Where do zodiac birthstone lists actually come from?

Mostly from nineteenth and twentieth-century compilations that are rarely sourced and frequently disagree. They descend loosely from the medieval habit of mapping the twelve stones of Aaron's breastplate onto the twelve signs, a mapping proposed by Josephus and Saint Jerome, complicated by the fact that nobody is certain which minerals the Hebrew names refer to. Treat any single assignment as one option among several.

Why does a Vedic astrologer give me a different sign?

Because Jyotish uses the sidereal zodiac, measured against the fixed stars, while Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, measured from the spring equinox. The two have drifted roughly twenty-four degrees apart over two thousand years, so most people's sidereal sign is the one before their Western one. That is also why a Vedic gem recommendation rarely matches a Western sun-sign list.

Why is turquoise a genuinely good fit for Sagittarius?

Because its traveller's association was arrived at independently in Persia, Turkey, Egypt and the American Southwest, and Sagittarius is the sign of the journey and the foreign country. Most zodiac assignments borrow from the month calendar; this one has an argument of its own.

How do I avoid buying fake turquoise?

Ask which mine it came from and expect a specific answer. Most bright blue material at low prices is dyed howlite or magnesite, and reconstituted powder in resin is common. Genuine turquoise is usually stabilised with resin to make it workable, which is normal and should be disclosed. Grey-to-black veining rather than brown host rock is a warning sign.

Should I use my sun sign or my birth month?

They answer different questions and neither is authoritative. The month list is a jewellers' convention from 1912 and is the practical choice for gifts. The zodiac list at least tries to connect a stone to a chart, though its assignments are poorly documented. If you want a stone chosen for you personally rather than by category, that is what Jyotish does, and it requires an actual chart reading.

← →

Birthstone · Zodiac

Sagittarius: turquoise

Sagittarius gets turquoise from both the zodiac lists and the December calendar, and for once the assignment makes sense on its own terms. Turquoise is the traveller's amulet in Persia, Turkey, Egypt and the American Southwest independently, and Sagittarius is the sign of the journey.

At a glance

The traveller's sign given the traveller's stone, which is one of the few assignments that reasons rather than borrows.

Dates: 22 November to 21 December
Ruling planet: Jupiter
Element: Fire
Modality: Mutable
Most-cited stone: Turquoise
Vedic gem: Yellow sapphire (Jupiter)
Overlapping months: November and December

Themes

the journey the far country meaning safe return the wide view

The stone most often assigned

Turquoise leads most Sagittarius lists and is also one of December's birthstones.

The reasoning is genuinely good. Turquoise on a horse's bridle to prevent falls appears in Persian and Turkish practice; turquoise on riders appears in the American Southwest; aquamarine and turquoise both carry safe-passage meanings around the Mediterranean. The traveller's association is one of the few stone meanings arrived at independently on three continents, and Sagittarius is the sign associated with travel, foreign places and the search for meaning.

Turquoise is a copper aluminium phosphate, hardness 5.5, porous, and the most faked stone on the market. It absorbs skin oils and cosmetics, which shift its colour towards green permanently.

Where the assignment comes from

Sagittarius assignments cluster around Jupiter and around blue. Jupiter takes tin in the medieval metal scheme and is associated with expansion, generosity and good fortune, and the lists reach for stones that read as open and generous.

Topaz appears very frequently, borrowed from November, and blue topaz specifically in modern lists, though nearly all blue topaz is irradiated colourless material.

Lapis lazuli appears on the same blue reasoning and with a much older pedigree, since it was the stone of the night sky in Sumer and Egypt.

The Vedic alternative

In Jyotish, Sagittarius is Dhanus, ruled by Guru or Brihaspati, Jupiter, whose gem is yellow sapphire, pukhraj. It is prescribed for wisdom, teachers, prosperity and, in traditional practice, for marriage prospects, and it is generally regarded as one of the more benign prescriptions in the navaratna.

Yellow sapphire is corundum, hardness 9, and it is one of the most durable gems available, which makes it a practical stone as well as a prescribed one.

Where it is unaffordable, the tradition accepts yellow topaz or citrine as substitutes, and the usual warning about heated amethyst applies to the latter.

Other stones cited for this sign

Lapis lazuli is the strongest alternative and is the better choice for anyone who wants deep blue without turquoise's porosity problem, though lapis is soft and acid-sensitive too.

Topaz, from November, is the most durable option in the list at hardness 8, provided you respect its cleavage.

Sodalite gives a similar colour to lapis for a fraction of the price.

Amethyst appears in some Sagittarius lists on the Jupiter reasoning, and it is cheap, hard and honest, which makes it a sensible thing to actually carry.

Fragen zur Reflexion

Where am I going, and do I know why, or only that I want to leave?
What have I promised to look into and never returned to?
If a stone means safe return, what am I returning to?

The stones named here

🔵

Turquoise

The traveller's stone, on three continents

🔷

Lapis lazuli

The deep blue alternative

🟡

Topaz

November's stone, and the most durable option

🗓️

November

The month Sagittarius begins in

🗓️

December

The month Sagittarius ends in

Frequently asked questions

: Mostly from nineteenth and twentieth-century compilations that are rarely sourced and frequently disagree. They descend loosely from the medieval habit of mapping the twelve stones of Aaron's breastplate onto the twelve signs, a mapping proposed by Josephus and Saint Jerome, complicated by the fact that nobody is certain which minerals the Hebrew names refer to. Treat any single assignment as one option among several.
: Because Jyotish uses the sidereal zodiac, measured against the fixed stars, while Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, measured from the spring equinox. The two have drifted roughly twenty-four degrees apart over two thousand years, so most people's sidereal sign is the one before their Western one. That is also why a Vedic gem recommendation rarely matches a Western sun-sign list.
: Because its traveller's association was arrived at independently in Persia, Turkey, Egypt and the American Southwest, and Sagittarius is the sign of the journey and the foreign country. Most zodiac assignments borrow from the month calendar; this one has an argument of its own.
: Ask which mine it came from and expect a specific answer. Most bright blue material at low prices is dyed howlite or magnesite, and reconstituted powder in resin is common. Genuine turquoise is usually stabilised with resin to make it workable, which is normal and should be disclosed. Grey-to-black veining rather than brown host rock is a warning sign.
: They answer different questions and neither is authoritative. The month list is a jewellers' convention from 1912 and is the practical choice for gifts. The zodiac list at least tries to connect a stone to a chart, though its assignments are poorly documented. If you want a stone chosen for you personally rather than by category, that is what Jyotish does, and it requires an actual chart reading.