The word ‘sapphire’ originates from the Greek sappheiros, meaning ‘blue stone’, and while sapphires are generally thought of in their blue form, they also come in almost every other colour, including pink, yellow, orange and green. Sapphires are also believed to cure physical ailments, especially headaches, earache, eye infections and thyroid problems, as well as healing the mind and lending strength and focus.

Astrologists today associate blue sapphire with the planet Saturn, and believe the gemstone to have mysterious healing properties, as well as encouraging truth, loyalty and wisdom, especially when worn by those born in September. In a similar vein, in the Middle Ages, the gemstone was believed to protect those close to you from harm, and in ancient Greece and Rome, royalty wore blue sapphires to protect them from their enemies. The legend claims that this is why Birman cats today are known for their piercing sapphire-blue eyes. Instantly, the cat’s eyes were turned into two blazing sapphires, and the powerful magic sent the enemies fleeing. The cat put his paws on his master’s body and looked up to the Golden Goddess. One night, the temple was attacked and the Grand Lama murdered. Legend has it that this temple was home to hundreds of cats, one of which was owned by the temple’s wisest monk, the Grand Lama. In Burma, now Myanmar, more than 2,000 years ago their main temple was dedicated to the Golden Goddess with blue sapphire eyes. In ancient Persia, people believed that Earth was supported by a giant sapphire that reflected its blue colour up into the sky, and in Greek mythology, one of the Titans stole a sapphire from Zeus. Coveted by the rich, the famous and the powerful, sapphires have long been associated with sacredness and play a part in almost every religion and mythology around the world.īuddhists believed sapphires brought devotion and spiritual enlightenment, Hindus used sapphire in offerings in the temples, while in the Bible, the gemstone is one of the twelve ‘stones of fire’ given to Moses and set into the breastplate of Aaron. If your birthday falls in September, then your birthstone is the celestial sapphire For centuries, the sapphire has been referred to as the ultimate blue gemstone.

Sapphire birth stone