So when Gus asked me to write a blog post in his absence, and suggested the possible topic of birthstones, I thought, "Perfect--something I know very little about! Let's have at it!"
Birthstones were initially linked to the astrological calendar, and each sign of the zodiac had a stone or stones associated with it. The month of June, ruled by the signs of Gemini and Cancer, has as its birthstone that beautiful water creation, the pearl. Cancer, sign of the crab, is associated with water and the moon. The pearl, whether freshwater or saltwater, is luminous like the moon, glowing with a diffused inner light that can be tinted a light cream or gray, lavender to blue or yellow, even pale green or black.
The Pearl of Great Price is a Christian parable about giving up everything to attain the Kingdom of Heaven, but pearls were considered extremely precious well before the gospels were written. Pearls were powdered and used as aphrodisiacs, worn only by royalty, and connected to the power of dragons and myths of the Gods being born from the seas.
To modern Pagans, pearls carry the power of the watery depths and the rarefied, cyclical beauty of the moon. I have seen some gorgeous strands of pearls for sale at Pagan festivals, some alternating glowing white pearls with brilliant amber beads, creating the perfect marriage of sun and moon all in one elegant necklace.
June also has two alternate birthstones: alexandrite, a rare gem with changeable colors, and moonstone, another stone with strong associations to the moon. My friend Cybele, who works with many stone allies in her bodywork, teaching, and magical practice, advises people to wear their birthstones only if it feels good to wear them. The most important thing, she stresses, is to pay attention to our body's reaction to the feel of the stone, and our emotional response to having that particular child of the earth in our energy field.
Knowledge of stones and healing is intertwined with ancient lore from many cultures. For Pagans, the lore of birthstones presents a wonderful opportunity to bring the color and beauty of a different gemstone into our houses and our devotional practices every month. Over time, these displays can deepen into magical alliances, and may even suggest more occasions to celebrate with gratitude, feasting, and celebration. What's not to love?
This post was contributed by Anne Hill, blogger at the Huffington Post and Blog o' Gnosis.
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Hello Anne, thank you for the nice blog posting.
I simply adore crystals and gemstones, I suppose that's partly because I'm an Earth sign. I've never found one with a vibration I didn't like.
My favorite gem is the Emerald and I have quite a bit of it (thanks to utterly shameless hints to my husband as my birthday approaches each year); it's my birthstone and I like the way it makes me feel when I wear it. Although most of it is jewelry quality set in gold, I do have a few large inexpensive pieces that are "Emerald Crystals in Matrix". Not beautiful at all for jewelry, but I love them too as I find they are perfect for Magickal workings. It doesn't seem to matter that they are not pure, so you don't have to spend a fortune to work with them.
I hope it's okay to say this here, but if you're looking to get crystals on-line I've had good results with healingcrystals.com. I have no affiliation with them other than as a customer. They also have good articles about crystals on their site so I highly recommend them for anyone looking for information or an on-line place to purchase crystals and gemstones.
How wonderful to read about pearls, I just made a pretty strand of peacock hued freshwater pearls for a birthday gift to a nine year old girl! I did feel I was sending something special and magical to her.
I'm a June baby! Alexandrite really does change colors. It's neat. My parents gave me a pearl ring for graduation as well. Also beautiful. Nice reading your post, Anne!
Christianity or "Christianists" are not the enemy, nor are they all guilty of the close-minded rhetoric of the loudest of their fanatics. Every group has fanatics, even neo-pagans.
Pagans really need to get over this Us vs. Them mindset when it comes to other religions, especially with Christianity. If paganism, like many religions, is about celebrating what is beautiful in this life, then we need to switch our focus in regards to Christianity from the close-minded, fanatical to their generosity, their supportive communities, and their desire to love one another.
In spending all our time bemoaning the actions of their fanatics, we forget that the majority of their community do not support such actions or mind-sets.
Just like pagans don't appreciate being painted as devil worshippers, idiots, or suspicious dabblers in the dark arts, we must resist the temptation to fall victim to the same practices.
Different sun shine have different gemstone . If you wears gemstone you should have to need to do proper care of your gemstone. Because every day you meet different people and they touch your stone and this touch will effect on your positive and negative attitude. You can clean your Peridot Gem with water, essential oil and the things which are related to your sun shine.
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