 Agate
The name agate is from an old locality on the Achate river in southwestern Sicily.
Agate has been used as gemstones and other ornamental objects for thousands of years.
In medieval times, the wearing of agate was said to bring God's favor and make one agreeable and persuasive, giving victory and strength to the wearer and protection from all dangers. Wearing agate was also thought to give pleasant dreams and cure insomnia.
Early Greeks made amulets of agate for protection from the elements of the sea.
Some of the earliest primitive stone tools (axes) fashioned by man's ancestors 2.5 million years ago in the Omro valley in Ethiopia, were made of quartz varieties such as agate. These materials were used because of their hardness and their isotropic brittleness which made it possible to shape the tools with relative ease.
Agate is said to enhance one's perceptiveness and to stimulate analytical capacity, and to provide balance between one's physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual states. Agate is also said to alleviate hostilities and promote goodwill.
Agate is said to help treat disorders of the pancreas and to improve circulation.
All colors are seen in this wonderful ornamental gem. You will find banded agate, moss agate, a fascinating white or milky agate that looks as though it actually has black, brown, or green moss growing within; eye agate, which has an eyeball effect; or plume agate, which looks like it's filled with beautiful feather plumes, etc.
The colors and "scenes" in agate are endless. While agate is usually an inexpensive stone, some varieties or special stones with very unusual scenes or markings can be quite expensive.
Agate is found in: the USA, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, Congo, Italy, India, Nepal and Germany.
Agate is a good choice for those born during the Moon of Flowering - (21 May -20 Jun). Its soothing, grounding, and balancing energies tend to settle the distracting influences that can prevent those born during this time of year from experiencing growth. The astrological sign of agate is Gemini. Agate is a birthstone for the month of May.
Agate is the symbolic gemstone for the 12th wedding anniversary.
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