August 07/31/2010
 
The Roman calendar initially consited of 10 months, of which August, or Sextilus as it was known, was the sixth month. This was eventually changed to honour the first ruler of the Roman Empire, Augustus. He transformed Rome and its Empire after succeeding his great-uncle Julius Ceasar.

The beginning of August used to be the time to celebrate the first of the harvest, the first of the corn to be cut, rather than our current tradition of celebrating the ending of the harvest. Lammas (1st August) falls at the mid point between the summer solstice and the autumn exquinox and bread baked from the first of the grain crop would be given as an offering.

Peridot is one of the crystals for August and the Egyptians called it the 'stone of the sun'. Their priests would drink from cups made of peridot in the belief that it would bring them closer to the goddess of nature, Isis. It is a stone of fame, strength and energy and was widely used by the church and the ruling classes. It is said to be beneficial to marriages, especially with its characteristic of enhancing communication and its calming influence is great in promoting sleep. Sardonyx, another of the stones of August, has some of the same characteristics.

Aventurine is a crystal of Virgo, which falls towards the end of August. Like peridot, it is most commonly a beautiful green and is an all round good luck stone. It is s wonderful balancing stone for the Heart (green) Chakra being calming and supportive.
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