Zodiac Sign

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19 · Earth · Saturn

Traditional BirthstoneGarnet (in ancient traditions), Ruby

Modern BirthstoneGarnet

ElementEarth

Ruling PlanetSaturn

Associated crystals

GarnetOpen in the Dictionary OnyxOpen in the Dictionary JetOpen in the Dictionary Black TourmalineOpen in the Dictionary RubyOpen in the Dictionary

Associated herbs

ComfreyOpen in the Dictionary HorsetailOpen in the Dictionary ThymeOpen in the Dictionary MulleinOpen in the Dictionary KavaOpen in the Dictionary

Source Tradition

In Ptolemy's system, Capricorn is the house of Saturn and the sign of Mars's exaltation, part of the Earth-triplicity (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn). Garnet's association with Capricorn reaches back to the 1st century CE Roman writer Pliny, who linked the carbuncle family (including garnet) to Saturn's dark, heavy nature. In the Hindu Navaratna, garnet (gomeda) is associated with Rahu. The garnet as January birthstone appears in Polish Jewish tradition from the 16th–18th centuries and was formalized in the 1912 Jewelers of America list.

Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, Book I; Pliny the Elder, Natural History, Book XXXVII; 16th–18th century Polish Jewish birthstone tradition; Jewelers of America, 1912Explore sourcing notes in the Appendix