Sapphire, the most recognized September birthstone represents wisdom, virtue, good fortune, but also faithfulness and sincerity. Known for its blue color, sapphire does come in many hues. It is believed that the tablets the Ten Commandments were carved in were sapphire.
As for September birthstones, there are 11 of them! What’s up with that?
September can be wistful—the end of Summer—yet exciting. Relief from the heat comes and it’s time to wear new Fall fashions. It can be a lot easier to find a really nice outfit for cooler weather. You can accessorize it with a gorgeous September birthstone.
If your birthday is in September, then it’s really exciting! Gift time!
For anyone who doesn’t know, September birthstones work in two ways: the actual month, and the zodiac month.
Birthstones for the calendar month of September are peridot, zircon, sapphire, agate, moonstone, and sardonyx.
September birthstones for the zodiac signs of Virgo (Virgin, August 23–September 22) and Libra (Balance, September 23–October 23) are lapiz lazuli, jasper, citrine, carnelian, and opal.
Discover everything you need to know about each month's birthstone: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, October, November and December.
1. Sapphire
Sapphire, the most recognized September birthstone represents wisdom, virtue, good fortune, but also faithfulness and sincerity. Known for its blue color, Sapphire does come in many hues. It is believed that the tablets the Ten Commandments were carved in were sapphire.
Sapphire is in the corundum family, which also includes ruby. When a lot of people think of Sapphire, they think of the color blue, though Sapphire does come in many hues.
One of the key facts about Sapphire is that it as just as hard as a diamond, coming in a 9 out of 10 on the Mohs scale, which just measures the hardness of minerals. It has hexagonal crystals, and is one of the most precious and valued birthstones.
Now, some Sapphires are called Star Sapphires, meaning that they have in them rutile particles which are nicknamed “silk.” Well, these particles basically throw off light in a way that looks like a six-pointed star. Point that baby at someone and they won’t mess with you!
In addition to being the most recognized September birthstone, sapphires have a history as rich as their deep blue color. The stone couldn’t possibly have more importance—ancient Greeks wore these stones to talk to an oracle, who was basically a wise fortune teller. What’s more, some people believe that the tablets the Ten Commandments were carved in were sapphire. If your birthday is in September, you’ve gotta feel lucky to have this gem of a gem as a birthstone. Your very own September birthstone! It helps a person reason and develops one’s conscience. Sapphires really shine!
2. Peridot
This stone falls under the Sun Sign and is the stone for Libra as well as for the calendar month. It includes chromium, nickel and iron. It usually comes in an awesome bright green color. Sometimes it shades toward an olive green with brown hints.
It’s a fairly inexpensive birthstone.
Sometimes this September birthstone is confused with Chrysolite, and that’s because Chrysolite was the ancient term, used in the Bible. It’s just two words for the same thing, and jewelers hate it when people come in asking for Chyrsolite. So while Peridot is sometimes called the birthstone of August, Chrysolite is the September birthstone, except that there’s really no such mineral, and it’s actually Peridot. Cool, huh?
Peridot is the stone of compassion, and it brings a balance to your emotions, resulting in cheer and peace. Maybe that’s partly due to the nice green color, or maybe the color is a signal of the cheer and peace.
3. Zircon
Woah, child! Let’s not get all twisted thinking that this September birthstone is Zirconia. Unh-uh! Zirconia are the cheap little knockoffs of diamonds. Zircon is a natural birthstone of great worth. It’s not an imitation diamond or an imitation anything! In fact, it’s the oldest mineral on Earth.
Zircon shows up in the Hindu calendar as the September birthstone. Zircon comes in just about any color imaginable, with blue being one of the popular ones. It is very luminescent, and has a luster that is vitreous to adamantine.
Zircon is a stone that gives guidance and grounds a person—who can’t use some of that, right?
4. Agate
Agate is a semiprecious stone that is found in volcanic rock and is a form of quartz. These are birthstones you also see with little layers, showing a change in chemistry, or stripes of different colors. They come in many tones of yellow, amber, and brown, as well as completely different colors.
