Legend has it that the Native American Indians danced and rejoiced when the rains came. Their tears of joy mixed with the rain and seeped into Mother Earth to become SkyStone  - Turquoise.

Turquoise, the "fallen sky stone" hidden in Mother Earth, has been valued by cultures for its beauty and reputed spiritual and life-giving qualities for over 7000 years. It is a true gem of the centuries. A long time ago someone noticed a clear blue line running through gray rock, and saw the imagery of sky and water in stone, and from that time on, turquoise has been cherished above all else in creation - turquoise, stone of sky, stone of water, stone of blessings, good fortune, protection, good health and long life.

There is a wonderful fascination to turquoise, a feeling that takes hold of a person who comes in contact with it for a while. The fascination has been the same down through the centuries and it has been prized for thousands of years through many countries of the world.

Native American Indians had as many different words for turquoise as there were languages spoken. Many of the words translated into English as the sky stone evoking the sky-blue shade of the stone most commonly found. Native Americans had been working turquoise mines with stone mauls and antler picks for centuries before the arrival of the Europeans.

Native Americans believe that the earth is alive and that all things, no matter how small or apparently inanimate, are precious. To the Native Americans, turquoise is life. There are stones medicine men keep in their sacred bundles because they possess powers of healing. Stones and crystals have unique attributed that support and heal us. Turquoise, especially, is known for its positive healing energy, an aid in mental functions, communications and expression and as a protector. If you’re wearing a turquoise ring and you look down and see a crack in your stone, the Native Americans would say “the stone took it”, meaning the stone took the blow that you would have received.

That spirit can be brought into your living space with actual stone accent pieces or the color - representing the bountiful sky and life giving water.  So much rustic decor focuses on the wood of the log cabin or earth tones and turquoise complements the rustic color palette while adding the splash of color needed to balance the room.

- Excerpt from www.indians.org