Scorpio Birthstones & Lucky Stones

Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz, coloured by traces of iron combined with natural irradiation deep in the rock. The shade ranges from a faint lilac to the deep reddish purple that dealers call Siberian, and a single crystal often carries several tones in bands or patches. It grows in geodes, hollow pockets lined with pointed crystals, and a cracked-open amethyst geode is one of the most recognisable objects in any mineral shop.

The name comes from the Greek amethystos, meaning not intoxicated. Greeks and Romans believed a cup carved from the stone, or an amethyst worn while drinking, kept a person clear-headed through a long evening. In the Christian church it became the stone of bishops, set in rings as a sign of sober judgement, and it stayed among the most valuable gems in Europe until vast deposits were found in Brazil and Uruguay in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which brought the price within everyone's reach.

One practical detail matters for anyone who owns a piece: some amethyst can fade with prolonged exposure to strong light. Left on a sunny windowsill, a stone can slowly lose colour and turn paler, so it is best kept out of strong sun when it is not being worn.

Properties of amethyst

• It is traditionally regarded as a stone of sobriety and self-command, in keeping with the meaning of its name.

• Modern crystal lore holds that it quiets a restless mind at the end of the day, which is why it is often kept near the bed.

• Building on its old reputation for sobriety, crystal lore says it supports anyone trying to break a habit they have grown tired of.

• It is said to take the edge off the strain of a long, noisy day.

• Its Hebrew name suggests an old belief that it induces dreams and visions, and crystal lore adds the ability to recall them.

• Modern crystal lore treats it as a stone of intuition, thought to sharpen a person's first instinct about others.

• In stone lore it is believed to cool anger and to slow down a reaction one might regret.

• Tibetan prayer beads are sometimes strung from amethyst, and crystal lore keeps it close for meditation and any practice that asks for stillness.

• Popular belief associates it with comfort in grief and with sitting quietly through a loss.

• It is said to help a person keep their own counsel in an argument rather than be swept along.

• Church tradition connects it with sobriety and humble piety, which is why it suited clerical rings.

• Camillo Leonardi wrote in 1502 that it keeps soldiers from harm and helps hunters take their quarry.

• Modern crystal lore holds that it clears heavy, stagnant atmospheres in a room.

• It is thought to encourage honest self-assessment without cruelty towards oneself.

• Crystal lore describes it as a stone that helps a decision settle overnight.

Amethyst stands for clarity, restraint and quiet inner authority. It appeals to people who think for a living, who are trying to steady a habit, or who want a stone that calms without making them sleepy. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 7

Composition: SiO₂

Specific gravity: 2.65

Chakras: Third eye, Crown

Care: Clean with lukewarm soapy water and a soft brush. Some amethyst fades in prolonged strong light, so keep it out of direct sun; avoid heat, steam and sudden temperature changes.

Garnet is not one mineral but a whole family of related silicates that share a crystal structure while differing in composition. The deep red almandine and pyrope are the best known, but the group also includes the orange spessartine, the vivid green tsavorite and demantoid, and the honey-toned hessonite. The name comes from the Latin granatum, the pomegranate, because a cluster of small red crystals in their host rock looks strikingly like the seeds of that fruit.

Garnet has one of the longest continuous histories of any gem. Egyptian jewellery used it five thousand years ago, Roman signet rings were carved from it, and the Anglo-Saxon goldsmiths who made the Sutton Hoo treasures set thin slices of it over gold foil. Bohemia, in today's Czech Republic, gave its name to the small bright pyropes that filled nineteenth-century European jewellery boxes. India, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Madagascar and several African countries supply the modern market.

It is a practical stone as well as a handsome one. Garnet is hard enough for everyday jewellery with sensible care, it takes a fine polish, and its darker varieties are hard and break into sharp grains, so crushed garnet is used industrially as an abrasive and in waterjet cutting.

Properties of garnet

• It is traditionally described as a stone of vitality that answers a period of flatness with energy.

• Folk belief holds that it brings warmth to the spirits in cold, dark months.

• A thirteenth-century treatise credited to Ragiel says a lion engraved on a garnet guards its wearer from the perils of travel.

• It is said to strengthen loyalty between partners and between old friends.

• Kunz records a belief that red stones such as garnet guarded the wearer from wounds, which fits its long link with courage.

• Medieval clergy valued garnet as a symbol of the blood and sacrifice of Christ.

• It has long been considered a symbol of love and passion.

• Popular belief connects it with commitment and fidelity.

• Crystal healers today call it a stone of restoration, a fit for anyone catching their breath after a demanding stretch.

• It is thought to help a person hold a boundary without losing their temper.

