Published July 2014 • Updated February 2024 • Read Time: 7 minutes
Almandine Garnet is the most common variety of Garnet and the birthstone for the month of January. While other varieties come in a range of colors, Almandine are always a deep red or reddish-purple color, that is typically much darker than Ruby and other red jewels. Garnet’s name is from the Latin word for seed, a reference to pomegranate because garnets are often found clustered together just like pomegranate seeds. Almandine Garnet has a wonderful energy that is both passionate and peaceful, a curious balance that can teach us a unique kind of freedom. It invites us to follow our heart’s desires, while also be practical and pragmatic.
Almandine Garnet Meaning
Spiritual Healing Properties
Almandine Garnet is a powerful talisman for spiritual warriors who seek Truth and Freedom and aren’t afraid to pay the price for that knowledge. It ignites within us a fierce desire for self-realization and gives us the strength to endure both spiritual hardships, as well as the more prosaic everyday struggles we all face. Almandine Garnet is also a very joyful stone, showing us the incredible beauty of this world and reminding us how truly fortunate we are. Almandine Garnet gives us courage and hope, helping us to see challenges as adventures and teaching us to move with both passion and serenity.
| Metaphysical Properties | Almandine Garnet |
|---|---|
| Chakra | Root |
| Element | Earth and Fire |
| Numerology | 1 and 2 |
| Zodiac | Leo, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn and Aquarius |
Emotional Healing Properties
Almandine Garnet guides us to a place where we can feel emotionally free and peaceful. It gives courage to our hearts, daring us to love boldly and openly. Almandine Garnet strips away inhibitions, and feelings of shame and unworthiness, allowing us to truly embrace our own sensuality and sexuality. It likewise encourages us to be more accepting and comfortable with other people’s sexuality. Almandine Garnet is ultimately a profoundly sensible stone. It counsels us to follow a wise path, balancing our fiery passions with earthy common sense. This same balance can be applied to financial matters, helping us to earn, save and spend our money in a way that feels good. Almandine Garnet can also help us to better enjoy our own solitary company, encouraging us to actively cultivate self-love and self-respect.
Mental Healing Properties
Almandine Garnet helps us to release old ideas, beliefs, and patterns, whenever they no longer accurately represent our level of knowledge or our actual lifestyle. It is a stone of new beginnings and freedom, shaking us out of whatever rut we are in, and challenging us to come alive intellectually and creatively. Almandine Garnet encourages us to use our imagination and to get to work transforming our best dreams into a fantastic reality. It offers tremendous support for anyone who yearns for both practical knowledge and esoteric understanding, making it an especially good talisman for astronomers and mathematicians.
Physical Healing Properties
Almandine Garnet is recommended for anyone who wants to better embrace their sexuality. It helps us to love our body and to trust what feels good, physically and emotionally. It encourages us to be open to new experiences, while always keeping our safety and full wellbeing in mind. Almandine Garnet is a fantastic talisman for anyone eager to get pregnant and it helps expectant parents feel excited about the new life they are bringing into the world. Almandine Garnet is also recommended for anyone who has suffered from a traumatic injury or illness that requires physical therapy or other work to bring us back into our natural healthy state. If the traumatic event has led to PTSD, Almandine Garnet strongly advocates for our mental health and pushes us to believe that our emotional-mind can be healed. It reminds us that while the past offers lessons, we get to make choices about our future. Almandine Garnet helps us to jump back into life and enjoy it to the fullest.
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Almandine Garnet Mineralogy
Where does Almandine Garnet come from?
Garnets are found worldwide. Notable Almandine Garnet deposits are found in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, India, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain and the United States.
Mining and Treatments
Garnets may be mined in open pits or in secondary alluvial deposits. They are occasionally found as inclusions in Diamonds. Garnets are mined for use as abrasives as well as for fine gemstones.
Lab-created Garnets exist and are occasionally used in fine jewelry. But the majority of Garnets are natural, enhanced only by cutting and polishing.
