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Moonstone

Moonstone simply owes its name to its resemblance to the celestial body.

The Greeks and Romans associated, already at the time, the moonstone with their lunar deities and thought that this stone was a solidified moon ray.

Moonstone presents a phenomenon of adularescence. This phenomenon takes its name from the adular family of which the moonstone is part. When cut into a cabochon, these stones present a bluish white reflection that seems to caress the surface following the direction of the light.

Moonstone is made up of thin strips of feldspar and this bluish sheen, called adularescence, is caused by blue light interfering with the layers of feldspar.

Considering the importance of the moon to our ancestors, and the similarity they glimpsed between the moonstone and the satellite, their reverence for this ornamental stone is understandable. Due to the silvery to bluish-white light that magically dances across the surface of the stone, it was believed, in ancient India as well as in Rome, that the Moonstone was mysteriously created by the rays of the moon.

It is sacred in India and bears the Hindi name of chandrakant, a term derived from the Sanskrit chandra (“moon”) and kanta (“loved”), which means “beloved of the moon” and thus evokes the mythical origin of the rock. The Romans believed that the appearance of the moon stone changed with the different phases of the star. They even believed that an image of Diana, Roman goddess of the moon could be seen on every moon stone.

One of the recurring themes of the mythology revolving around the moon stone is divination. This is perhaps related to the fact that this ornamental stone has always been considered a “feminine” stone or as the “stone of the goddesses”; in ancient times, divination was usually a female art. So much so that the men disguised themselves as women and took a Moonstone in their mouths in order to see into the future.

An ornamental stone of “tender passions”, the Moon stone is regularly described as having the ability to influence the strongest and most beautiful of all feelings: love.

This ornamental stone was declared the official stone of the US state of Florida, 31 years after the 1969 moon landing.

The Indians, who still hold great importance to stones and beliefs, believed that placing a moonstone in the mouth on full moon nights offered the power to read couples’ futures.

Formerly, moonstones were traditionally cut in cabochon; today they are more and more often faceted.