"My mind is a channel for the wisdom of Spirit." - September Affirmation
Ahh, finally, September is here! I just love Spring. Everything is alive. The birds sing louder, the bees are whimsically buzzing around in the air, the flowers are unapologetically showing off their beauty, and everyone seems to have an upbeat vibe. Yes, we all have a blissful spring in our steps!
And for me, September is the month I look forward to celebrating the beauty of Sapphires, one of the world's most coveted and regal precious gemstones. When I think of sapphires, I immediately find myself reminiscing, remembering when that gorgeous sapphire ring adorning Princess Diana's delicate hand was shown to the world. Known as the Stone of Kings, they were worn by the kings in medieval times as protection during battle, and some still believe they ward off negative energy.
Although you will probably associate sapphires with beautifully rich blue, they are available in an array of vibrant colours. Beautiful muted greens, passionate purples, floral pinks, happy yellows, warm orange, black and, would you believe, colourless sapphires, often used as a substitute for diamonds. The different hues are caused by the various elements found within the sapphires. For example, iron will produce a blue sapphire, while chromium will result in purple. There are even elusive colour-changing sapphires with the ability to display various colours when exposed to artificial or natural light sources; just magical!
Sapphire is part of the corundum family, an aluminum oxide, one of the four precious gemstones (with Diamonds, Rubies and Emeralds). While red corundum is called Ruby, all the other colours in this family are classified as Sapphires. The Sapphire and Ruby siblings are the hardest stones after Diamonds, scoring a 9 on the Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness, making them the third hardest gemstone after Diamonds (10) and Moissanite (9.5). Sapphire's hardness results from strong and short oxygen and aluminum bonds. This durability makes Sapphire also ideal for non-decorative purposes, including infrared optical components, high-durability windows, watch crystals and other electronics. Oh gosh, I can go on about these magnificent gemstones.
Sapphires are millions of years old. Just imagine something so beautiful began its journey deep under the earth's surface, formed under intense pressures and high temperatures, creating the ideal conditions for metamorphic processes. Imagine how intensely hot liquid magma deep in the earth's core cools down and allows the corundum minerals to recrystallize. And just like that, beautiful sapphires are formed in the most natural, organic way. Nature is just awe-inspiring.
Many believe in the power and symbolism of sapphires. This alluring gemstone is believed to be a guardian of innocence, bestower of truth and promoter of good health. Also known as the Wisdom Stone, it represents intelligence, education, clear thinking, wise choices and integrity, attracting blessings, gifts and abundance, not to mention the romance it constitutes, oo la la!
Whether you love all that sapphires represent or just a September baby, I hope you are just as spellbound by these stones as I am. From the creation process to how various colours are formed, the miracle of nature never ceases to astound me.
Next month, we will explore the mystic of the black and pink tourmaline, the fascinating birthstones of October.
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With love from me to you
Rethea xoxo