Almandine Garnet
Mineral Family
The Garnet Family is a group of 15 silicate minerals. Silicates are minerals which contain the elements Silicon (a light gray shiny metal) and Oxygen (a colorless gas). Together, these two elements form a tetrahedron – a shape similar to a pyramid – with a Silicon atom in the center and Oxygen atoms at each of the four corners. These tetrahedra connect with other chemical structures, in six different ways, to form various minerals and rocks. There are six main groups of Silicate minerals, and these main groups are further subdivided into secondary subdivisions, such as Quartz and Garnet.
Almandine Garnet’s energy works well with its family – other garnets. Try it in combination with Andradite, Grossular, Pyrope, Spessartine and Uvarovite
Almandine Garnet Formation and Crystal Associates
Garnets can be formed in igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. Almandine Garnet is formed when sedimentary rocks with a high aluminum content, such as Shale, are subjected to intense heat and pressure due to regional metamorphism. New minerals are formed and the garnets grow as the rock changes into Schist or other metamorphic rocks. While garnets can come in a variety of colors, Almandine are always a deep red or reddish-purple.
Almandine Garnet’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment. Try it in combination with Chlorite, Hematite, and Iolite.
| Mineralogy | Almandine Garnet |
|---|---|
| Chemical Formula | Fe2+3Al2(SiO4)3 |
| Cleavage | None |
| Color | Red |
| Crystal System | Cubic |
| Form/Habit | Dodecahedral, trapezohedral |
| Fracture | Conchoidal, brittle |
| Hardness – Mohs Scale | 6.5-7.5 |
| Luminescence | None |
| Luster | Vitreous |
| Mineral Family | Garnet Group |
| Specific Gravity | 3.6-4.3 |
| Streak | White |
| Transparency | Transparent to opaque |
History of Almandine Garnet
Garnet has one of the oldest and most detailed historical traditions of any healing stone. It is included in virtually every known lapidary, texts which describe gemstones and their powers. Originally, the term “Garnet” was only used for the reddish varieties, Almandine and Pyrope, and did not include orange and green Garnets. For most of history, Red Garnets, Rubies, and other glowing red stones such as Spinal and Tourmaline were thought to belong to the same mineral family, called “Carbuncle” – a name which means “little spark.” It wasn’t until the 19th century that these stones were correctly divided into separate mineral families.
The name Garnet comes from the Latin words granum or granitus, meaning grain or seeds. These words in turn have an even older origin, coming from the Phonecian punica granatum, meaning “pomegranate seeds.” The reference refers to more than just the glowing red color and common shape of Almandine and Pyrope Garnets. Interestingly, when found in matrix, Garnets often cluster much like pomegranate seeds do.
Ancient Vedic texts record the origin story of many gemstones including Garnet. According to legend, long ago the demon, Vala, took the form of a stone cave where stolen cows were hidden. Indra, the leader of the demigods, split Vala apart, killing him and freeing the cows. Vala’s body was scattered across the earth and his various body parts were transformed into gems. His toenails became Garnets!
Garnet’s energy has always been considered particularly powerful. In Roman times, it was thought to bring out passion, even anger. Red Garnet’s blood-like color made it the obvious choice to represent Mars, the god of war. Centuries later, warriors from India would use Garnets as a projectile in guns, believing that a wound inflicted by the red stone would cause a more grievous injury than a mere bullet. By contrast, Christians saw Garnet as a symbol of Christ’s suffering on the cross and the Holy Qur’an describes the light of fourth level of Heaven as glowing like a Garnet. In Hindu and Buddhist traditions, Garnets were associated with red lotus flowers and believed to increase wealth and fertility.
According to the medieval European lapidary, The Book of Seals, “…a Garnet with the image of a lion engraved thereon (is used) to protect and preserve the honors and health of the wearer.” As early as 1391, Garnet was listed as a cure for inflammatory diseases and in a departure from ancient thought, Garnet was said to cool anger. Garnet was also a popular antidote for poisons, either worn as jewelry or powdered and taken internally. It was thought to prevent over-indulgence and to encourage humility and bring peace. Chavealier Jean de Mandeville’s 14th century Lapidaire stated “They give courage to the heart, they chase away sadness and bring joy.” While the Book of Dreams states, “[Garnet] brings sleep to the sleepless, drives away the plague and evil spirits and attracts to its possessor riches, glory, honor and great wisdom, and to crown all, constancy with fidelity to all obligations.”
