It might seem strange that we’ve decided to feature garnets for August given they’re commonly heralded as January’s birth stone but bear with us and all will be revealed, and hopefully you’ll come to find garnets as nifty as we do.
Monica’s Braid by Kore, Garnet Gift by Me (Cat)
August is primarily the birth month for Leos, if you’re born from around the 25th of July to the 25th of August you’re a Leo. Leo’s are the leaders of the zodiac; they’re bold and brash, they make themselves known and take charge. They’re often actors and leaders, captains of industry, people who are their own bosses and run things.
For anyone who might be struggling in business garnets are a useful tool. If you keep at least three or more pieces on your work desk or in your place of business they will help charge the atmosphere so that things improve for you.
Garnets is said to be good for those who have a birth number of 1 or 9, and is considered advantageous for ladies who are of delicate health. It protects against nightmares, unexpected happenings and is good for children and those under stress or strain. It relieves tension and gives rest and relaxation, if you keep it under your pillow while sleeping it is said to help cure depression; because of its primarily deep red color it was believed to have great healing for issues with the heart, lungs, spine and spinal fluid, cells, bone and blood, particularly blood pressure, and when worn around the neck it will help with body pains and headaches.
Garnets have been used for these purposes for thousands of years. The Native Americans, Aztecs and African tribal cultures have tried to harness their powers for mystical and healing purposes. In fact the world’s largest supply of garnets is Africa, though a student in Alice Springs, Australia claimed to have discovered the largest single garnet, nearly 100 feet across, in December of 1996, those claims have yet to be substantiated.
Garnet and Pomegranate from http://wikipedia.org/ put in same shot by me.
Garnets are a group of minerals which have been used as gemstones and abrasives since the Bronze Age, the name is said to come from several different sources: the middle English word ‘gernet’ which means dark red, the Latin ‘granitus’ meaning grain or ‘Punica granatum’ which is the word for the Silver Path’s favorite plant pomegranate whose seeds resemble the way garnet can sometimes cluster.
The several different ‘species’ of garnets are: almandine (red to violet red); spessartite (yellow, rose, or orange to reddish-brown); pyrope (deep red); grossular (white, yellow, yellow-green, brownish-red, orange or black); andradite (colorless, yellow-green, or brown to black). The rarest variety, blue garnet, was discovered in the 1990s in Madagascar.
While garnet is used in industry as an abrasive in sand-blasting its much nicer to think of it extracting negative energy from the body and promoting health while in a nifty pair of earrings or on a bracelet. It aids the powerful stone for helping a person enhance their creativity and actual bring things to fruition rather than just thinking about them. It aids the process of self-discovery by integrating experiences and emotion with intellect.
Garnet does come in many colors but most of my research focused on the red garnet, I’m a bit biased given that’s the only one that we carry. Red Garnet helps with the thyroid and spleen. It can be used as a cleanser when held over those areas, and with those chakras, both the throat and sacral. It’s also said to be able to help when it comes to searching for information on past lives because it is a stone of intellect it will provide beneficial information which will help the searcher to find release. It’s also been used successfully by cancer patients, in helping to cleanse the body, but as with any method we have to point out that if you do have a serious health issue first consult a licensed clinical professional before implementing additional aid from more holistic methods.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garnet
http://www.gemstonegifts.com/stones/garnet.htm
http://minerals.usgs.gov
