With its lush green color, emerald has held a place of reverence spanning centuries and across cultures. Its foundational meaning has remained consistent as a stone of love, harmony, growth, renewal, and prosperity.
If you love emeralds or just want to learn more about the birthstone of May, keep reading to take a deep dive into what emeralds have symbolized throughout the ages and what they continue to symbolize today.
It’s impossible to mention emeralds without mentioning the lore that Cleopatra was obsessed with them. Cleopatra VII, born in 69 BC, was the last active pharaoh of Egypt and created a legacy of power and political savvy. She reportedly enjoyed bedecking herself in emerald jewelry, collecting emeralds, giving them as diplomatic gifts, and even went so far as to claim an entire emerald mine known as Smaragdu Mons. She believed that emeralds symbolized beauty, immortality, and power.
Emeralds were believed by ancient Egyptians to be a gift from the gods and to correspond with Isis, the goddess of motherhood, fertility, healing, magic, and nature. There is lore suggesting that genies were believed to be contained within emeralds and could be used as powerful protective amulets.
They were used in a variety of ways to confer power and protection upon the wearer, including as amulets and talismans of divine protection or good fortune, placed in sarcophagi and tombs to ensure a safe journey to the afterlife, worn by pharaohs during ceremonial rituals and religious ceremonies, and in everyday jewelry as symbols of status, wealth, and power.
Emeralds in ancient India held a place of equal reverence to that in ancient Egypt. They were associated with Annapurna, the goddess of abundance, sustenance, and nourishment. In Vedic astrology, emeralds correspond with the planet Mercury, which represents intellect, adaptability, reasoning, communication, and the courage to overcome challenges.
Emeralds are considered one of the nine stones in Navaratna (“nine gems”) jewelry, a type of design that uses a gemstone to correspond with each Vedic planet or divine emanation. The idea was that as each planet corresponds to different areas of life, each gemstone in the Navaratna would be able to provide beneficial influence in that area of your life.
All of the stone in a Navaratna piece include ruby (Sun/Surya), pearl (Moon/Chandra), red coral (Mars/Mangala), emerald (Mercury/Budha), diamond (Venus/Shukra), blue sapphire (Saturn/Shani), yellow topaz (Jupiter/Brhaspati), hessonite garnet or red zircon (Ascending Node/Rahu), and cat’s eye (Descending Node/Ketu).
In ancient Islamic folklore, emeralds were said to symbolize paradise and reflect the beauty of heaven. They were believed to represent wisdom and foresight that could enhance intuition and knowledge of the divine. Emeralds are also associated with Astarte, the goddess of love, war, sexuality, power, and healing.
In ancient Rome and Greece, emeralds continued their legacy as gemstones representing love and power. They corresponded with Venus (Roman)/Aphrodite (Greek), the goddess of beauty, prosperity, social harmony, desire, and fertility.
Pliny the Elder, an ancient Roman author, naturalist, and military commander, who is best known for his encyclopedic piece titled “Naturalis Historia,” wrote that “no color is more attractive than their color... it is the only gem that satisfies without tiring the eyes.”
During his time, gemcutters would keep a piece of emerald at their work stations and stare at it when their eyes began to tire: “...when the vision has been fatigued with intently viewing other objects, it is refreshed by being turned upon this stone.” Today, emerald is still associated with soothing strained eyes and with eye health in general.
Emeralds were primarily introduced to China through the expansion of trade routes into the West, where they were almost immediately incorporated into the fabric of Chinese symbolism and lore. Some of their most prominent meanings include fertility, prosperity, loyalty, and enduring friendship.
They are considered thoughtful gifts for couples trying to conceive or celebrating milestones, and are often worn by brides on their wedding day. Feng shui, the ancient Chinese art of placement, uses emeralds to enhance wealth and abundance in a flow.
