Garnet Garnet is the name for a very wide and sometimes confusing group of minerals. Most, but not all garnets are red in colour.  Grossular Garnets come in a wide range of colours and Uvarovite is always bright green.  There are many other types of Garnet such as Pyrope, Spessartine, Almandine and Andradite. Below is a brief description of some of these different types and their corresponding colours:

Garnet Types:

Almandine is the most commonly found type of Garnet – the one we usually find in jewellery - and is a deep red to reddish brown in colour. It is the iron-aluminium Garnet.  

Pyrope is a magnesium-iron based Garnet and is always red to deep red-black. 

Grossular has the widest range of colours including: clear, orange, green, red, yellow, black and even grey

    - Hessonite is the brown-orange variety of Grossular Garnet

    - Raspberry is the magenta-pink variety of Grossular Garnet 

Andradite Garnets – the calcium-iron Garnet – is sub-divided yet further into several varieties based on colour: 

    - Melanite which is black

    - Topazolite which is yellow

    - Demantoid which is bright green.  

Spessartine is a manganese rich specimen found in orange, brown or pink 

Uvarovite is a calcium chromium Garnet, usually very small crystals found on matrix and always an intense green.

Almandine Garnets (the most commonly found red specimens in jewellery) are linked with the Base or Root and Sacral chakras. The keywords with this crystal are stability, good health, trust, friendship, personal power and passion. An often overlooked crystal, due to its ready availability, these lovely stones promote friendship, balance and devotion. They can assist in developing a deep and enduring spiritual bond with partners, and where friendship is lacking can attract people to you. Wearing a piece also provides a constant monitoring/balancing energy between the physical and etheric bodies, and can also assist with Kundalini rising.

Grossular Garnets

    - Hessonite Garnets (the orange-red type of Grossular) are stones of creativity. Creativity does not always mean in an arts and crafts manner – it can relate to finding new ways of thinking and behaving too, leading us to abandon old and outmoded patterns which may have been holding us back.  They refresh and renew, restoring vigour.  This Garnet resonates best with both the Sacral and Solar Plexus chakras and is also associated with home and family matters. 

    - Raspberry Garnets are an unusual deep magenta-pinkish type of Grossular (similar to the colour of a ruby) and have the added properties of promoting passion, love and emotional harmony. These lovely little crystals have a very uplifting, almost playful energy. Garnet in general is an energizing stone and is also an excellent chakra cleansing crystal. They resonate with both the Sacral (passion & sexuality) and Heart (emotion & love) chakras

Uvarovite Garnets (named after Count Sergey Semeonovich Uvarov) form as small, intense green, calcium chromium crystals, usually only available on matrix due to their size.  Often mis-sold or confused with other chromium bearing Garnets, such as chromium Grossular, chromium Pyrope or chromium Andradite (the latter is often sold as ‘Iranian Uvaravite’). Genuine Uvaravite Garnets resonate best with the Heart chakra and are said to awaken the charitable and compassionate side in ones nature. This can be especially useful when going through a prolonged period of spiritual trials. These trials may have lasted for years and have left us feeling absolutely stretched to the limits. Good fortune or abundance in any form appears to have abandoned us completely, often leaving us feeling anything but compassionate. In cases like this, Uvarovite can help us reconnect with our higher heart and to once again feel at peace with the process of change and to once again go with the flow. They are also believed to be a stone of manifestation, especially in relation to matters of abundance. 

Golden Healer crystals are usually always Quartz and get their colour from iron oxide; which is not necessarily throughout the whole crystal but is more often a coating on them. However, any crystal with this coating may be classified as a Golden Healer, but some are better than others and a true Golden Healer will have a superb vibration. To look at they appear very soft, gentle crystals, but when you pick one up you can immediately feel that they hold an enormous amount of energy. Not in the same way as say Phenacite or Azeztulite, but in a more subtle and tender manner.

Golden Rutile (see also Rutilated Quartz and Quartz properties) is a master vibrational healer.  It is said to possess the perfect balance of cosmic light and promotes spiritual growth.  When worn, it cleanses and energises the aura and is excellent for conditions where exhaustion and general energy depletion are factors and especially for respiratory conditions.

Goldstone is a man-made stone, made from dyed (brownish orange) glass with copper inclusions, which give it its trademark sparkle.  Copper is one of the best carriers of healing energy, and is often used in the production of wands and other healing tools

Green Moonstone  - see Rainbow Moonstone

Green Tourmaline - see Tourmaline

Grossular Garnet - see Garnet for general description or Grossular Garnet subsection for in-depth info and varieties.