If you were born in April, you celebrate your annual solar return just as the earth is coming alive again in the northern hemisphere. You’re either an Aries, born at the beginning of the month, or a Taurus, with your birthday in the latter half of the month.
The April birthstone is the diamond, a sharp and powerful symbol for the stubborn and persistent individual born in the fourth month. It’s still unclear how ancient society started associating twelve different gemstones with the months of the year, but historians speculate it dates to biblical times, when priests decorated their breastplates with twelve different colored jewels, one to represent each of the signs of the zodiac—and the twelve tribes of Israel.
Over time, it became more common for people to wear the symbol of their birth month as a talisman. It was believed that this would lend the individual good fortune. Many ancient societies also viewed diamonds as particularly auspicious, and many of their mythology reflected this: some cultures came to believe that diamonds were forged when lightning struck the ground, while others began to associate diamonds with physical healing.
Sanskrit texts dating back to 400 B.C. indicate a long history of reverence for the diamond. As early as 1330, Venetian artisans were engaging in diamond cutting, and the Eastern trade of this much-coveted gem flourished for centuries.
Although diamonds had been loosely associated with the month of April for a long time, it wasn’t until 1912 that the American National Association of Jewelers set out to assign each month with a gemstone for the purpose of more effective marketing. At the time, the decision was controversial. It was viewed as a gauche, tacky move driven purely by consumerism.
Today, people born in April cherish the diamond as a symbol of their resilience and strength—something forged, literally and metaphorically, through fire.