• In Jewish tradition a gem that shone by night lit Noah's ark, and some accounts name it a carbuncle, a name once given to red garnets.

• Crystal healers today tie it to persistence and steady, hard-won prosperity.

• A birthstone verse quoted by Kunz promises constancy, true friendship and fidelity to those born in January who wear garnet.

• It is said to make a person more generous with praise and less sparing with warmth.

Garnet symbolises devotion, warmth and staying power. It appeals to people who give a great deal to others, to those who want a hard-wearing stone with real depth of colour, and to anyone drawn to a gem with five thousand years of history behind it. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 6.5 - 7.5

Composition: (Ca,Mg,Fe,Mn)3(Al,Fe,Cr)2(SiO4)3

Specific gravity: 3.4 - 4.3

Chakras: Root, Sacral

Care: Clean with warm, soapy water and a soft brush, then dry well. Avoid steam cleaners and hard knocks. Garnet is stable in light and most chemicals.

Tiger's eye is quartz with a silky, moving band of light running across it. The effect, called chatoyancy, comes from parallel fibres of crocidolite, a blue asbestos-type mineral, that grew together with the quartz in cracks of ancient rock. As iron in the fibres oxidised, the blue turned to gold, and light reflecting off those fibres gathers into a bright stripe that slides as the stone is turned, like the slit pupil of a cat. The classic colour is golden brown with darker bands, though gentle heating also produces red tiger's eye, and the unaltered blue-grey form is known as hawk's eye.

The great source is the Northern Cape of South Africa, where the stone occurs in ancient banded ironstone. Western Australia, India, Brazil, Namibia and Myanmar supply material too. Because it cuts and polishes well and costs little, tiger's eye is a popular choice for beads, cabochons and carved ornaments.

The stone is usually cut as a domed cabochon or a bead with the fibres running the right way, because faceting does not show the effect well. A well-cut piece shows a bright band of light gliding across the dome, and that craftsmanship is most of what separates a good specimen from an ordinary one.

Properties of tiger's eye

• In modern crystal lore it is worn as a stone of courage, taking its reputation from the animal it is named after.

• Folk belief holds that it protects the wearer from ill will, and in some places it is believed to ward off the evil eye.

• In the East, stones with a moving line of light, such as the cat's-eye, were thought to bring good fortune, and tiger's eye shows the same effect.

• It is said to sharpen practical judgement when money is involved.

• In modern crystal lore it is linked with willpower and with resisting a tempting shortcut.

• In stone lore it is believed to give a clear head and to help a person see what is really being asked.

• It has a reputation for balancing extremes of mood, neither over-excited nor flat.

• Popular belief connects it with confidence in front of an audience.

• Modern crystal lore recommends it to those beginning a business or taking a calculated risk.

• It is thought to steady the nerves before a decision that cannot be undone.

• Folk tradition treats it as a charm for good luck in trade and negotiation.

• It is said to help a person keep their aim in view during a long project.

• Traditional belief holds that it eases self-doubt in someone with real ability.

• In modern crystal lore it is carried as a grounding stone for unfamiliar situations.

Tiger's eye symbolises courage, clear judgement and self-reliance. It suits people making decisions under pressure, anyone starting out in business, and those who want a striking stone that wears well every day. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 6.5 - 7

Composition: SiO₂

Specific gravity: 2.58 - 2.64

Chakras: Sacral, Solar plexus

Care: Clean with lukewarm water and a soft brush, then dry well. Avoid strong heat, which can change the colour, and long strong sun, which can fade dyed pieces.

Coral is an organic gem, built by living animals rather than formed in rock. Colonies of tiny polyps deposit a hard skeleton of calcium carbonate branch by branch, and it is that skeleton, once cleaned and polished, that becomes jewellery. Precious coral is a deep red to soft pink, and the pale pink variety known as angel skin is especially popular. Because it is a biological structure, coral is soft and shows a fine grain along the branch when it is examined closely.

Mediterranean red coral has been fished since prehistory, and the town of Torre del Greco near Naples has been the centre of the craft since the early nineteenth century, employing whole generations of carvers. Coral cameos, beads and branch necklaces reached markets across Europe and beyond from there. Japanese and Taiwanese waters supply the pink and white varieties. Coral populations are now under real pressure, and responsibly sourced or antique material has become the sensible choice.

Care matters more with coral than with almost any other gem. It is calcium carbonate, so acid attacks it directly: lemon juice, vinegar, perfume and even perspiration will etch the polish. It should never be soaked, and a soft dry cloth after wearing is the correct treatment.

Properties of coral

• It is traditionally given to children as a first protective charm, a custom recorded across the Mediterranean.

• Folk belief holds that a red coral branch turns away the evil eye.

