Folklore of Moonstone

  

I love gem folklore.  I find it fascinating to read what different cultures have thought about the powers and uses of gemstones.  The following is folklore for June's birthstone, the moonstone.

"There is a bit of folklore which claims that if a man gives his lover a moonstone necklace on the night of the full moon, the couple will experience intense passion for each other forever.

The moonstone is also believed to bring good fortune, enhance intuition, offer protection, and bring success in love and business matters.

Fortune tellers decorated their crystal balls with moonstone to aid them in predicting the future. It is believed that the moonstone gem regenerates its power when placed under the light of the full moon.

Moonstone in Rome, Greece and France
From ancient civilizations to our modern-day society, moonstone has been prized and sought after to be worn as jewelry.

The Romans revered the moonstone, believing it to be born from the rays of the moon’s light.

The Greeks believed that the moonstone represented the great lunar deities like Achelois, Phoebe, Artemis, Selene and Hecate, and worshiped the stone.

 Indian Moonstone Legends

In India, the moonstone is thought to be a sacred, powerful gemstone. Moonstones there are called 'dream stones' and are believed to bring the wearer beautiful visions during sleep.

The stone is believed to bring luck in love and is given as a traditional wedding gift. Moonstones are always displayed on a cloth that is yellow, which the Indians consider a sacred color.

The legend about how the moonstone came into existence begins with a battle fought between Lord Vishnu and Bali, the demon god. Lord Vishnu destroyed Bali and broke his body into pieces. The pieces then fell to Earth as various jewels. The moonstone was formed from a piece of Bali’s eye.

Moonstone in the Middle East

In the Middle East, many women wear moonstones discretely sewn into their garments because they believe the stone is a symbol of fertility.

Amulets with moonstone are hung from trees to ensure an abundant crop.

Similar to Indians, the people in the Middle East also associate the moonstone with love matters. It is believed that a couple can predict the direction of their relationship if a moonstone is placed in their mouths at the time of the full moon.

The moonstone is also offered as a blessing to young couples. It is believed that the gem will provide fertility and help to create a large and healthy family.

  
Oriental Beliefs

In the Orient, it is believed that the moonstone gem is actually a ray of moonlight that has solidified and that a good spirit lives inside the gem. Emperors were buried with moonstone and other symbolic gems."

This information in from the website JewelryNotes.com

Chryscolla

I recently bought chrysocolla cabochons for the bead store.  I have never purchased this gemstone before so I wanted to find out a little bit about the stone. 

I wanted to know if somehow it was related to turquoise.   What I did find out is that it is often confused for turquoise.   Due to its color similarity, Chrysocolla can be used as a cheaper substitute and is occasionally falsely labelled as Turquoise.

Chrysocolla is a gemstone with a beautiful sky blue to bluish-green color. It's chemical make up contains copper, which is responsible for the bright attractive color.  It can be solid in color, but more often it is multicolored blue and green, with interesting color patterns or mottling, inclusions, or veining of black and brown material. 

Chrysocolla is found worldwide. It is a copper bearing mineral found wherever copper deposits occur 
especially in areas of the southwestern USA, Mexico, Chili, Australia, France, England, the Congo (Zaire), Israel, and Peru. 

Chrysocolla, in its pure form, is soft and fragile, and therefore not widely used in jewelry. It has a 
variable hardness from 2 to 4 on the Mohr's scale of gem hardness. 

Though soft as a gem, you could put a finish over the stone to help make it more durable. If you 
wanted to use it in jewelry, I would recommend using it for a piece that would not get as much 
wear and tear, such as a pin, or possibly a necklace pendant.      

Chalcedony

I was interested in the gemstone chalcedony and thought I would do some research.

Chalcedony is also known as agate. Its colors are bluish white, or gray. The various types differ in color due to metallic impurities, such as iron, nickel, copper, and titanium, present during crystallization.

Some of the best known chalcedony species are:

Bloodstone, an opaque, dark green chalcedony with red spots (caused by iron oxide).

Blue chalcedony, called "Mohave" and "Mt. Airy Blues", originating in California and Nevada, are slightly to moderately grayish blue with a light to medium color range.
Blue chalcedony from Namibia, often called "African Blue", varies from grayish to nearly pure blue and from light to medium dark. The most unusual and most valuable type is from Oregon. Its blues are modified by slight to moderate amounts of pink, making a noticeably lavender gem, which nonetheless is called "Holly Blue."

Carnelian ranges in color from yellow-orange to rich, near reddish orange, to orangey brown, and varies from semi-opaque to highly translucent.

Chrysocolla, marketed as "Gem Silica" is relatively rare. It's color is blue to blue-green, opaque to near transparent material is the most expensive type of chalcedony. Its color agent is copper.

Chrysoprase, apple green chalcedony that derives its color from nickel, ranges from nearly opaque to nearly transparent. Its color spectrum includes olivey, to nearly pure greens of medium tone. Very fine, highly saturated pieces have been successfully misrepresented as Imperial jade.

The Greek Myth of Amethyst

There is a wonderful Greek myth that tells the story of the creation of the gemstone amethyst.  According to the myth, Dionysius, god of intoxication, was angered by an insult from a mere mortal and swore revenge on the next mortal that crossed his path, creating fierce tigers to carry out his wish. Along came the unsuspecting Amethyst, a beautiful maiden on her way to pay tribute to the goddess Diana. Diana turned Amethyst into a statue of pure crystalline quartz to protect her from the tigers. Dionysus wept tears of wine in remorse at the sight of the beautiful statue. The god's tears stained the quartz purple, creating the gem we know today.

Featured in a New Treasury

My new rainbow moonstone cabochons are featured in a new treasury,  Gems and Finding Treasury , curated by Leighs Wiccan Boutique. 

Here is a quick screen shot of the treasury:

And my new pretty cabs are on the bottom left.

 Thank you Mandi!