January Birthstone: Garnet

The birthstone for January is garnet. This precious stone was extremely popular in ancient times. The Egyptians associated the stone with their war goddess Sekhmet. For the Greeks, it was connected to supreme goddess Hera. The colour and shape recall the little seeds of a pomegranate, litterally “seed-apple”. As apple of love, this was Hera’s favourite fruit. In the old days, garnets were a popular gift between separated lovers, as they were also associated with Persephone, queen of the underworld, who could only stay with her husband Hades for half the year. Young and insecure as she was, Persephone wore garnets to enhance her self-confidence. Its immense energy transformed her negative thoughts into positive ones, and boosted her vitality, as well as her faith in her feminine attractiveness. Today, garnets are still considered powerful gems, both fysically (in stabilising blood pressure) and mentally, as protectors from bad influences. So let’s face it, we all need garnets in our lives!