Emeralds correspond with the Chinese element wood, which in turn symbolizes growth, vitality, and renewal. A connection with the wood element also symbolizes a harmonious connection with nature, indicative of balance and harmony in one’s own life.
Guanyin, the goddess of mercy and compassion, is associated with emeralds. Also known as Kuan Yin, she is often portrayed as a bodhisattva, a being who has attained enlightenment but chosen to remain in the physical world to assist others in their spiritual journey. Her goddess form had a thousand arms so she could reach out and ease suffering, and an eye in each palm to be able to see anyone who needed her help.
Emeralds were very highly revered in the Peruvian Incan civilization, which began in the early 1200s and ended in 1533 with the Spanish conquest. The towns of Muzo and Chivor, both in present-day Colombia and still major producers of emeralds, were known then as “the old green mines.” During the reign of the Incas, only nobility were allowed to wear emerald jewelry.
Emeralds were highly symbolic of the Andean goddess, Umina, who represented health and healing. Born as a mortal woman to a healer mother and chief father, she learned the art of healing from her mother and eventually took her place as a healer in the community after her mother died. Umina’s father eventually remarried a jealous sorceress, who attempted several times to take Umina’s life, but she was always able to escape, often with the help of divine intervention, like being rescued by a condor from a mountaintop.
When Umina died, her heart transformed into an emerald that was worshipped by the Incas and other Andean cultures as a symbol of healing. It was believed that touching the emerald could cure ailments and restore health. Certain groups, such as the Mantena Confederation, located near the Ecuadorian coast, offered small emeralds to Umina, and her sanctuary in Jocay became a pilgrimage site for the sick. Umina remains a part of present-day Andean folklore as a goddess with maternal, nourishing, and healing abilities.
Emeralds continue to retain many of the same symbolic meanings that they have held throughout history: love, nourishment, healing, abundance, harmony, renewal, and growth. In modern spirituality, they have additional correspondences in Western astrology, yoga, and tarot.
Emerald is considered the birthstone of May and a lucky stone for anyone born in that month. The two zodiac signs that fall within that month are Taurus and Gemini, and so emerald is associated with these zodiac signs. Upon deeper inspection, Taurus is ruled by the planet Venus, and Gemini is ruled by the planet Mercury, both of which correspond to associations made with emerald by ancient civilizations. Emeralds are considered helpful for those with afflicted Venus or Mercury in their charts, or for couples with difficult Venus or Mercury synastry.
While tarot is significantly younger than astrology, there are several overlapping correspondences between the two spiritual systems that help us understand where emeralds fit in. We know that emerald corresponds with Taurus, Venus, Gemini, and Mercury. The four major arcana cards that correspond with these zodiac signs and planets are The Hierophant (Taurus), The Empress (Venus), The Lovers (Gemini), and The Magician (Mercury). Based on all the other qualities attributed to emeralds, other cards that could strongly correspond with them are The Star (healing), The Queen of Cups (healing intuition, compassion, nurturing), The Two of Cups (love, harmony), and The Three of Cups (platonic harmony, celebration).
You may be familiar with the concept of chakras in Western yoga, but they originated in Indian spiritual traditions. “Chakra” can be translated as “wheel,” or “disk,” and refers to energy centers in the body where each chakra is dominated by a certain theme. If each chakra is healthy and connected to the adjacent ones, an individual may be able to achieve spiritual enlightenment. Emeralds correspond with the fourth chakra, known as Anahata or the heart chakra, the bridge between earth and spirit. When balanced, the heart chakra exudes expansion, unconditional love, compassion, selflessness, and devotion. Individuals with a weak heart chakra may benefit from meditating with an emerald or another green stone, such as peridot or tourmaline.
While the symbolism of emeralds may not be as prominent today as it has been throughout history, emeralds continue to hold a place of reverence in culture. As one of four precious gemstones (diamond, ruby, blue sapphire, & emerald), they remain a foundation of fine jewelry and of symbols of wealth and status.