History, Styling Tips, and More
please click link below: 
https://jewelrytalk.com/jewelry-101/birthstones/