Emerald — May's Stone
May
Rich green
The emerald is the green variety of beryl, colored by traces of chromium and vanadium and usually marked by natural inclusions jewelers call the 'jardin.' It rates 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale, with Colombia its most famous source.
What tradition gives the emerald
Gem lore is older than mineralogy and less careful — which is part of its charm. Worn for a birthday month, the emerald traditionally carries:
- Traditionally associated with love and renewal
- A stone of spring and growth in tradition
Offered as tradition
Meanings here are cultural tradition — a way of giving a stone a story, never a claim about what it does.
The month around it
May's stone keeps company with the month's flower (Lily of the Valley), its full moon, the Flower Moon, and the signs that pass through it — Taurus and Gemini.