What Is The Birthstone for January 5th?

For January 5th, the modern-day birthstone is: Garnet

For January 5th, the traditional (ancient) birthstone is: Garnet

The January 5th Zodiac birthstone for Capricorn (December 22nd – January 19th) is: Ruby

The garnet family is one of the most intriguing of all gemstones. Known for their deep red color, only a few other gemstones can compete with garnets in their saturated hues, high luminosity, and durability.

Garnets have a rich and fascinating past, and the gemstone has come a long way before finally being recognized as January’s birthstone by Jewelers of America. 

Introduction to Garnets

January’s birthstone is garnet. If you were born on January 5th, you could wear this beautiful dark red birthstone for happiness, vitality, and passion.

Garnets are opaque, translucent, or transparent gemstones, specifically known for their blood-red variety, almandine. The family of garnets has more than 20 varieties having colors ranging from orange, yellow, green, brown, black, purple, or colorless. Garnets are not found in blue color.

People born on January 5th can wear this gemstone in any color they like. Even though some varieties of garnets are rare and not easy to find, other varieties, like almandine or spessartine, are frequently used in jewelry pieces due to their vibrant colors and durability.

Facts and History of Birthstones

Birthstones are regular gemstones that are highly appreciated for the spiritual power and characteristics they impose on their wearer. The origin of birthstones can be dated back to the Book of Exodus, in which it was mentioned that the Israelites’ first high priest had twelve stones embedded in his breastplate. The breastplate of Aaron was used to communicate with God, and the gemstones in it were used to decipher God’s will.

Thus, it started as a tradition of Christians to wear the 12 gemstones to gain spiritual and physical benefits. As time passed, many other cultures and traditions associated with gemstones with the month of birth, zodiac signs, ruling planets, and days of the week.

Many ancient cultures associated the twelve gemstones with their calendar system. People later realized that the powers and strength that birthstone yields are associated with its specific wearer and started wearing a single stone to possess its characteristic powers.

Thus the term birthstones were coined, and eventually, the modern world has assigned 12 birthstones to the 12 months of the year.

Here are the 12 gemstones associated with the twelve birth months:

• Jan – Garnet
• Feb – Amethyst
• March – Aquamarine
• April – Diamond
• May – Emerald
• June – Pearl
• July – Ruby
• Aug – Peridot
• Sept – Sapphire
• Oct – Opal
• Nov – Topaz
• Dec – Turquoise

January Birthstone Garnet Meaning

The word garnet originates from the Latin granatus. Granatus means pomegranate. This gemstone was related to pomegranate because the red color of the garnets resembles pomegranate seeds.

Garnets were always considered healing and protective stones in ancient and modern times. The stones have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones embedded in necklaces. Egyptian pharaohs used red garnets on their jewelry as even then, the stone was praised for its spiritual tendency of granting power, strength, and healing to its wearer. The ancient Egyptians mummified their dead with garnets so that the stone would protect them in the afterlife.

In ancient Rome, signet rings bearing the red garnet were used by noblemen and clergy to stamp the wax on important documents. Soon the stone started getting more recognition as a protective talisman for warriors, who wore the red garnet for protection against illnesses, strength against enemies, and to gain courage and vitality on the battlefield.

It wasn’t until the Victorians created intricate jewelry pieces that garnet was recognized as a fashionable gemstone. The Victorians fashioned pomegranate-shaped jewelry by embedding garnets in a scattered pattern that resembles red pomegranate seeds. 

Garnets as Healing Stones

Since ancient times, garnets have been favored for their healing properties. The healers in medieval times used to place garnets on patient wounds and expected the stone to give them the strength and power they needed to heal and recover. 

Different cultures started adopting different practices to benefit from this stone. Indian astrologists recognize garnet as a stone that helps eliminate negative feelings like guilt and depression from its wearer’s mind. According to them, the red stone can instill confidence and faith, which leads to mental clarity and improves creative thinking.  

Garnet is still recognized as a remedy for heart and blood diseases. The red color of the stone resembles blood and hence life. Garnets are considered healing stones for inflammatory diseases and stimulate the heart’s chakra.

How Did Garnet Come To Know as a Birthstone?

In one of the writings that Rabbi Eliyahu Hacohen left behind, he attributed garnets with healing properties that can benefit any person who wears them. According to him, wearing the red gemstone around one’s neck will protect and treat the person against epilepsy and grant better vision and memory. Garnets also help people decipher difficult situations and riddles and allow them to speak wisely.

Garnet was one of the stones adorning the breastplate of Aaron. Some people believe the Hoshen stone could be emerald or malachite since garnets also appear in green colors.

