The Myth, Mystery, and Meaning of Rings

Rings have been a meaningful adornment from the times of the ancient Egyptians, through the age of the Greeks, and continuing into today. Throughout time, rings have served as mere decoration, they have indicated rank, and rings have also symbolized deeper meanings such as eternity, reincarnation, energy, unity, power, and, safety. If a sing is set with a stone, it can bind you with the energy of that stone. Some Native Americans wear turquoise, and that power doubles when the stone is set in a ring. Some even interpret the presence of a ring in a dream as representing a desire for reconciliation of the different parts of your personality. The use of amber in a ring can help deepen a friendship if two amber rings are exchanged between friends.

The way you wear a ring—on which hand and on which finger—affects your energy. The bottom of the ring setting should be open, allowing the stone to be closer to your skin. Thumb rings have become a popular trend, but they block the energy of the thumb, awakening egoism and selfishness.

Wearing the correct gem on your index finger can help you achieve your goals. Lapis lazuli can help you gain wisdom. Pearl, moonstone, or garnet will help you better to love yourself and others. Carnelian is for those who want success. Sodalite chrysocolla, or turquoise can help quiet and calm the mind.

Idea, insight, and intuition are associated with your middle finger, and you should only wear stones of it if you want to receive psychic input from the world around you. Sapphire or quartz crystal will help you access your higher good and understand your life purpose. Amethyst will help increase sensitivity and creativity. Rubies awaken inner and outer beauty.

Obviously, the ring finger on the left hand symbolizes a direct connection to your heart and serves as the love center. The ring finger also symbolizes creativity, and wearing an emerald will inspire ingenuity. Wearing tiger’s-eye or cat’s-eye will also help you meet creative goals. Wearing turquoise on this finger helps with practicality in your work and art. Traditionally, diamonds are worn on the left ring finger for deep and loyal love ties. A moonstone will also express your love. An opal shows service to your community and to the world. A ruby helps with serenity—both within and without.

Last, and certainly not least, the right gem on your little finger can help you change the direction of your whole life! Wearing aventurine can bring new energy and prospects into your life. Turquoise can help you unwind and simplify. Pearls will help you achieve better organizational habits.

Because the left hand is the receptive hand, gems to awaken and release emotions should be worn on it. Career-related and lift-goal gems should be worn on the right, or projective hand. 

Sapphire—Eye of Horus

The ancient Persians believed that Earth rested on a giant sapphire and the blue sky was a reflection of its color. The Greeks identified white sapphire with the god Apollo. They deemed this stone very important indeed: The oracles at Delphi used it to make their prophecies. The Egyptians designated sapphire as the eye of Horus. Star sapphire is especially prized, as the lines crossing the blue of the stone were believed to represent faith, hope, and charity.

Sapphire has been used as an eye cure for millennia. Medieval scientist Sir Albert the Great recorded incidents in which he had seen sapphire used with success as a healer, stating that it was necessary for the stone to be dipped in cold water prior to surgery and afterward, as well. A contemporary of Albert the Great’s by the name of von Helmont advocated using sapphire as a remedy for plague boils by rubbing this gem on the afflicted spots. He did offer the disclaimer that the condition could not be too advanced and explained the science behind his cure with the early theory of magnetism, in which a force in the sapphire pulled “the pestilential virulence and contagious poison from the infected part.”

Part of the myth and magic of sapphires is that they offer a great deal of myth and magic. Magicians and seers love this stone because it adds to their sensitivities and enables them to augur better. Historically, it was regarded as a gem of nobility, and any regal personage wearing this noble gem would be protected from harm, particularly the threat of poison. Another dubious legend is that Moses wrote the Ten Commandments on tables of sapphire, but it is more likely that they would have been carved into the soft and more readily available lapis lazuli. Even with God on his side, where would Moses have gotten sapphires of such massive size and flatness? Sapphire remained popular with the religious; one notable instance was when the twelfth-century bishop of Rennes commended this gem as an ecclesiastical ring due to its obvious connection to the heavens above. The holy— and legal—minded also favored this stone as it was believed to help counteract deception. Once, sapphires were believed to have gender. Dark sapphires were “male,” and light stones were “female.”

Lunar Goddesses of the World

Alkmene is the mortal mother of legendary Greek hero Hercules. Her name means “might of the moon.”

Candrea is the Indonesian deity from a love story about princess Candra Kirana of Kediri. Candra was the incarnation of Dewi Ratih, goddess of love, and her name means “glowing like the moon.”

Io, this Greek word for “the moon,” comes from the mythological story of the priestess of Hera, who was loved by Zeus. Fittingly, the moon of Jupiter was named for her.

Luna is the Roman name for a moon goddess and means “moon.” 

Marama is a mythic Polynesian lunar goddess whose name has
come to mean moon.

Selena is the Latinate form of the Greek name Selene, meaning “moon,” and also refers to the mythic moon goddess.