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Saturday, March 17, 2007
Birth Stones...It’s History “Birth Stones?” Have you ever heard of it before? I’m sure most of you have heard ‘bout it. Most of us know what our birthstones are and many wear them. But... have you ever wondered why? Do you know it’s history and the beliefs ‘bout it? The history of birthstones is tied to the history of astrology fairly tightly. In ancient times, according to what I have researched, gemstones were believed to have magical powers and assumed that they came from the heavens. Each zodiac sign carries a set of traits or characteristics that people born under those signs are believe to possess. These traits are believed to be dominated by the position of the sun, moon, and ruling planets at the time of their birth. Early astrologers linked gemstones with the ruling planets and their positions based on color system thought to unleash the forces that were identified with the various zodiac signs. It is believed that the tradition of birthstones actually came about from Breastplate of Aaron, which was a ceremonial and religious garment that contained twelve gemstones. These gemstones represented the twelve tribes of Israel, but also corresponded with the twelve signs of the zodiac and the twelve months of the year. Because it was interpreted in different ways, many different birthstone lists came about. The one that we traditionally use today is the modern birthstone list, adopted in 1912 by the American National Association of Jewelers, but others still exist. Generally birthstones are based on the month that you were born, but some cultures instead follow the zodiac chart for birthstones. Here is the list of Birthstones and their Meanings: MONTH STONES MEANING January Garnet Faith & Constancy February Amethyst Happiness & Sincerity March Aquamarine Courage & Hope April Diamond Innocence & Joy May Emerald Peace & Tranquility June Pearl Purity & Wisdom July Ruby Nobility & Passion August Peridot Joy & Power September Sapphire Truth & Hope October Opal Tender love & Confidence November Topaz Fidelity & Friendship December Turquoise Success & Understanding Know more ‘bout your birth stones.... Amethyst Symbolizes deep love,happiness, humility, sincerity, and wealth Aquamarine Believe to ensure continual happiness and constancy in love; symbolizes health, hope, and youth Diamond Symbolizes brilliance, constancy, excellence, innocence, invulnerable faith, joy, life, love, and purity Emerald Symbolizes spring, rebirth, hope, peace, and tranquility; believe to endow its wearer with an accommodating and pleasing disposition Garnet Symbolizes constancy, faith, loyalty, and strength; believed to endow its wearer with cheerfulness and sincerity Opal Symbolic of confidence, happiness, hope, innocence, prayer, and tender love; believed to endow its wearer with pure thoughts and increased faithfulness Pearl Symbolizes beauty, faithfulness, humility, innocence, integrity, modesty, purity, refinement, wisdom, and wealth Peridot Symbolizes happiness; believed to discourage betrayal and to encourage friendship and marriage Ruby Symbolizes beauty, charity, daintiness, dignity, happiness, love, and passion; believed to have the ability to dispel discord and sadness, to preserve its wearer from false friendships and to warn of imminent danger Sapphire Symbolizes calmness, constancy, contemplation, hope, innocence, purity, truth, and virtue; believed to bring its wearer comfort courage, and strength, while pacifying anger, protecting from danger, and fostering constancy in love Topaz Symbolizes divine goodness, eager love, fidelity, friendship, gentleness, and integrity; believed to bring its wearer recognition; wealth, and protection from evil Turquoise Symbolizes earth, happiness, good health, hope, prosperity, and success; considered to be a pledge of friendship when given as a gift DIAMOND  AMETHYST  PEARL   EMERALD  RUBY  OPAL  TOPAZ   GARNET   SAPPHIRE  TURQUOISE  PERIDOT   AQUAMARINE  Mermaid... A mystery...  Do MERMAIDS really exist? Have you seen one in person? I bet you haven’t seen one just like me... I only see mermaids in the movies or in the televisions with different versions to tell... and people have different views and opinions ‘bout these creatures even though they haven’t met one...           In the world of folklore and mythology, mermaids are sea-dwelling creature with the head and upper body of a woman and the lower body of a fish.... Mermaids are frequently described as appearing above the surface of the water, or sitting on a rock combing their long golden hair with one hand while holding a mirror in the other... In the numerous tales told about them, mermaids often foretell the future, sometimes under compulsion; give humans supernatural powers; or fall in love with men whom they attract by their beauty and their singing, enticing their mortal lovers to follow them beneath the sea... Integral to the concept is the notion of ideal but fatal love and unattainable female beauty...         Ever since I was a very young child, I really love seeing mermaids in t.v. or in movies and in pictures... I love drawing, and I drew a few pictures of mermaids... Sometimes I even wish to be one... But my sistah and my mom would always say that a “mermaid life” probably isn’t happy just like in movies.. Mermaids would want to be humans... In every stories and shows, mermaids were portrayed as either the one who save humans from drowning or the one who curse the human beings...      So let us first deal with the “good side” of the mermaids... In the Disney movie, THE LITTLE MERMAID, Ariel, was the one who saved the life of Prince Eric... Even though these creatures are being discriminated, they still show concern over humans because half of them is human, literally (we are only assuming that they really exist owkiez?)...   But why would others come up with the idea of mermaids as being bad? All of us have “dark sides”... right?... I have a dark side and you have a dark side, nothing new... The thought of mermaids being bad is so absurd... I mean, if they are showing actions which humans disapprove, something must have triggered them to do it... We really don’t know if they exist... but what if they really do? Perhaps, the fishermen who use bombs to catch fishes make these “mer-creatures” angry because humans destroy their habitat, the coral reefs and the aquatic creatures...       Maybe the idea of mermaids living in the sea is a wake up call for all of us to start caring of our natural resources which God gave to us... Maybe these “mer-people” just guide the sea in order to protect the creatures living in it because it is one of our food sources... They just show concern over human beings because they are also half human...     Are they being portrayed as “salot” or evil because they have fins? Hello? We eat fishes and fishes have fins... So do you mean we eat “salot?”... My point of view is we don’t have to judge anybody whether he/she may be a mermaid or not, especially if we don’t know that person well... One may have a reason why he/she acts so weird or why he/she does bad things....  So let us just leave the idea of mermaids as a mystery, which, will keep us and the next generations wondering if they really exist or not... Do they?   1 comment(s) micheve @ 6:30 PM |
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