All about flowers and gifts

Blue Topaz

Topaz is found primarily in Brazil, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Pakistan, China, and the United States. 

Sanskrit word "tapas” is meaning fire.  This is because Blue Topaz was considered by ancient civilizations to have cooling properties.  Not only was it believed to cool boiling water when thrown into the pot, but to calm hot tempers as well!

This gemstone was credited with many others healing powers, among them the ability to cure insanity, asthma, weak vision and insomnia.  The Blue Topaz was even thought to have magical properties in its ability to make its wearer invisible in a threatening situation. A gift of Blue Topaz -December birthstone is symbolic of love and fidelity.

An alternate birthstone for December is the Turquoise.

Turquoise has been mined in many places throughout the world. Clear blue Persian turquoise it thought by many to be among the finest turquoise. Mines in India produce green turquoise. Chinese mines are currently selling a great deal of turquoise in varying colours to the jewelry industry. Mines in the south-western US, many family owned, yield turquoise in a variety of colours and qualities.  The blue in turquoise is enhanced when copper is present. If the area where turquoise is formed contains more aluminium, the turquoise will shade to green. When zinc is present, the deposits are a yellow-green colour, a rare combination that so far has been found in only a few areas, including the Carico Lake and Blue Ridge mines in Nevada.

Natural turquoise may have been cut and polished, but no artificial changes have been made to the gems. Colour may change over time as body oils and other sources of moisture are absorbed into the stones. A gift of Turquoise represents friendship and luck.

February flower - Iris

It should come as no surprise that the iris’s three upright petals symbolize faith, valor and wisdom. With its majestic purple hues and soaring slender stem, this dignified and graceful February birth flower dates back to Ancient Greece, when Iris, the messenger of the gods and the personification of the rainbow (the Greek word for Iris), acted as the link between heaven and earth.

About Iris- February birth flower

The warm, deep color of the iris is a harbinger of the luxuries of spring, as we know February has long been a month known for romance and love. The iris comes a few colors including cool blue and snowy white, remembrances of winter. The iris flower meaning is faith, wisdom, and hope. The iris is a beautiful and meaningful gift. An alternate February birth flower is the violet.

There are hundreds of species of the February birth flower, the iris. The iris is a perennial herb. An iris can be grown from a creeping rhizomes or a bulb. The bulb is usually used in drier climates. The iris has been valued since ancient times. There is a flower on the sphinx in Egypt believed to be an iris. Another iris appears on a bas-relief from the 28th Egyptian Dynasty. In ancient times iris roots were used in perfume and medicine. The fleur-de-lis is a stylized iris, which was used much in heraldry. The February birth flower, iris, is Greek for "rainbow".

Aquarius water bearer sign were born between January 21 and February 18. These people have bird of paradise, aloe, arum lily and yucca as their birth flowers that symbolize honesty and independence.

The Aquarians fall under the Air Sign they are forward-looking, unconventional, and independent.