A good quality yellow sapphire should be flawless, have a lemony color, have no spots, feel smooth when touched, be evenly colored, feel heavy when held in the palm, and should look clean, solid, without layers, and have a good shape. A light-colored, transparent yellow stone will have a good effect. A good quality gem looks better when it is rubbed on a testing stone.

If a yellow sapphire is dull, does not possess a yellow radiance, looks dried up, has a blackish or brownish tinge to its yellow color, or is a mixed red and yellow or a whitish yellow, is not symmetrical, or when touched, feels rough like sand, it is not considered a good gem. Also, if the yellow sapphire has black, droplike spots on it, it is best not to purchase that stone.

Good quality yellow sapphires come from Brazil, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Australia, Africa, Tasmania, Japan, and Mexico. Sri Lanka and India (selling Sri Lankan stones) are generally the best places to purchase natural, untreated yellow sapphires.  

Astrological Effects of a Yellow Sapphire

Yellow sapphire is the gemstone for Jupiter and is ruled by Jupiter. Wearing a yellow sapphire attracts Jupiter's blessings. If Jupiter is lord of an auspicious house, then yellow sapphire will be useful. An astrologer may prescribe yellow sapphire for those who have a weak but well-placed Jupiter. They are good for persons born under the solar sign, Sagittarius. If in a birth chart, Jupiter is in any constellation that the Sun is transiting, such as Kritika, Phalguni, or Ashada, a yellow sapphire may be recommended.Yellow sapphires are often heat-treated to make them a darker golden yellow. While this makes them more saleable, it makes them basically useless for astrological purposes.

A good quality yellow sapphire gives the wearer happiness, fortune, prosperity, intelligence, fame, good name, wealth, comfort, good health, a long life, and blesses women with good children. There can be an immediate financial change for the better shortly after putting on a yellow sapphire. Yellow sapphires can also give one a more philosophical attitude toward life, and aid meditation and concentration.

Yellow sapphire protects its wearers from evil spirits. It is believed that if a woman having difficulty getting married or with marriage problems wears a yellow sapphire, the obstructions to her happiness will be removed. Yellow sapphires can also help women to become pregnant. Yellow sapphires are recommended for those taking part in business, and those interested in spiritual pursuits, such as preaching, yoga, meditation, and study. It is good to wear yellow sapphires when taking long journeys or if one travels often.

Yellow sapphires transmit the color light blue. This is a cold color, and thus it helps improve diseases concerning the glands, liver, and endocrine system. Yellow sapphires can help improve pancreas problems, jaundice, the fat systems in the body, and cerebral problems. They can also strengthen the immune system, and help one gain needed weight. Yellow sapphires affect the ears and body fat.

A defective gem will cause the wearer trouble. If the gem is milky, the wearer may receive an injury; if it has red dots, he or she may lose wealth; if it is cracked, one might suffer a theft; if it has webs, it may cause stomach problems; if it has a depression, it causes anxiety and mental disturbance. If the gem lacks luster or is opaque, one may suffer from family problems or at the hands of one's enemies.

Depending on one's occupation, different colored yellow sapphires should be worn. A priest, teacher, scientist, or intellectual should wear a whitish yellow stone. A ruler, soldier, or administrator should wear rosy yellow. A businessman, farmer, or banker should wear yellow. A laborer or servant should wear blackish yellow.Yellow sapphire should not usually be worn if according to the birth chart, Jupiter is lord of the sixth, eighth, or twelfth house.

A yellow sapphire should be set in a gold ring on a Thursday. It is advised not to use a gem of less than two carats, but avoid gems of exactly six, eleven, or fifteen carats. Best is a gem of either seven or thirteen carats.

The proper rituals should be performed to install the gem, and the following mantra chanted: Om brim brihaspataye namaha om . The ring should be worn on the index finger (Jupiter's finger, next to the thumb) or the ring finger of the right hand. It should first be worn on a Thursday morning of the bright half of the lunar month (when the moon is waxing), within an hour before sunrise. It is best to first put on the ring when Jupiter is in its own sign, in Cancer, in an exalted or friendly sign, or in the constellations of Pushya (best), Vishaka, Purvabhadrapada, or Punarvasu. Some authorities say it is best if Jupiter is at a favorable angle or in the same house as the Moon.

The substitutes for yellow sapphire are yellow zircon, yellow topaz, yellow pearl, heliodor, citrine quartz (should be at least five carats), and yellow tourmaline.

Because Jupiter is not compatible with Mercury and Venus, yellow sapphire should not be worn with emerald or diamond. Some authorities also say that yellow sapphire should not be worn with blue sapphire, cat's eye, or gomedha.The cosmic color to be enhanced is light blue, and the cosmic number is three. The affected element is ether, and the affected sense sound. The affected chakra is the sixth, Ajna, in the middle of the head, just above the eyes.

Stotra of invocation: Om devanam ca rishinam ca, gurum kanja nasam nibham, budhyi bhutam trilokesam, tam namami brihaspatim .