TURQUOISE

Hand made necklace with turquoise and quartz

Hand made necklace with African turquoise

Sacred stone
Of ancient use
Give the courage
To speak your truth
The Dine' say
Tis to protect from harm
And used in prayer
Bring rain to the farm

One of the birth stones for December is calming and beautiful turquoise.  This favorite stone for Native American jewelry is a copper aluminum phosphate mineral with a Mohs hardness of 5 to 6.  True turquoise ranges from a greenish-blue to a bright robin egg blue to light sky blue.  The blue tones in turquoise come from the copper in the mineral.  If the turquoise has greenish shades, it has traces of iron.  What is known as White Buffalo has no copper or iron.

The word turquoise is derived from the old French term, pierre turquoise, Turkish stone.  While these gems were not actually mined in Turkey, they were purchased for the European market from the Turkish bazaars.

This gem has one of the longest histories of use.  There is evidence of jewelry in Egypt that dates to 5500 BC.  There is evidence of mining in the US dating back 2000 years.  In modern times, turquoise has been mined in Iran, Afghanistan, Australia, Tibet, Egypt, China, Mexico, and the US.  Do to the popularity of this gem, many of the historic mines are exhausted.

This stone has been considered sacred by several cultures.  The Egyptians buried their dead with turquoise.  The Aztecs used it in ceremonial masks and other sacred icons.  In Tibet, it was used in prayer beads, wheels, and bells.  In North America, the Dine', Apache, and Zuni used turquoise to aid in prayer.  The Dine' used it in prayer for rain, the Zuni for protection, and the Apache to increase the accuracy of their weapons.  In many Native American traditions, a gift of turquoise brings abundance.

Turquoise is a stone of gentle and calming energy that is believed to bring balance and connection to the throat and the third eye.  It is also believed to bring balance and connection between the spiritual and the physical.  It helps bring serenity and peace, in part, by quieting the inner critic.  This calmness of the mind helps open up the mind, and aids in spiritual transformation.  Some find that turquoise is a calming aid to meditation and encourages intuition, wisdom, and creativity.  As turquoise balances the throat chakra, it encourages courageous expression of our highest truth.  It helps you find the strength to live that truth, and communicate it with integrity and compassion on all levels.

The Tibetans believed that turquoise is sentient and becomes an extension of the person that handles it.  Many cultures believe that turquoise brings good fortune and peace.  It has been used by kings, warriors, and shamans for protection.  It is used by some to aid in past life exploration.

​It just might be, as some believe, the "Divine gift that fell from the heaven."