The Aries is a ball of energy. Arians charge head-on like a ram, and initiate new projects with bright enthusiasm. His impulses and excess energy, however, make him susceptible to aggression, conflict and even injuries. While most choices of Aries birthstone amplify his fiery nature, others luckily complement and protect the effervescent Arian.

Jasper

The foundations of the city’s wall were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper …

— Revelation 21:19

Jasper is the Aries birthstone from the Bible. Known by the Hebrew name yashepheh¹ and Greek iaspis,² jasper was the 1st Foundation Stone in Revelation, and is accordingly the birthstone of the 1st sign of the zodiac.

Jasper is known today as the opaque variety of chalcedony. While most commonly red, jasper occurs in a wide range of shades and pattern. In fact, the most popular color in antiquity was a translucent green. The ancients regarded jasper as a green gemstone unless otherwise specified, though they did also value the gem’s other colors, including purple, rose, blue and red. See also —

Jade

It is quite possible that the most popular variety of jasper in antiquity is not actually jasper, but jade. Today’s jasper is opaque, whereas the ancient jasper, iaspis in Latin and Greek,² was a translucent green gemstone.³ Of the gemstones that fit this description, there is none more popular and valuable than jade. In fact, even up to the Middle Ages, jade was not recognized as a separate gem, but a variety of jasper. Marco Polo in 1295, for instance, visited mines of nephrite jade in Khotan, Turkestan, and described the stone he saw there as jasper.⁴ There is little doubt that the jasper of the Scripture, the Aries birthstone, likewise referred to jade.

Jade comes from either of two chemically unrelated minerals. Jadeite brings us the intensely green jade, which is among the world’s most expensive gem, while the more affordable nephrite produces the milky green jade.

Bloodstone

Bloodstone is the most widely accepted Aries birthstone.

A variety of jasper, bloodstone is also called bloody jasper. Known as heliotrope in translucent gems, bloodstone fits the popular description of jasper in antiquity, that is, a translucent green gemstone. What distinguishes this stone from other green gemstones is its red spots that resemble blood, earning it the name bloodstone. These red speckles can be red jasper or iron oxide.

Red Jasper

While green was its most popular color in antiquity, jasper is now most widely known as a red gemstone. Red jasper definitely deserves a special mention, and for reasons that go beyond popularity. The color associated with the Aries zodiac sign is red. Red too is the gem color of its ruling planet, Mars. A zodiacal authority named Rupert Gleadow accordingly recommended red jasper as Aries birthstone.

Ruby

In the tradition of the Chaldeans, who were the earliest astrologers, ruby is the gemstone associated with Mars.⁵ Mars’ rulership over Aries makes ruby the planetary Aries birthstone.

Ruby is the red variety of corundum, which would otherwise be called sapphire in another color.

Red Zircon

Another gemstone associated with Mars from Chaldaic tradition is the red zircon, also called jacinth.⁶ Its similarity with ruby is quite obvious: both are red, the color of Mars, and both are glassy gems. Mars’ rulership over red zircon likewise makes this gem a planetary Aries birthstone.

Coral

In Hindu astrology, coral is the gemstone associated with Aries’ ruling planet, Mars,⁷ and is hence the planetary Aries birthstone in India.

As the name suggests, coral comes from the skeleton of coral colonies, which grow in marine waters across the world. The most popular variety for jewelry is the precious coral, obtained from the Mediterranean Sea.

Diamond

Besides ruby and red zircon, diamond is a gemstone associated with Mars in Western cultures from the 1500s.⁸ This makes diamond a planetary Aries birthstone.

The hardest on earth, diamond is a remarkably brilliant gem most popular in white, though colored diamonds also exist. See also —

Aries Birthstone Color

Which Aries birthstone would you pick? The lucky color for Aries is red, so the red stones — namely, red jasper, ruby, hyacinth and coral — would best represent the zodiac sign. However, Aries people do not always need to wear their color. The Aries may like a different gem. He may look through his choices of green Aries gemstones, of which green jasper, jade or bloodstone makes excellent choice.

Know Their Magic

Each birthstone for Aries is attributed with magical properties. Know the magical powers of Aries stone when you read my book Power Birthstone.

See Aries in Action

Curious about Aries and other zodiac signs? An enjoyable way to understand the different signs is to see how they behave, interact or fight in a narrative. Deomar Pandan has recently started a novel whose character profiles are based on astrology’s zodiac signs. Read his fantasy novel for FREE: Cosmons and the Tree of Immortality.

Footnotes

1

“Exodus 28.” The Bible. Bible Hub, biblehub.com/interlinear/exodus/28.htm. Accessed 28 July 2019.

2

“Exodus 28.” Septuagint. Blue Letter Bible, www.blueletterbible.org/lxx/exo/28/1/s_78001. Accessed 28 July 2019.

3

Pliny. “Book 37 – XXXVII.” Natural History. Trans. D. E. Eichholz. Loeb Classical Library ed. Vol. X. Harvard University Press, 1962. Wikisource, en.wikisource.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Rackham,_Jones,_%26_Eichholz)/Book_37. Accessed 27 July 2019.

4

Knuth, Bruce G. “Jade.” Gems in Myth, Legend and Lore. Revised ed. Parachute: Jewelers Press, 2007. pp. 125-130.

5

Rabelais, M. Fran. “Book V: His Visit to the Oracle.” The Heroic Deeds and Sayings of the Good Pantagruel. Trans. Sir Thomas Urquhart and Peter Motteux. London: Gibbings and Company Limited, 1901. pp. 184-185.

6

Kunz, George Frederick. “Planetary and Astral Influences.” The Curious Lore of Precious Stones. New York: Halcyon House, 1938. pp. 344-348.

7

Sastri, V. Subramanya. “Adhyaya 2 – Sloka 21.” Jataka Parijata. Bangalore: V. B. Soobiah & Sons, 1932.

8

Knuth, Bruce G. “Birthstones.” Gems in Myth, Legend and Lore. Revised ed. Parachute: Jewelers Press, 2007. pp. 293-327.