If you’re still young enough to remember your birthday, you
probably also remember the special birthstone assigned to it.
But at your age, we bet you don’t really know the SIGNIFICANCE
of your birthstone and what power the ancients felt would be
bestowed about you by wearing it. September Birthstone: Sapphire
Birthstone Properties: Brings physical and emotional balance.
Alternative Birthstone: Agate Sapphire is the birthstone for
September and the gemstone given for anniversaries of the 5th
and 45th years of marriage. Taken from the Greek word for blue,
“sapphirus”, sapphires have a time-honored tradition with
priests (who considered them symbolic of purity) and king s (who
considered them symbolic of wisdom.) Sapphires were mined as
early as the 7th Century BC in India and what is now Sri Lanka.
Today they are found in Sri Lanka, Australia, Nigeria, Kenya,
Tanzania, Kashmir, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Madagascar, and the
United States. Against Which All Others Are Measured Sapphires,
like rubies, are a variety of corundum. The sapphire’s color
spectrum includes pink and lavender varieties, a rare orange
hue, and, of course, the velvety blue sapphire that earned the
gemstone its name. Because of the way in which corundum crystals
are formed, large sapphires are rare…and valuable. The priceless
563-carat Star of India, on display at New York City’s Museum of
Natural History, is the largest and most famous of “star
sapphires” (sapphires that are cut to reflect light from
inclusions within the stone to reveal a bright six-legged star
pattern). To Your Health So strong was the power of a sapphire,
it was alleged that a venomous snake put in a vessel made of
sapphire would quickly die. Sapphires therefore earned the
reputation as an excellent all-purpose medicine and were
ingested as an antidote to poison. Additionally, sapphires were
ground into powders as a remedy for everything from colic to
rheumatism and mental illness. Sapphires were also believed to
be able to stop bleeding and cure disorders of the eye. The Eyes
Have It Egyptians associated the clear sapphire with the eye of
Horas — the all-seeing, all-knowing “eye in the sky” — while
the gemstone was used by the Greeks to to tap into the
subconscious mind by stimulating the opening of the “third eye.”
A Mirror of the Soul Husbands and wives in ancient times
frequently exchanged gifts of sapphires. Although the fact that
sapphires represent sincerity and faithfulness was undoubtedly
the primary reason it was a popular marriage gift, another
motive may have been at work: it was believed that a sapphire
would not shine if worn by someone who was wicked or impure.
Sapphires were considered to be so powerful they continued to
protect the original owner even after being sold. Say it With
Sapphires Clear sapphires, like diamonds, are the guardians of
love. When exchanged with a loved one, sapphires enhance
feelings for one another and attunes the two psyches. Sapphires
have the power to banish envy and jealousy, and are said to
promote chastity in virgins and fidelity in marriage