Gemstones
Published by sonce under spiritual portal on October 27, 2007
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Gemstones make a beautiful gift. Often they are put into jewelry or worked into pens or other accessories. Pendulums are often made from gemstones. Below is a list of gems associated with zodiac signs; you may find it useful when picking a gift for someone.
Gems and Zodiac
| Zodiac sign | Date of birth | Gemstone | |
| Aries | 21.March - 20.April | Diamond, opal, bloodstone | |
| Taurus | 21.April - 21.May | Emerald, sapphire, malachite | |
| Gemini | 22.May - 21.June | Agate, amethyst | |
| Cancer | 22.June - 22.July | Pearl, mother of pearl, moonstone, emerald | |
| Leo | 23.July - 22.August | Ruby, diamond, onyx, jade | |
| Virgo | 23.August - 22.September | Carnelian, sapphire, agate | |
| Libra | 23.September - 23.October | Opal, jasper, sapphire | |
| Scorpio | 23.October - 21.November | Topaz, citrine, pearl, aquamarine | |
| Sagittarius | 22.November-20.December | Turquoise, lapis lazuli, onyx, amethyst | |
| Capricorn | 21.December - 20.January | Garnet, emerald, ruby | |
| Aquarius | 21.January - 18.February | Amethyst, aquamarine, bloodstone, garnet | |
| Pisces | 19.February - 20.March | Aquamarine, moonstone, bloodstone, jade |
Further more, crystals can be useful when working with energies, during meditation and even when working on your chakras . The following list will help you to choose appropriate gemstone to use when trying to remove a block from a particular chakra or to stimulate its activity.
Gems and chakras
| # | Chakra | Gemstone |
| 7 | Crown chakra | Amethyst, citrine, hematite, labradorite, sugilite, tiger’s eye |
| 6 | 3rd eye | Amethyst, aquamarine, fluorite, hematite, lapis lazuli, sodalite |
| 5 | Throat chakra | Agate, aquamarine, labradorite, sodalite |
| 4 | Heart chakra | Aventurine, green fluorite, malachite, onyx, rose quartz, tiger’s eye |
| 3 | Solar plexus | Citrine, onyx, smokey quartz, tiger’s eye |
| 2 | Sacral chakra | Carnelian, citrine, sun stone, smokey quartz |
| 1 | Root chakra | Agate, carnelian, hematite, obsidian, smokey quartz, tiger’s eye |
Gemstones can also be used to influence the atmosphere of your apartment or in lucky charms.
CLEANSING
Gemstones not only transmit their energy to their environment but also absorb energy. With time they pick up a lot of negative vibrations, for example from the room they have been placed in. With time a crystal might start radiating the negative energy it has absorbed in the past. Cleansing crystals on regular basis is essential.
An easy way is to take a glass bowl, fill it with water place the gemstone into it and put it out under the full moon during the night. Some gemstones (desert rose for example) are never put into water. They are rather left under the sun for a few hours. Sometimes it is enough to put the gem under the running water for a few minutes.
Warning: using gemstones for their healing properties is not a substitute for prescribed medication!
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Agate is a transparent or non-transparent form of chalcedony with different layers (which are also colored differently). It was named after the river Achates on Sicily. There are many known varieties.
Deposits: Germany, Brazil, Arizona (USA), Madagascar, etc
- Helps to focus on what is important and to better understand our experience and relationships we have
- Stimulates regeneration, regeneration and growth
- Stimulates growth of mental powers and increases energy
- Helps to focus, stimulates energy flow, balances emotions
- Astral planes, past life memory
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Amethyst is a form of quartz whose violet color results from Fe3+ contained. If heated to 250°C it changes color from violet to yellow, at even higher temperatures it becomes brownish. In Ancient Greece it was believed that amethyst protects from drunkenness. Greek word amethustos which means sober, not drunk.
Deposits: Brazil, Uruguay, India, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, USA
- Sooths headache, swellings, intestinal diseases, helps with asthma
- Helps to develop 6th sense
- Helps against sleeplessness and relieves stress
- Protection, also protects the room where it is held
- It is a lunar crystal, encourages astral travel and dreams and helps to remember them
- Increases wisdom and spiritual power
- Never put it under sun for cleaning
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It’s a form of silica with additions (mostly fuchsite and hematite) that are responsible for variety of different colors. Aventurines are mostly green, but also blue, brownish or grey.
Deposits: Brazil, India, Russia, USA, Japan, etc
- Strengthens perception, creativity, originality, individuality
- Helps with allergies and infections
- Optimism, self-esteem, tolerance, patience, joy, happiness
- Stimulates the mind and helps us to focus
- Stimulates dreams
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Aquamarine is a form of Beryl. Its color varies from blue to green shades and depends on the concentration of iron contained. Aqua marina literary means seawater.
