Perhaps due to its intense coloring, onyx has traditionally been used as an amulet for protection when fighting in a battle or walking down a dark street at night. In antiquity, onyx was carved into bases and handles for solid gold objects and engraved in negative relief for use in Roman seals. Historically, the onyx birthstone has been used in ornamental carvings and jewelry-with black-and-white onyx cameo gemstones being especially popular. As the arrow clipped the fingernails of the sleeping goddess, the pared nails sunk to the bottom of the river and were transformed into the onyx birthstone. The History, Symbolism, and Meaning of the Black Onyx StoneĪccording to Indian mythology, the goddess Venus (Rati) was found deep in slumber on the banks of the Indus River when Cupid (Kamadeva) decided to give her a manicure with his magic arrow. However, as we specialize in black onyx, we will focus on this variety of the onyx birthstone. Sardonyx-the red and white variety of this mineral-is the traditional birthstone for the month of August and also holds an important place in gemstone astrology. True onyx is a silicate mineral with parallel black and white bands that can also be found in the solid black color we use at AZEERA. Black Onyx in GeologyĬomposed of a form of quartz known as chalcedony, onyx is named after the Greek word for “claw” or “fingernail” thanks to the white and yellow veins observed in onyx marble. Learn more about the ancient black onyx stone and its meaning to see whether a black onyx ring could be right for you. Onyx is the mystical birthstone for December and astrological birthstone for Leo.

Black onyx stone meaning