Garnet is a stone of healing and illumination featuring in mythology ranging from Far Eastern traditions to early Biblical sources.

In the past, garnet was commonly referred to as carbuncle, and there were all sorts of myths attached to the stone. One of the most impressive was a medieval belief that dragon’s eyes were made of garnet. In the Far East, garnet was believed to staunch the flow of blood and to be able to inflict mortal wounds when used as a missile. Garnets were fired out of guns and thrown with a sling to achieve this deadly effect.

In Christian traditions, this stone represented the passion of Christ and crucifixes were sometimes decorated with five garnets to symbolize the five wounds Christ received on the cross. Earlier biblical sources also wrote that a large garnet carbuncle was placed on a pedestal on the center of Noah’s ark for illumination, as the stone was thought to be capable of shining throughout the night.

There is a wide range of garnets that fall into two main types: pyrope garnet and almandine garnet.

Pyrope types are predominantly red in color and include: hessonite or essonite, a brownish-red garnet, also known as cinnamon stone; rhodolite garnet, a mauve-red to rose-purple stone; succinite, an amber-yellow to orange garnet; grossularite, a pale, green garnet; uvarovite, a brown or black-colored stone; and Transvaal jade, another green pyrope variety.

Almandine varieties of garnet range from black to green to yellow stones: demantoid, an almandine type occurring in green; melanite, a black garnet; topazolite, a yellow variety of almandine garnet.

The power of garnet can be used to work in protective charms, in talismans for good fortune, and in rituals for healing and to give energy.

Garnets have been used since Ancient Greece to protect travelers. A garnet amulet was believed to protect the bearer from all perils while traveling making it an ideal stone for modern-day commuters. Charge your garnet with positive energies before you travel.

Obtain a piece of garnet of garnet jewelery and bless it with the elements. Pass it through incense smoke, flame, water and earth, saying “Powers of air, fire, water and earth, keep my sage on all my travels”.

As you do this, see both the stone and yourself surrounded by a shining, red circle of protection. Now you can carry the garnet with you whenever you travel.

If you suffer badly with PMS, especially if you find this time of the month very draining, try using a garnet to re-energize your body, heart and mind.

Hold a garnet to your heart and say, “May my body remain in good balance and harmony with my mind and emotions”.

Then intone the mantra “Sa” for a few minutes and feel your body relaxing as the energies balance.

To reinforce the stone’s healing effects; make a cup of mugwort tea with 1 tablespoon of the herb in a cup of boiled water.

All the mugwort tea to cool, strain it and put the garnet in the tea for a few minutes. Then remove the stone, drink the tea, and just relax.

Garnets, especially green varieties, are often used as talismans to attract business success. If you are starting up a new project or you have been waiting for a promotion, obtain a piece of garnet to help your work.

Hold your garnet up to the Sun and say, “May my endeavors be blessed with the vigor and power of the solar fire, bringing me success and taking me higher”.

As you do this, feel the garnet being charged with the Sun’s rays and see it shining with a golden light.

Keep the garnet on you even when away from your work place and on your desk when you are in the office. Try to be discreet with the positioning though, as you do not want the stone to be interfered with by someone else and have its positive energies dissipated.

Garnet has a well-founded reputation as an energizing stone; it is beneficial for people who are at a low ebb and need an extra boost of energy. It is also good for helping to boost a flagging libido if the sex drive is low in yourself or your partner. To gain from these benefits of the stone you should use garnet to work with the Base Chakra. You can:

Place a garnet at the base of your spine, or that of your partner’s, at the Base Chakra.

Intone the mantra Ra’ for a few minutes, which will help to activate the energies in the Base Chakra.

Feel the energy of the sound being passed down your arms, being focused through the garnet as red energy, stimulating the Base Chakra and helping to clear any blockages.