• Pliny reports that Indian soothsayers valued coral as a sacred amulet, a sure preservative against all dangers.

• It is said to warm a cautious temperament and make affection easier to show.

• In modern crystal lore it is linked with vitality and with a warm, lively colour.

• In stone lore it is believed to protect travellers crossing water.

• It has a reputation for steadying emotions that swing too quickly.

• Popular belief connects it with family warmth and with the wish for a welcoming household.

• In Hindu astrology red coral is the stone of Mars, the planet of energy and drive.

• It is thought to encourage a sense of belonging in someone new to a community.

• Folk tradition treats it as a stone of quiet endurance, since the colony builds slowly over many years.

• In Greek myth, red coral grew from the blood of Medusa when Perseus laid her head down on the seaweed.

• Traditional belief holds that it softens grief without hurrying it.

• It is said to strengthen the tie between a person and the sea.

Coral symbolises protection, family and the patient work of building something living. It suits people who look after others, anyone drawn to warm organic materials, and those who like jewellery with a Mediterranean history. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 3 - 4

Composition: CaCO₃

Specific gravity: 2.60 - 2.70

Chakras: Root, Sacral

Care: Do not soak it or use ultrasonic or steam cleaners, as coral is porous. Wipe with a soft cloth and keep it away from perfume, chlorine, heat and strong sun.

Obsidian is volcanic glass. When lava rich in silica cools so fast that its atoms have no time to arrange themselves into crystals, the result is a natural glass with no crystal structure at all. It is usually jet black and glossy, but there are beautiful variants: snowflake obsidian with white sprays of cristobalite, mahogany obsidian streaked with iron-stained brown, sheen obsidian that flashes gold or silver where tiny gas bubbles lie in layers, and rainbow obsidian whose colour bands come from layers of microscopic crystals.

Because glass breaks along smooth curved surfaces, obsidian can be flaked to an edge only a few nanometres thick, many times sharper than a surgical scalpel. That property made it one of the most important materials in the ancient world. Anatolian obsidian from around Çatalhöyük was traded across the Near East nine thousand years ago and polished into some of the earliest mirrors known; the Aztecs set it into the blades of the macuahuitl and into the divining mirrors of the god Tezcatlipoca. Mexico, Iceland, Turkey, Italy and the western United States all have significant deposits.

The same sharpness means broken pieces need respect. Obsidian is not very hard and chips easily if knocked against a hard surface, so a polished piece is best stored on its own.

Properties of obsidian

• It is traditionally treated as a mirror stone that shows a person what they have been avoiding.

• In modern crystal lore, it forms a shield against ill will directed at the wearer.

• Aztec priests used polished obsidian mirrors for divination, and the Elizabethan scholar John Dee kept one for scrying.

• It is said to cut through self-deception the way its edge cuts through anything else.

• In modern crystal lore, it is linked with the root chakra and with a firm sense of one's own limits.

• In stone lore it is believed to absorb the residue of a tense encounter.

• It has a reputation for supporting someone working through an old and difficult memory.

• In modern crystal lore, it is connected with clean endings, a stone to carry when a chapter has to close.

• In modern crystal lore, it is recommended to those who take on other people's moods too readily.

• It is thought to help a person say no without a long explanation.

• Folk tradition treats it as a stone of truth-telling, however unwelcome.

• Apache tears, smooth obsidian pebbles of the American Southwest, are named for a legend of tears turned to stone.

• Traditional belief holds that it grounds a person after an emotional shock.

• It is said to make solitude feel restorative rather than lonely.

Obsidian symbolises protection, honesty and the courage to look directly at things. It appeals to people doing inner work, to anyone who prefers a dramatic black stone, and to those drawn to a material that shaped human history long before metal did. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 5 - 5.5

Composition: mostly SiO₂ (70% or more), volcanic glass

Specific gravity: 2.35 - 2.60

Chakras: Root

Care: Clean with lukewarm water, mild soap and a soft brush, then dry well. It is brittle and heat-sensitive: avoid knocks, sudden heat and ultrasonic cleaners.

Rose quartz is the pink variety of quartz, and its colour is unusually gentle: a hazy, milky blush rather than a sharp tone. Microscopic fibres of a mineral close to dumortierite, tinted by iron and titanium, are thought to be responsible, and they also scatter light, which is why rose quartz is nearly always cloudy rather than transparent. Occasionally those fibres line up well enough to produce a soft six-rayed star when the stone is cut as a dome.

The finest rose quartz rough typically comes from Brazil, with other sources including India, Madagascar and Sri Lanka. It occurs in massive form inside pegmatites, in blocks large enough to carve into bowls, spheres and figures, and it has been shaped since antiquity. GIA notes Assyrian rose quartz jewellery from about 800 to 600 BC and Roman use of it as a seal, and it remains popular as an affordable and instantly recognisable stone.

