Garnet
Garnet has been valued as a gem stone for thousands of years. Its metaphysical and healing properties make garnet one of the most powerful of crystals.
Garnet is legendary as a warrior's stone, highly protective and enhancing of courage, determination, and fighting spirit. Soldiers all over the world carried garnet talismans to staunch blood flow from wounds, protect them against injury or death, and bring them victory. But this gem of war is also famous for bringing peace.
Kings wore garnets when signing treaties to bind friendships and bargains. When given as a gift, a garnet instills loyalty and friendship. But a stolen garnet will bring the thief misfortune until the stone is returned to its rightful owner.
Garnet's high refractive index makes it one of the most brilliant of gems. Legend has it that Noah, aboard the Ark, used a lamp made of garnet to pierce the storm-tossed darkness in search of dry land. Brilliant garnet dispels shadows and the evil that lurks within darkness; therefore garnet is known as the Traveler's Protection Stone.
While blood-red is the traditional color of garnet, this gem occurs in a vast range of colors. In fact, there are more than 80 named color varieties of garnet! They include yellow, Mandarin orange, many shades of green, pinks and reds and browns and purples. The deep green demantoid garnet and the fiery green tsavorite from Kenya are among the rarest and most costly of garnets. Even a color-shifting blue garnet was discovered in Madagascar in 1998.
Garnet metaphysical properties include love and passion. This gem is used to enhance sexual desire, sensuality, and intimacy. It boosts life energy and vitality in general.
Garnet also brings good fortune in business. Keep garnets on a desk or counter to attract customers and favorable deals.
Garnet placed under one's pillow keeps away bad dreams. Wearing a garnet increases popularity and brings lasting friendships.
Garnet healing properties include the alleviation of depression; staunching of blood flow from wounds, nosebleeds, or menstruation; and purification of the thyroid gland and spleen.
Garnet is the modern birth stone for the month of January. It is the astrological Zodiac stone for the signs Scorpio, Aries, and Capricorn. Red garnet is the planetary stone of war-like Mars.