June Birthstone

June: The birthstones for this month are Pearl, Alexandrite & Moonstone

June is one of only two months that has three birthstones associated with it: pearl, alexandrite, and moonstone.

June’s birthstones vary from the opalescent pearl to the milky moonstone to the rare, color-changing alexandrite. With this spectrum of color options, people with June birthdays can choose a beautiful gemstones to fit any mood or budget.

Pearl

A famous quote about pearl, alexandrite & moonstone, No good poem, however confessional it may be, is just a self-expression. Who on earth would claim that the pearl expresses the oyster?

The word pearl evolves from the French word perle, which means led. This applies to the leg shape of a mollusk shell. Pearls have long been associated with humility, purity, and innocence. So it may be said that this meaning is sweet simplicity. As such, traditionally given as a wedding gift.

This enchanting birthstone originates from rivers, lakes, and oceans around the world. The origin of pearls fascinated our ancestors. Ancient ancestors from the Middle East believed that pearls were teardrops fallen from heaven. The Chinese believe that the pearl came from the brain of a dragon. Christopher Columbus and his fellows thought that mollusks formed pearls from dew drops.

Pearls are organic gems that develop inside the tissue of living saltwater or freshwater mollusk. Natural pearls form when the mollusk emits a substance called nacre around an irritant.

Majority of pearls you see in the marketplace today are actually cultured in a pearl farm where people artificially induce the creation of a pearl through the insertion of an irritant into the mollusks shell.

Technicians implant a portion of mantle tissue alone or with a mother-of-pearl shell bead into a host mollusk. The mollusk covers the irritant with nacre, just like a natural pearl.

• Pearl signifies charity, faith, and innocence. It enhances personal honesty and helps to provide a focus on one’s attention.
• Pearl signifies purity and is known as a stone of sincerity. It yields truth to situations and loyalty to a cause.
• Pearl heals digestive disorders and the soft organs of the body. It relieves conditions of biliousness and bloating.
• Pearl enhances mental power and serves to overcome unrest and tension.

Alexandrite

Alexandrite is the scare variety of the mineral chrysoberyl that switches color in different lighting. Most prized are those alexandrite that shows a vivid green to bluish-green in daylight or fluorescent light, and an intense red to purplish-red in incandescent light.

Primary alexandrite deposits were first discovered in Russia’s Ural Mountains in 1830. This gem is named after the young Alexander II, heir to the throne.

Alexandrite caught the people’s attention because its red and green colors mirrored imperial Russia’s national military colors.

Abandoned mine in the Ural Mountains

• Alexandrite is a gem with strong powers; it reacts to a change in the wearer’s health by changing its color.
• It is believed that Alexandrite can improve blood circulation, purify the blood, and strengthen blood vessels; it also positively influences the spleen and pancreas.
• Alexandrite establishes harmony between the person’s physical, astral, and mental bodies, making its wearer more peaceful and compliant.
• Alexandrite strengthens creative abilities and fosters imagination. It may boost intuitive skills, finding a way out from a desperate situation.

Moonstone

Moonstone is the best-known gemstone of the feldspar group of minerals. It is known for its adularescence, the light that appears to billow across a gem, giving it a special glow. The finest of moonstones show a blue sheen against a colorless background.

Unlike other gemstones, it is not entirely the moonstone's color that determines its value. They are judged on the glowing sheen that appears to float on their surface. A clear, colorless body enables this effect to be displayed at its best.

Moonstones come in brown, grey, orange, pink, red, white, and yellow colors, each with their own natural charm, but it is the gloss or shimmer that appears to be almost liquid on the surface that creates value.

Moonstone History

This birthstone has long been associated with both the Greek and Roman lunar deities and was related to great goddesses of Ancient Greece. Its ancient Greek name was the combination of the terms of Aphrodite and Selene, 'Aphroselene.'

Hindu mythology believes that it is made of solidified moonbeams. It was considered a holy gemstone in India, only displayed on a scared yellow cloth. In Sanskrit, the language of ancient India, Chandrakanta was called 'beloved of the moon.'

Moonstone is often associated with love and passion; it is believed to bring great luck. Great designers of the Art Nouveau era, such as Louis Comfort Tiffany and René Lalique, featured moonstone in their fine jewelry. The ancestral source of ancient Moonstones was the island of Sri Lanka. A more recent moonstone source has been Switzerland, where some fine examples were mined in the area around Mt Adular. Adularia became a familiar name at the moment for Moonstones from Switzerland and gave rise to the term 'Adularescence' for their iridescent or pearly appearance.

Let's forget the science for a second and look at a Moonstone through the eyes of an Ancient Greek, Egyptian, or Roman. The glow within, the light that catches a flash of color, the silky surface that seems about liquid, is any wonder that they thought this gemstone originated in the moon's rays?

The Schiller effect, adularescence, light interference, and lamellar crystal formation are some of the scientific explanations for the way Moonstones gleam. But indeed, saying they are frozen moonbeams filled with joyful spirits are so much nicer.

Healing Properties of Moonstone:

Abundance, Ancient wisdom, Good fortune, Happiness, Humanitarian, Hope, Love, Nurturing, New beginnings, Unselfishness, Spiritual insight, Safe travel

Influence of Moonstone on People:

• A gemstone for new beginnings, Moonstone is a stone of strength and inner growth. It eases emotional instability and stress, and stabilizes emotions, providing calmness.
• Moonstone enhances intuition, promotes inspiration, good fortune, and success in love and business matters.
• Moonstone treats the digestive system, eliminates toxins and fluid retention, and alleviates degenerative conditions of eyes, hair, skin, and fleshy organs such as the pancreas and liver.

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Other Birthstone for June:

Twelve different stones are listed as birthstones for the calendar month of June, depending upon star position, planetary, or talismanic stones for the Zodiac sign of Gemini or Cancer.