As the moon cycles connect us to nature, the moonstone also reminds us that our lives also ebb and flow.
Moonstone has beguiled the soul of jewelry lovers for ages, the stone's apparently monotonous appearance is made fascinating with the presence of light and movement. The glowing sheen and soft color are luring.
It is pertinent to note that for centuries, people have integrated the moonstone into decorative jewelry, talisman and revered objects. It is also believed they could recognize in it the crescent and fading phases of the moon.
Over time, healing properties, love spells and clairvoyance were related with this gemstone.
However, today, the admiration and fascination surrounding the moonstone’s beauty and mystical power still exist.
Alongside pearl and alexandrite, it’s amazing to know that moonstone is also a June birthstone. So if you are June born, your choices aren’t far-fetched. You can cop one or all of these June birthstone jewelry for yourself and your loved one.
As we take an upward move to learn about the moonstone, it is important to know the originating background of this beautiful June birthstone.
What are Moonstone and where do they originate from?
Moonstone is a member of the orthoclase feldspar group, which is composed of potassium aluminum silicate. It is distinguished from other similar stones due to its crystal structure that shimmers when hit by ray of light. This shimmer effect is called adularescence.
Adularescence is the optical phenomenon that causes the extraordinary glow on the surface of moonstone. The light glides across the stone the way moonlight takes a slippery slope across a large body of calm water.
This happens when light reflects off of the thin layers of different feldspar minerals within moonstone. The layers act as a diffuser, softening the light and allowing it to bounce around the stone.
Moonstones are translucent with a sheen that resembles pearls and Opal. The gems come in variety of colors – white, pink, yellow blue and green, grey and peach.
The most popular of them is the rainbow moonstone. It has an iridescent white or grey with a blue sheen in the light.
Generally, the rarest form of moonstones, close to being transparent and with their bluish shimmer, originate from Sri Lanka. However, they are also found in the USA, Brazil, Australia, Myanmar, Mexico, Germany, Tanzania and Madagascar. Since bluish moonstones of good quality have become more and more of a rarity in recent years, prices have risen sharply.
Recently, there have also been some green, brown and orange specimens on the market, as well as some with a darker shade and some the color of champagne, and some black and some reddish ones, mainly originating from India.
MOONSTONE MYTHS
The alluring Moonstone gemstone has mystique and magical stories surrounding it. Many diverse cultures around the world revere this precious piece of gem.
The ancient Greeks called the gem Aphroselene in honour of the goddesses Aphrodite and Selene.
The Romans claimed the goddess Diana could be seen in every moonstone.
In ancient Asia, they believed the gem was a solid ray of moonlight filled with good spirits.
In India, it is known as a holy, magical gemstone. In India, moonstones are also regarded as 'dream stones' which bring the wearer beautiful visions at night.
The Arabian women often wear moonstones jewelry sewn out of sight into their garments, a symbol of fertility in their beautiful culture.
Europeans gazed into moonstones to invoke prophetic dreams during the middle ages.
A moonstone has also been associated with the archangel Haniel, meaning Glory of God. Most Goddess tire to this gem
Moonstone was known as the traveler's stone used for protection during long voyages. Many believed that when you wear this moonstone necklace or the moonstone ring, it calms anxiety and also promotes harmonious relationships.
It is believed that one could predict the future if you placed moonstone in your mouth and gazed at a full blown moon.
It is interesting to note that in modern times, moonstone is still connected to ancient lore, many people wear the moonstone jewelry such as the moonstone necklace and moonstone ring for fashion purpose, others for spiritual purpose.
There is a strong bond between moonstone and femininity. It is believed that the gem heals feminine health problems like menstrual cramps or infertility and protects the health of pregnant women.
Moonstone Metaphysical Properties
Moonstone is believed to be a healing stone that has been connected with water energy and proximity with the astrological water signs. Some of the healing properties associated with this stone include:
- Encourages hopes and dreams
- Stimulates intuition
- Makes wearer more accepting of change
- Provides calm, wisdom and psychic perception
- Balances emotions
- Promotes a calm mood
- Encourages peace, harmony, and balance
- Improves confidence
- Helps a person become more passionate
- Balances yin and yang
Healing Beliefs of the Moonstone
Oftentimes, healing therapy is associated with moonstone for health reasons. It is believed that moonstone reduces stress or anxiety, treats female hormonal imbalance and helps relieve premenstrual syndrome. Moonstone is also believed to increase fertility and boost libido.
Furthermore, it is believed to stop nose bleeding, prevent sunstroke, cure headache and digestive issues. This amazing healing power is believed to have been practiced for centuries and is still in practice to this present day for medicinal purposes.
MOONSTONE’S WEAKNESS ON MOHS’ SCALE
As fascinating as the moonstone can be, this beautiful gemstone does have one weakness, and that is its relatively low hardness of only 6 on the Mohs scale. It can be prone to breaking due to the cleavage within the stone. Cleavage is the probability for a stone to break along its planes or layers.
Due to this reason, moonstones jewelry should be handled with delicate care. Having said that, minor flaws such as may occur when the stone has been worn for some time are quite easy to reinstate.
CAPTIVATING AURA
Moonstones are fortunes of creation with a captivating aura. The more intense in color, the larger and the more transparent, the more highly valued the moonstone. Really fine blue specimens display an incredible 'three-dimensional' depth of color which the observer does not really come to recognize until the stone is moved about in a playful way.
They do not only like to be gazed at and admired a lot; they also thrive on being worn and moved about, for only then can the soft shimmer of light which makes this gemstone so admirable reveal itself.
AZURA MOONSTONE JEWELRY.
At Azura Jewelry we have carefully curated an array of astonishing moonstone rings and moonstone necklaces for you to adorn yourself or your loved ones with. The amazing thing is, they are affordably priced, featuring a variety of moonstone jewelry to choose from. Moonstone jewelry ranges in price depending on the quality of stone and setting, perfect for any jewelry style.
Create a magical ambiance for you and your loved one by shopping from our carefully crafted Moonstone Jewelry Collection and feel the mystical powers.