Agates are great stones to form into cabochons and are often beaded. Their use in jewelry is quite diverse.
Spiritually, Agate helps concentration and thinking; it evens out one’s aura, eliminating negativity: what a better September birthstone?
5. Moonstone
This option for a September birthstone is so-named because of glow that is said to be moonlike. It is called the Schiller effect. Moonstones can be found in blue, pink, black, peach, and white.
A myth (or is it) about Moonstone is that when there’s a full moon, you can place the mineral in your mouth and you’ll be able to peer into the future. What can it hurt? Just be careful.
Moonstone is one of the best gems for lowering stress and for calming a mind. It will sharpen your intuition and also lead you to inspiration.
6. Sardonyx
We now come to the last of our birthstones for the calendar month of September, Sardonyx. This stone is a combination of sard (a variety of chalcedony) and onyx (and that’s where the name comes from). That means that a lot of the stones show very clear layers, like a picture of sedimentary rock. That’s also why they’re popular for cameos.
This final September birthstone can heal a wearer after a sickness. It also enhances the five senses, and makes a person awake to nature.
7. Lapiz Lazuli
We now get into the birthstones that are for the Zodiac signs Virgo and Libra. Lapis is a funky mixture of a bunch of minerals, lazurite, pyrite, and calcite. But what makes the stone a brilliant blue is the lazurite. It’s not a very translucent stone—some samples can be nearly or all the way opaque. Some of them have streaks of calcite, and the ones without are the most valuable.
Lapis has been mined in the modern sense going back to 700 BC, in what is today Afghanistan. It’s a stone of intuition and truth, being linked to the third eye chakra.
8. Jasper
Birthstone Jasper is another variety of chalcedony, one that comes in orange and reddish colors. Often jasper shows up in really nice, intricate patterns. It’s wonderful for cabochons or pendants. In addition to its role as a birthstone, jasper is known as the “supreme nurturer.” Wearers will feel calm in times of stress.
In addition, the lovely stone balances out the Yin and Yang. While you’re looking great, may as well be balanced.
9. Citrine
These fall-colored beauties aren’t extremely common in nature. Maybe that’s why it’s sought after, and the top-selling orange-yellow tones gem. It has a Mohs hardness score of 7, and that makes it fairly durable. Yet it’s also quite affordable.
Citrine is also the birthstone for November, and it’s also the gem for the 13th wedding anniversary!
Citrine attracts wealth and success. It also encourages self expression. That makes sense for a September birthstone with fall colors and such unique patterns.
10. Carnelian
Carnelian forms from the intermingling of two different silica materials. It also has a heavy dose of iron oxide. These are porous stones, and a common treatment for them is placing them in vats of dye. The stones soak for long enough to give them a really good stability.
Carnelian has been warn in cameos for centuries and is well-known to be a charm against depression. It works with the plexus chakra, which is responsible for boosting a person’s self-confidence. It is also empowering and stimulating. Just like you! This is YOUR September birthstone.
11. Opal
Finally, we finish up with a spectacular gem, the Opal. It’s certainly the most colorful gem, speckled with all sorts of colors. That gives it is mystical, magical appearance, kind of like a planet. Get lost in its kaleidoscope.
This gem was first mass produced in Australia in the 1890’s, and became popular very fast. Twenty percent of the silica structure of Opal is water.
Opal has a high level of diffraction, and that’s what causes it to produce flashes of light that seem to be moving.
Traditionally, people wore Opal in the belief that it would cure eye diseases and help the health of the eye overall. It was once a gem favored by royalty, which is a bit odd, since it also took on a reputation for causing bad luck.
In September’s birthstones are great gems of any color you could hope for. Many of them are multi-colored and have concentric markings or other stripe-like streaks of color. Even though September is a rustic and crisp month, many of the September birthstones are very elegant and shiny.
If you’d like to wear your birthstone, in September you definitely have plenty of choices that will really make you even more fashionable. Also, so many of these stones bring all sorts of great qualities like wisdom, calm, and intuition.
All in all, you have plenty of amazing choices for September birthstones. Go with your heart and pick one that will make you feel special when you walk in a room.
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