Rose quartz is often said to fade like amethyst, but GIA calls it generally stable in light and heat; the rare transparent pink quartz is the variety that can fade. Many owners still display it away from long, direct sun. Otherwise it is hard-wearing and easy to look after.

Properties of rose quartz

• It is traditionally known above all as the stone of love in its broadest sense, not only romance.

• Folk belief holds that it softens a heart that has grown guarded after disappointment.

• In modern crystal lore it is also a stone of friendship and lasting affection.

• It is said to encourage kindness towards oneself, which modern crystal lore treats as the first step.

• Crystal healers today link it with the heart chakra and with an even, unforced warmth.

• In stone lore it is believed to ease the sharpness of a recent loss.

• It has a reputation for calming a household where tempers have been short.

• Popular belief connects it with reconciliation after a falling-out.

• Crystal healers today link it with openness to accepting help as well as giving it.

• It is thought to bring a sense of calm at the end of a long day.

• In modern crystal lore it is a stone for a peaceful home rather than a passionate one.

• In modern crystal lore it is a stone of comfort, a steadying presence when life feels unsettled.

• In modern crystal lore it is tied to forgiveness and gentle emotional healing.

• It is said to make an apology easier to accept as well as easier to give.

Rose quartz symbolises tenderness, forgiveness and gentle recovery. It suits people healing from a difficult period, anyone who wants a soft and unintimidating stone, and those who like a gem whose meaning is entirely unambiguous. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 7

Composition: SiO₂

Specific gravity: 2.65

Chakras: Heart

Care: Wash with warm, soapy water and a soft brush; avoid ultrasonic and steam cleaners. Usually stable in light and heat, but rare clear pink quartz can fade, so avoid long, strong sun.

Topaz is an aluminium silicate containing fluorine, and it is one of the hardest of the commonly worn gemstones. It grows in tall, well-shaped prismatic crystals, sometimes to remarkable size, and it has a perfect cleavage in one direction that cutters must respect. Colourless topaz is the most abundant form, but the stone also occurs in sherry brown, pale blue, pink, rare red and, among the most prized, the golden orange to pinkish orange that the trade calls imperial topaz.

The name may come from Topazios, the old Greek name of an island in the Red Sea now called Zabargad (where the stone actually mined was peridot, long confused with topaz), or from the Sanskrit tapas, meaning fire. Ouro Preto in Brazil has been the great source of imperial topaz for more than two centuries, and the Ural mountains, Pakistan, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Myanmar contribute other colours. Most bright blue topaz on the market is colourless material that has been irradiated and heated, a treatment developed in the twentieth century that made a once-rare colour widely available.

Its hardness resists scratching, but the cleavage means a sharp knock in the wrong direction can split it cleanly, so a protective setting suits it best. Steam and ultrasonic cleaners are avoided for the same reason, and brown, yellow and treated stones are kept out of prolonged strong sun and heat because they can fade.

Properties of topaz

• In modern crystal lore it is described as a stone of clarity and honest intention.

• Folk belief holds that it strengthens the will of someone who has been drifting.

• From the 1300s to the 1600s, Europeans thought it could thwart magic spells and dispel anger.

• It is said to warm the disposition and to make a reserved person more approachable.

• In modern crystal lore it is linked with the solar plexus and with a well-founded confidence.

• In stone lore it is believed to sharpen the ability to set a goal and name it plainly.

• It has a reputation as a stone of good fortune, particularly the golden variety.

• In modern crystal lore it is connected with generosity and an open-handed spirit.

• Many people in India have believed that topaz worn above the heart brings long life, beauty and intelligence.

• It is thought to steady the nerves of someone under public scrutiny.

• A thirteenth-century treatise credits a falcon engraved on a topaz with winning the goodwill of kings and princes.

• Topaz is November's birthstone, and an old birthstone verse calls it the emblem of friends and lovers true.

• The ancient Greeks believed that topaz gave them strength.

• It is said to help a person forgive themselves for an old error of judgement.

Topaz symbolises clear purpose, warmth and good fortune earned rather than stumbled upon. It appeals to people who want a hard, brilliant stone that they are happy to wear with a little care, to anyone drawn to golden or sky-blue tones, and to those who like a gem with an unusually clean look. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 8

Composition: Al₂SiO₄(F,OH)₂

Specific gravity: 3.49 - 3.57

Chakras: Solar plexus, Throat

Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush. Avoid steam, ultrasonic cleaners, sudden heat changes and hard knocks. Long sun or heat can fade brown and treated stones.