Deposits: Brazil, India, Nigeria, etc
- Lucky stone, brings peace and harmony
- Strengthens intuition, opens emotions
- Cleansing stone, healing powers
- Boosts immune system and helps with allergies, strengthens kidneys and liver
- Gives courage, self-confidence and self-control
- Helps to concentrate power and raise ones spiritual level, stimulates clairvoyance
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Carnelian is a variation of chalcedony, which gains its color from iron contained. The name carnelian comes from Latin word carneus as a result of its meet-like color. It is basically a variation of chalcedony containing higher levels or iron (which is also responsible for its color).
Beautiful samples are found in India.
- In Egypt it was believed to be a protective stone, sacred to goddess Isis
- It gives courage and is knows as a stone of rhetoricians
- Stimulates sex drive
- Boosts intuition, clairvoyance and astral travel
- Gives better insight and powerful dreams
- Helps it owner to find better, faster and more practical solutions of everyday problems
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Citrine is a form of quartz that is colored yellowish because of contained iron. The name origins in the Latin word citrus. Synthetic and glass imitations can be found on market, burned amethysts are also sold as citrines. It was considered a solar stone and is very popular healing stone.
Deposits: Brazil, Spain, Russia, Madagascar, etc
- Boosts immune and nerve system, stimulates metabolism
- Helps against depressions, banishes guilt and protects against nightmares
- Brings new energy, makes our life more dynamic and fills us with enthusiasm
- Can also cause sleeplessness
- It is energetically activated with amethyst or hematite
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Fluorite comes in many different colors and has a glassy lustre. Under the UV light it becomes highly fluorescent. The name fluorite comes from Latin word fluere, which means to flow, and it was given that name because of its solubility. Blue John is a fluorite with stripes or blue, violet and yellow color that was found in Derbyshire (UK). Synthetic and glass imitations can be found on market.
Deposits: USA, Canada, Peru, Mexico, China, etc
- Stimulates skin regeneration, strengthens bones and teeth, eases joint pains and sooths respiratory trouble
- Strengthens our perception and intuition, stimulates vision, eases astral travel and blurs the distinction between conscious and subconscious levels
- Helps to open restrained emotions and to deal with them
- Creativity, inspiration
- Protective stone
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It has a silver black to brown reddish color and a metal lustre when polished. Its name originates from Greek word haima, which means “such as blood”. Hematite has been connected to occultism and magic.
Deposits: Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, etc
- Sooths headache, helps the body to regenerate and regain strength, helps to provide oxygen
- Frees the body of poison
- It fills its carrier with optimism and strength, boosts his self-confidence and gives him courage
- Combination of earth and fire makes grounding higher energies easier
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Comes in many different colors, usually in shades of green, but can also be white or even yellowish. Also sold as Jade is another gemstone, called Nephrite (Ca2(Mg,Fe)5[(OH,F)|(Si4O11)]2)or Russian Jade.
Deposits: China, Japan, Russia, USA, etc
- Very appreciated as lucky charm and a protective stone, was also believe to have the power of resurrection
- Healing stone, especially good for kidney related diseases, strengthens immune system
- Long life, health, prosperity
- Brings wisdom, inner peace and balance
- Helps us to stay neutral, increases tolerance and washes away doubt
- Helps us when undergoing changes, helps to break away from things and people that are holding us down
- Boosts concentration and memory, growth in material and spiritual world
- Energetically activated with an amethyst
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It belongs to the family of nontransparent chalcedony. There are over 80 known sorts of jasper. They come in many colors, yellow, green, brownish , red, … The name originates from Greek word jaspis which means green colored gem.
Deposits: Germany, France, Russia, USA, etc
- Protective stone, brings stability and good fortune
- Increases self-confidence, helps to break away from people that are trying to control you and from situations the are stopping your spiritual growth
- Increases energy, gives better insight and boosts concentration
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Labradorite varies in color from grey, white, yellow, even reddish and all shades of green and blue. The stones are sometimes more or less shiny and more or less transparent. It glistens in colors of the rainbow. It was named after Labrador Peninsula in Canada.
Deposits: USA, Canada, Madagascar, etc
- Stomach related problems, high blood pressure
- Strengthens intuition, stimulates clairvoyance and creativity
- Boosts imagination
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Malachite is a green mineral that appears in parallel or concentric layers. It is created when copper sulfate near the surface oxidizes, and it dissolves in acids. The name Malachite originates from Latin (Latin word malacos means mallow)
Deposits: France, Italy, Germany, Russia, Australia
- Asthma, headaches, allergies, infections
- To clean the body from poison, protects from illness
- Strengthens visualization skills, creativity, helps to make better use of ones talents
- Helps to open and balance emotions
- Protective stone, against psychic attacks
- Good luck, fortune, wealth, growth, success
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It has a distinctive glow of white, blue or yellowish color. It got its name from association with the glow of the moon.
