Searching for information on the word agate? Look no further and keep reading — here’s our complete guide on the meaning of agate.
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Kevin
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April 28, 2022
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If you’ve recently dipped your toes into the vast waters of gems, rocks, crystals, and stones, chances are you’re beginning to discover a ton of new terms, such as onyx, chakra, and amethyst. Another word that you’ll likely come across is agate — but what does it mean?
This article will provide you with everything you need to know about the word agate, including its definition, origin, and more.
What Is the Definition of Agate?
According to Collins Dictionary, agate can be defined as a very hard stone that is often used to make jewelry. With a rating anywhere between 6.5 to 7 Mohs on the Mohs hardness scale, agate is a long-lasting and sturdy stone. It can be found in a number of different shades, including blue, pink, red, black, purple, green, brown, and more. The precious stone also comes in many various varieties with unique patterns on the surface — each offering a different meaning.
In short, agate connotes healing and grounding. Here are some of the precious stones’ associations:
- Chakra: Third Eye and Crown
- Zodiac: Virgo and Gemini
- Planet: Earth
- Chemical Formula: Si02
- Numerical Vibration: Number 7
- Birthstone: September
- Typical colors: Crystal clear or milky white, white to gray, orange to red, light blue, black
What Is the Origin of Agate?
Mainly found in volcanic rock, this beautiful healing stone is a type of quartz (silicates) that comes from the Chalcedony group. It’s one of the few stones that have various colors, patterns, shade7s, markings, and meanings.
The name agate derives from the Ancient Greek akhates — the name of a river in Sicily where the gemstone was commonly discovered roughly 3,000 years ago. Today, however, varieties of agate can be found all over the globe, including:
- Brazil
- Africa
- India
- Morocco
- Canada
- Germany
- Egypt
- Nepal
- The United States
What Are the Healing Properties of Agate?
Whether you’re hoping for love, abundance, and longevity, or wealth, good luck, and strength, the agate stone just might be able to help.
A fantastic stone for rebalancing and harmonizing the body, mind, and spirit, agate has a number of (alleged) healing properties, like:
- Enhances mental function
- Improves concentration and perception
- Boosts analytical abilities
- Repels evil spirits
- Stabilizes the aura
- Soothes inner anger
- Promotes security and safety
What Are the Different Types of Agate?
As mentioned earlier, there is a wide variety of agate crystals. Some of the most popular include:
- Blue Lace Agate — Known for its “emotional facelifts,” this type of agate is rarer than most types of agate and has been linked to clearing the throat chakra.
- Moss Agate — Made of silicon dioxide, this type of agate is known to attract prosperity and has been linked to luck since the 18th century; used to heal the heart chakra of those that wear it.
- Brown Agate — With its gentle nature, this type of agate is most commonly used to keep negative energies away.
- Dendritic Agate — Also known as the stone of plentitude, this type of agate has been linked to Ancient Greek tree spirits and dryads who wore them as talismans or powerful amulets.
- Fire Agate — This type of agate dates back to the Tertiary Period (2.6 million to 66 million years ago) with its color being a result of light interference interacting with iron oxide and limonite crystals.
- Botswana Agate — Known to balance intellectual, emotional, and physical energy, Botswana agate is commonly used to help harmonize the yin and yang of an individual.
- Black Agate — A fairly common type of agate, black agate is known for its strong balancing, cleansing, centering, and grounding properties.
- White Agate — Considered the “ultimate pregnancy stone,” this crystal supposedly helps protect both the expecting mother and developing baby from harm.
- Crazy Lace Agate — Known as the “laughter stone” or “Happy Lace,” this coveted and worshipped stone brings joy to all those in its presence.
- Red Agate — Used to stimulate sexual and physical energies, the red agate crystal was used by the Ancients on the breastplates of armor to boost the strength of warriors.
Note: Carnelian, Chrysoprase, Bloodstone, and Jasper are not types of agate, but a variety of Chalcedony. In other words, these stunning geodes are in the same group as agate but different in nature.
Summary
From the Ancient Egyptians to the Ancient Chinese, once agate was found by Theophrastus along the Achates River, everyone around the globe quickly fell in love with the gorgeous stone — and it’s easy to see why.
Agate is not only undeniably stunning, but it’s widely known for its spiritual power to promote abundance, wealth, protection, balance, love, strength, courage, and more.
A member of the quartz family, agate can help unblock chakras, prevent nightmares, and ward off dark spirits and forces. It’s believed to control the weather, repel hostile entities, and allegedly keep illness at bay.
In short, agate is a glorious investment for the mind, body, and soul that exemplifies inner beauty. So, if you’re looking to add a new geode to your collection of healing stones, you can’t go wrong with agate!
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