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Aquamarine and Bloodstone: To Your Health

The American Gem Society recognizes two birthstones for March, the aquamarine and the bloodstone. Although the stones have very different looks, both have long-standing associations with health and well-being.

Aquamarine, from the Latin aqua marina, meaning “seawater,” is a variety of beryl in blue or blue-green shades. It symbolizes youth, good health, and hope. Not surprisingly, it is also strongly identified with the sea. Early sailors were known to wear aquamarine etched with the image of the sea god Neptune, hoping for protection on the water.  Aquamarine was also believed to cure diseases of the liver, stomach, and heart.

The mineral aggregate heliotrope, better known as bloodstone, is a variety of jasper or chalcedony. Classic bloodstone is green jasper with red hematite inclusions, resembling drops of blood or veins. It was believed simply touching the stone could stop hemorrhages, making bloodstone amulets popular with soldiers. The bloodstone signifies strength, courage, creativity, and mental well-being. Under the name heliotrope, it is an invisibility stone in a story by Boccaccio in the Decameron.

Daffodil (Narcissus): Herald of Spring

Daffodil is the common name for narcissus, the birth month flower for March. Because it is one of the first flowers to bloom at the beginning of spring, it is a symbol of new life, rebirth, and hope. In Chinese New Year celebrations it represents good fortune and prosperity.

The narcissus appears in Ancient Greek and Roman myths, and symbolizes the inner man. The youth famously enamored with his own reflection was named Narcissus. In Shakespeare’s play “The Winter’s Tale,” published with his First Folio in 1632, three stanzas sung by Autolycus begin with the line “When daffodils begin to peer.” By far the most famous poem about the flower is “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth, written in 1804, which begins:

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

The 1908 E. Nash “Birthday Joys” postcard for this month features daffodils and a bloodstone brooch set in gold, with the “guiding star” that is a hallmark of this series shining above it. The verse at the bottom reads:

The Daffodil of golden yellow  Signifies great wealth, Your birthday has the bloodstone To show strong mind and health And ever shines your bright star Good cheer from near and far.