Friday 10 March 2017

Birthstones revisited (March) & Celebrate the small things

I have been re-posting my series of Birthstone posts from a couple of years ago so as we are into March here is this month's offering on the sea-inspired Aquamarine. Hope you enjoy.


The word Aquamarine is derived from the Latin words, 'aqua' meaning water and 'marina' meaning sea. Hence the translation 'Sea Water.' The colour of this lovely gem reflects its name perfectly as it is usually found in a transparent blue or sea green. One legend suggests they are found in the treasure chest of mermaids. 

The connections with the sea are obvious and legend suggests that sailors would wear an aquamarine to protect them and keep them safe at sea.

Here are some other facts and myths surrounding the lovely aquamarine, not surprisingly a lot of stories feature connections with water:


  • Archaeologists have found the stone carved in statues of the god Poseidon. 
  • Romans thought the stone capable of absorbing young love. 
  • Another Roman legend said that carving the image of a frog onto an aquamarine would reconcile enemies and indeed make them friends.
  • In Medieval times, aquamarines were believed to reawaken the love of married couples. 
  • Worn as an amulet aquamarines have been said to bring relief of pain, make the wearer friendlier and cure laziness!
  • Aquamarines have long been prized by sailors as a prevention for seasickness and as protection at sea.  Having such powers as warding off sea monsters, storms and other perils of the sea. Egyptians, Romans and Greeks believed the gem conjured the good spirits of the water.
  • The largest aquamarine was found in Brazil in 1910, it weighed around 243 pounds.
  • Aquamarine is suggested as a gem to give on the 16th and 19th wedding anniversaries. 
  • The gem has been thought to have magical healing powers for ailments relating to the stomach, liver, throat and jaw. It has even been used as an antidote against poison.
  • Fortune tellers have used aquamarines to help them look into the future and make predictions.

The verse from the traditional Gregorian Poem for this month is one of the nicest I think.

"A March born shall always be
soothed by Aqua, gem of sea
This mermaids' treasured stone you wear
Will bring happiness, love, affection and care."

Happy Birthday to all celebrating this month.

And on the topic of celebrations ...

This week I'm celebrating a couple of good writing sessions, getting over a cold and the restorative benefits of chamomile tea!

        Thanks to Lexa and her lovely co-hosts
           L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge 
   Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

13 comments:

  1. Hi Suzanne - love reading about the various stones - they are certainly special and aquamarine just evokes the sea and its colours ... glad the writing is going well, a cold is always a challenge to get rid of - but obviously the tea is working ... cheers Hilary

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  2. Glad you're feeling better.
    That's a really big stone...

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  3. Love your birthstone series and it's great that you are sharing them again.
    Glad you are over your cold. Take care!

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  4. Very Interesting!!!! I always loved birthstones.

    Take Care and have a nice weekend.

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  5. Isn't it strange that there are so may different legends about what it can do? 243 pounds - holy cow (literally must've been that big. lol) Yay for writing progress, chamomile tea, and no more cold!

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  6. I luv chamomile tea. Hope you're feeling better.

    Marilyn @ onbecomingawriter.com

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  7. Could create quite the business if it were true, reconnecting married couples and letting them avoid divorce haha

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  8. I'm glad you're sharing these, Suzanne. It's so interesting to learn about the gems.

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  9. Most interesting to read Suzanne, mine is Emerald.Can't wait to see what you write about that.

    Yvonne.

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  10. Aquamarine is such a pretty birthstone. Loved learning all this lore behind it. So fascinating!

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  11. I had no idea...some very interesting facts here. Especially about the healing powers and relief of pain.

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  12. Yay! Healthy and on the up and up. That's what we want to hear. I love reading about all the crazy superstitions around different valuable stones. It kinda makes me chuckle. Funny how the human race has always been the same--building myths to keep ups going.

    So happy for your writing progress!

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  13. I find birthstones really interesting, as my roommate in college helped me get into them.


    www.ficklemillennial.com

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