Gem Guide

Legends & Lore of Gemstones

Green Sapphire Gemstone Lore & History

Green Sapphire are sometimes classified in the more general category of Fancy Sapphire.  Fancy sapphire is a term used to describe any sapphire that is not blue. Green sapphire comes in many shades with the better stones generally coming from Sri Lanka and Australia. Quite a few nice ones come from Madagascar as well.

Sapphire in its purest form is colorless, green sapphires for example get their color from trace amounts of iron in the stone

Lore:  Green gemstones have always been the color of earth’s second kingdom (plant life) the color of nature, of fertility, of life sustaining vegetable spirits.

Green has long been connected to red. The green life of plants and the blood red life of animals. Christmas shows this as green and red symbols (Santa is red, the tree is green) the connection of man and plant. Both color connections have long been used in mystical and magical performances and rituals.

Green stones are receptive and are worn by many from days of old to draw the tree and plant energies to themselves. Green gems are thought to strengthen the eyes, control kidney and bladder functions, control digestion problems and prevent headaches.

Many believe that wearing a green gemstone will promote conception. It is said that The Goddess Isis wore a large green emerald on her headband, and all that looked on this emerald would be able to conceive. Isis was the earth mother goddess of the Egyptians.

In India the color green is the 4th energy Chakra (the heart). So, in our heart lays the 2nd kingdom of nature.

Green is the color of wisdom. Green stones worn, are said to promote receptiveness to the wisdom of nature.

A green stone on a gold necklace worn near the heart is the outward display of being in touch with your personal spirit and earth nature spirits. Their associations with the elements of earth, also lead to their use in meditations and spells involving money, prosperity, riches, and luck.

Green gemstones are grounding stones, energy balancing gemstones which can be worn to attune one with the earth and the plant nature spirits.

Some other green stones are-emerald, green tourmaline, green garnet, chromegreen diapsite, peridot, green quartz.

In the early 1500’s, a cunning missionary told the Spanish Conquistadors in Peru that real emeralds could withstand the blow of a hammer, while false stones would be shattered. Consequently, the Spanish conquerors began testing (and destroying) the emeralds they looted by striking them with a hammer. As a result, the wiley missionary greatly profited from his deception. The destruction of the Conquistadors’ emeralds assured that there was no glut of the precious green stones in Europe. And, when he returned to Spain, the “good padre” carried a large quantity of undamaged emeralds which he promptly sold for a great profit.

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