Different Garnets Colors and Their Symbolism

Garnets are favored for their excellent brilliance, durability, and, most importantly, for the wide array of colors they are found in. The garnet is a family of gemstones, and individual garnet varieties have their name. The most common garnet, which is present in the original stone’s color, red, is called almandine.

Other garnet varieties are demantoid, melanite, topazolite, spessartite, pyrope, grossularite, melanite, rhodolite, spessartite and tsavorite.

Demantoid

Demantoid garnets are an extremely valuable and rare garnet variety. The gemstones have a beautiful light grass green to deep green color that can give a serious rivalry to emeralds. The German word demant gives demantoid its name because this gemstone can beat diamonds in its fire and luster.

The demantoid’s green color controls its wearer’s negative energy, resulting in the mind’s clarity and mood improvement.

Melanite

Melanite is one of the rarest garnet varieties. The black garnet receives its rich color due to the presence of titanium and is an opaque variety of garnets. 

The durability and resistance of titanium give the wearer of this gemstone psychic protection that grants self-empowerment and emotional and physical strength.

Topazolite

Topazolite is another andradite that resembles topaz in its transparency and color. This type of garnet is yellow, sometimes inclining towards brown. The resemblance to topaz is what gave topazolite its characteristic name.

Topazolite is believed to improve the love life of its wearer. The yellow color of the gemstone fills its wearer’s life with energy, love, and compassion.

Spessartite

Spessartite has an unusual orange-to-brown coloration that gemstone collectors highly desire. The pure saturated orange colored spessartite has excellent brilliance and sparkle that differentiates it from other garnets in the family.

Spessartite is specifically related to reproductive and physical healing. The spessartite also reduces depression and improves sleep by preventing nightmares. The bright orange color is associated with emotional activation, alleviating fears and providing courage and confidence to the wearer.

Pyrope

Pyrope is a blood-red color garnet with an orange tint resembling a ruby. However, where ruby has bluish or purplish undertones, pyrope has earthy undertones. Pyrope displays its beautiful red color even in its natural samples, but the pure end-member variety is colorless and extremely rare.

Pyrope boosts blood circulation, alleviating digestive and immune system illnesses. Pyrope also relieves its wearer of anxiety and depression and improves composure by giving strength and endurance to its wearer.

Alternative and Traditional Birthstones for January

Many prefer to work with their alternative birthstone to see what resonates with their emotional and spiritual health. If such is the case with you, we recommend looking at your alternative birthstones according to the zodiac sign, the ruling planet, or the day you were born. 

January Birthstone, Zodiac Sign, and Ruling Planet

Those born on January 5th have Capricorn as their zodiac sign and Saturn as the ruling planet.

As a Capricorn you can wear a Ruby or alternatively since your ruling planet is Saturn you could wear the blue sapphire as it will prevent all illness and evil from coming near you.

It is believed that Saturn is incompatible with other ruling planets like Moon, Sun, and Mars. Therefore people wearing blue sapphire must not pair it with ruby, red coral, or pearl.

January Birthstone According to the Day of the Week

Many cultures also relate gemstones with the days of the week, such as follows:

• Monday – Pearl
• Tuesday – Ruby
• Wednesday – Amethyst
• Thursday – Sapphire
• Friday – Carnelian
• Saturday – Turquoise
• Sunday – Topaz.

So experiment with alternative birthstones and see which stone strikes your lucky stars and benefits you the most.

Garnets FAQs

Facts About January the 5th

• The dwarf planet of the solar system, “Eris,” was discovered.
• The French artillery officer Alfred Dreyfus was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1895 due to treason accusations.
• Famous American singer and songwriter Marilyn Manson was born.
• The German physicist and nobel prize laureate Max Born died in 1970.

Summary

Once you have found a birthstone that resonates with your energy and spiritual health, you can keep it with you at all times, wear it, or place it as an ornament in your house. The stones will help you feel protective and cleanse your life of negative energies and insecurities.

References

• https://www.americangemsociety.org/birthstones/january-birthstone/
• https://www.gia.edu/birthstones/january-birthstones
• https://www.langantiques.com/university/garnet/
• https://www.naj.co.uk/zodiac-birthstones-jewellery
• https://www.gemporia.com/en-gb/gemology-hub/article/631/a-history-of-birthstones-and-the-breastplate-of-aaron/#:~:text=Used%20to%20communicate%20with%20God,used%20to%20determine%20God’s%20will
• https://www.firemountaingems.com/resources/encyclobeadia/gem-notes/gemnotegarnet
• https://www.geologyin.com/2018/03/garnet-group-colors-and-varieties-of.html
• https://www.lizunova.com/blogs/news/traditional-birthstones-and-their-alternatives.