Deposits: India, Madagascar, USA, etc
- Balances hormones, helps with menstrual problems
- Boosts intuition, encourages clairvoyance
- Opens and balances emotions
- Clears perception, helps to find the truth
- Boosts self-confidence
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Obsidian has a volcanic origin and results from lava cooling down very fast when reaching earth’s surface. It is colored black and un-transparent, and there are several varieties known:
- rainbow obsidian “contains” a rainbow, which results from water drops being caught in the stone
- snowflake obsidian contains silica crystals that look like snowflakes
- apache’s tear, which is transparent
- mahogany obsidian contains brown spots, which result from higher level of iron
The gem was named after Roman Obsius, who first found it in Ethiopia
Deposits: Hawaii, Japan, Java, etc
- Neutralizes pain and helps the wounds heal faster
- Protects from negative energy, repels curses, etc
- Strengthens the intuition
- Helps its carrier to gain deeper insight and better understanding of cause and effect patterns
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Onyx is a form of agate in which white and black stripes exchange. It used to have a very bad reputation; it was considered a bad luck charm and was a symbol of sadness, fear, evil and “black magic”.
Most beautiful gems are found in Brazil and India.
- Strengthens the immune system and protects from infections
- Helps us to pursuit our dreams and recall past life memory
- Strengthens concentration, increases energy
- Helps to better understand the cycles of life, death and rebirth
- Protective stone
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Quartz is colorless or white silica (the white crystal at the top of the picture), which is mostly transparent with a glassy luster. It transmits energy easily. Dependent on elements contained, there are many varieties of quartz: amethyst, ametrine, citrine, rose quartz, smokey quartz, rutile, etc.
Deposits: Russia, Brazil, Madagascar, etc
- Self-recognition
- Union of material and spiritual aspects
- Expansion, development, spiritual growth
- Boosts imagination and clears the mind
- Helps to focus energy, it is good for transmitting or storing energy
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Rose Quartz is a form of quartz that varies from rose-color to the color red and often contains bits of rutile quartz. Fake rose quartz is usually some form of chalcedony colored pink, but ussually only the color of the real rose quartz is being intensified.
Deposits: Brazil, Madagascar, Russia, etc
- stone of fertility, often used in Love magic
- helps to overcome fear, worries and emotional pain and distress
- it is often used to open up ones emtions, but also encourages us to stand up for ourselves
- good for transmitting and storing energy and is often used to help the healing process
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It’s a form of quartz that gets its dark color from aluminum and radioactive radiation. If the stone is heated to 360°C it becomes totally colorless. Morion is a version of smokey quartz that is totally black in color and got its name from the Latin word morsus, which means dark.
Deposits: Brazil, Colorado (USA), Austria, Switzerland, Spain, etc
- It was believed to protect against evil, to help us to better understand cause and effect patterns and was also believed to aid us in communication with the dead
- It eases energy exchanges and helps to ground energy, helps us to keep in touch with reality
- Protection, relaxation, relieves stress
- Better understanding of our own nature and our physical body and needs
- Helps to recover energy when physically exhausted
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Sodalite is a blue stone with white, grey and sometimes green shades. It melts in concentrated acids. It got its name from sodium (Na).
Deposits: Brazil, Canada, India, USA, etc
- It has healing effects on chronic diseases of throat, windpipe and vocal cords
- Communication, helps us to resolve conflicts
- Idealism, truth seeking
- Often used in water magic and for developing psychic powers and visualization skills
- Courage, protection, calming stone
- It helps to a good night sleep, protects from nightmares and encourages imagination and dreaming
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Tiger’s eye has golden-yellowish or brownish colors. It is known for its optical effects when polished (those are also the origins of its name).
It can be found in South Africa, Western Australia, Burma, India, California (USA), etc
- Protection from danger, demons, evil spirits, curses, ill-wishing, etc
- Protection during dreams and astral travel
- Helps to overcome fear, boosts courage and self-confidence
- Stimulates energy flow and regeneration
- Helps to concentrate and to balance different energies
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There are many different varieties (with different chemical structures). Indian word tormali means stone of different colors.
- rubelite: pink and reddish tourmaline, element fire , name originates from the Latin word rubeus which means red.
Strengthens determination, improves energy flow, increases concentration
- verdelite: green tourmaline, element air, name originates from Latin viridis which means green color
Boosts creativity and patience, strengthens immune system, increases energy and gives better understanding
- indicolite: blue tourmaline, element water, got its name after its indigo color
Affects the 3rd eye, spiritual growth, loyalty, washes away sadness , boosts confidence, healing stone (skin problems, kidneys)
- schorl: black tourmaline, element earth
Protection from negative energies, can absorb and purify energy (clean it regular!), lessens stress, wards off negative thoughts, connected with root chakra, lessens pain and helps to heal faster
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Further Readings:
- Cally Hall: Gemstones, Dorling Kindersley Handbook, London , 2000;
- A.L. Matlins, A.C. Bonanno: Gem Identification Made Easy, NAG Press, Lomdom, 1995
- Glenn & Martha Vargas: Descriptions of Gem Materials, Thermal, California, 1985;