Garnet
Garnet is a group of minerals, best known as a deep red gem. Its name comes from the pomegranate, and for most of its history a red garnet was a “carbuncle”, the glowing red stone of Pliny and of dragon legends.
Meaning
Garnet is several related minerals, GIA explains, and its name comes from the medieval Latin granatus, “pomegranate”, for the colour of the red ones. Before that name, red garnets were carbuncles: GIA notes that the word was used for red garnet and almost any other red stone, and the Bostock and Riley notes to Pliny say his carbunculus took in red garnet as well as spinel and ruby. Garnet is the January birthstone (January birthstone).
Origin and history
Pliny put carbunculus first among the fiery stones (book 37, chapter 25), named for its likeness to a burning coal, and said that it could not be harmed by fire. He divided each kind into male and female, the male stones brighter. GIA adds that red garnets were among the most widely traded gems of Pliny’s time, and that the discovery of the Bohemian deposits around 1500 built a regional jewellery trade that peaked in the late 1800s.
The carbuncle in lore
George Frederick Kunz gathers the carbuncle’s reputation. It was prescribed as a heart stimulant, so strong that wearers were warned it could make them angry and bring on apoplexy. Its blood-red colour made it a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross; the Qur’an, Kunz writes, makes the Fourth Heaven of carbuncle; and dragons’ eyes were said to be carbuncles. The Book of Wings, a treatise of about the thirteenth century that Kunz quotes, says a garnet engraved with a lion protects the wearer’s health and honours and guards him on journeys.
Garnets as bullets
Red stones were believed to protect against wounds. Kunz notes the reverse use too: Hunza fighters against British troops on the Kashmir frontier in 1892 fired garnets as bullets, on the belief that a blood-coloured stone would wound more deeply than lead.
Where you’ll see it today
whatdoesthissymbolmean.comJanuary birthstone: garnetGarnet is January's birthstoneRead next
- Next in Crystal and gemstone loreJadeJade is two minerals, nephrite and jadeite, that China has carved for more than 3,000 years. In Chinese tradition it stands for virtue and heaven; the Aztecs held it the most precious of materials, a symbol of life and purity.
- The same shape in Adinkra symbolsAnanse Ntontan (spider’s web)Ananse Ntontan, “spider’s web”, is the adinkra symbol of wisdom and creativity, after Ananse, the spider of Akan stories.
See also
Amethyst, Rose quartz, Clear quartz, Citrine, Carnelian, Onyx.
Sources
- Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, book 37, chapter 25, Translated by John Bostock and H. T. Riley, 1855, Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, book 37, chapter 25 (Carbunculus)
- The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, by George Frederick Kunz, 1913, J. B. Lippincott (Project Gutenberg edition), ch. 2 (Carbuncle); ch. 1 (red stones); ch. 4 (the Book of Wings)
- January Birthstone: Garnet (GIA), Gemological Institute of America, Garnet birthstone meaning and history
- Garnet History and Lore (GIA), Gemological Institute of America, History and lore
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols formed from circles or lines.
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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