What is the Aquarius birthstone?

There isn't one settled answer. The traditional tropical zodiac (January 20 – February 18) names Garnet; the modern jewelry-trade convention names Amethyst instead. Both are sourced, dated lists — see the comparison table above.

Why do the two zodiac birthstone lists disagree for Aquarius?

Aquarius's traditional stone, Garnet, comes from the historical January birthstone list — the month Aquarius begins in. Its modern stone, Amethyst, comes from the separate current monthly birthstone table instead. The disagreement between the two zodiac lists is really the historical list diverging from the modern one; each sign inherits that divergence from its date range.

What color is Amethyst, Aquarius's modern birthstone?

Amethyst occurs in purple tones, with a Mohs hardness of 7.

Is my Vedic sign the same as Aquarius?

Not necessarily. The sidereal zodiac used in Vedic astrology runs roughly 23 days behind the tropical zodiac, so a birth date in tropical Aquarius often falls under sidereal Capricorn instead. We have not sourced Vedic birthstone assignments, so this concerns the sign only, not a stone recommendation.

Why does Aquarius have two ruling planets listed?

Saturn is Aquarius' traditional ruler, assigned before Uranus was discovered in 1781. After that discovery, many astrologers reassigned Uranus as Aquarius' modern ruler. Both are still cited today, which is why both appear here rather than picking one.

Aquarius Birthstones

Aquarius doesn't have one settled birthstone. The traditional tropical zodiac assigns Garnet; the modern jewelry trade assignsAmethyst instead. Both are attested, dated conventions — not ancient absolutes — and the comparison and sourcing below show exactly where each one comes from.

Aquarius at a glance

Date range: January 20 – February 18
Element: Air
Modality: Fixed
Ruling planet: Saturn (traditional) / Uranus (modern)
Polarity: Positive

Aquarius birthstones by system

Both zodiac-birthstone systems for Aquarius, side by side
Sign	Traditional tropical zodiacTraditional Western astrology	Modern jewellery-trade zodiacContemporary retail convention
Aquarius	Garnet	Amethyst

Traditional tropical zodiac: This list derives from the historical monthly birthstone table keyed to each sign's starting month, so it inherits that table's lack of a single standardising source.

Modern jewellery-trade zodiac: This is a contemporary retail convention mapping the current monthly list onto zodiac date ranges — a 20th/21st-century commercial construct, not an ancient astrological tradition.

The stones themselves

Garnet (traditional tropical zodiac)

Garnet is its own mineral species. Mohs hardness: 6.5–7.5. Color: Red, Orange, Green, and Multicolour. Garnet is a mineral group, not a single species — chemical formula varies by member (pyrope, almandine, spessartine, grossular, andradite, uvarovite), which is why no single formula is given here. Deep red almandine-pyrope is the classic birthstone variety.

Amethyst (modern jewelry-trade zodiac)

Amethyst is a variety of Quartz. Mohs hardness: 7. Color: Purple.

Why Aquarius has two different stones

Aquarius begins in January. The historical January birthstone list named Garnet, and Garnet is the entry that carried through into the traditional tropical-zodiac list for Aquarius — the same stone, tied to the month the sign begins in.

The modern jewelry-trade list works differently: rather than drawing on the historical table, it draws on the current monthly birthstone table instead. Aquarius ends in February, and its modern stone, Amethyst, matches the current US birthstone table for February — the month that holds most of Aquarius's date range.

Western vs. Vedic: which sign are you really?

The dates above use the tropical zodiac, the system Western astrology — and this page — is built on. The sidereal zodiac used in Vedic (Jyotish) astrology runs roughly 23 days behind it, because it tracks the actual position of the constellations rather than the seasons. If you were born under tropical Aquarius (January 20 – February 18), your sidereal placement is often Capricorn instead — especially for birthdays in the first few weeks of the range. We have not sourced Vedic birthstone assignments for Capricorn or any other sign, so this is a note about the sign shift only, not a birthstone recommendation.

Aquarius birthstone FAQ

What is the Aquarius birthstone?: There isn't one settled answer. The traditional tropical zodiac (January 20 – February 18) names Garnet; the modern jewelry-trade convention names Amethyst instead. Both are sourced, dated lists — see the comparison table above.
Why do the two zodiac birthstone lists disagree for Aquarius?: Aquarius's traditional stone, Garnet, comes from the historical January birthstone list — the month Aquarius begins in. Its modern stone, Amethyst, comes from the separate current monthly birthstone table instead. The disagreement between the two zodiac lists is really the historical list diverging from the modern one; each sign inherits that divergence from its date range.
What color is Amethyst, Aquarius's modern birthstone?: Amethyst occurs in purple tones, with a Mohs hardness of 7.
Is my Vedic sign the same as Aquarius?: Not necessarily. The sidereal zodiac used in Vedic astrology runs roughly 23 days behind the tropical zodiac, so a birth date in tropical Aquarius often falls under sidereal Capricorn instead. We have not sourced Vedic birthstone assignments, so this concerns the sign only, not a stone recommendation.
Why does Aquarius have two ruling planets listed?: Saturn is Aquarius' traditional ruler, assigned before Uranus was discovered in 1781. After that discovery, many astrologers reassigned Uranus as Aquarius' modern ruler. Both are still cited today, which is why both appear here rather than picking one.

Sources

Retrieved 2026-08-10.