June is traditionally a beautiful month
with glorious weather and also the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere,
indicating the traditional start of summer.
Those whose birthdays happen in June also
share the month with the pearl.
Associated with loyalty, faithfulness and friendship, the pearl is also
thought to heal problems relating to the heart, spleen, stomach and intestines.
The Latin word 'pirum' is where pearl is derived from and it related directly to
the shape of the precious gem. The
Ancient Greeks believed that wearing pearls will promote marital bliss and
therefore gifts containing pearls were given to the newlyweds. According to legend, Cleopatra is said to
have dissolved a pearl in a concoction of vinegar and wine and drank it to
prove her love to Marc Anthony.
The
most valuable pearls are wild, natural ones that have been created
spontaneously by nature over a long period of time.
Pearls are created inside the shells of certain molluscs as a way of naturally
dealing with irritants that have entered the shell such as a parasite. The
mollusc creates a pearl sac around the offending irritant to seal it off and
over time layers are added again and again and again which produced a
pearl. These are created in many
different shapes, white perfectly round ones being extremely rare as well as
expensive. After a few years of this process, a good sized pearl will have formed and the mollusc shell may be found by a lucky diver, in the right spot and the right time.
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