Amethyst is the birthstone of February. However, February has had more than this one birthstone. We’ll learn about the other birthstones of February as well as everything there is to know about Amethyst.
What Is Amethyst?
Amethyst is a gorgeous stone that comes from the quartz family. It’s well known for the beautiful shades of purple colors.
This stone is considered to be a healing stone that gives a calming and peaceful effect. This stone is believed by psychics to be a protective stone which is the reason that they wear it while performing spiritual duties.
Properties of Amethyst
Physical Properties of Amethyst
Amethyst has an incredibly unique purple color and is one of the few stones with this coloration. It contains trace minerals such as iron. Amethyst’s hardness is rated at a seven (Mohs scale).
This stone can be found in so many places around this world, especially in Brazil, North America, Italy, the Middle East, Uruguay, and Greece.
Metaphysical Properties of Amethyst
Amethyst has quite a few beneficial metaphysical properties to it. Balance, calmness, patience, and peace are the main ones. This stone is known as the calming stone and it works on all three planes of physical, emotional, and spiritual.
Royalty and nobility are associated with this beautiful purple color which gives this stone a luxurious classification.
Synthetic Amethyst
This gem is such a perfect imitation that it’s almost impossible to distinguish it from the real. This has caused the market for the real thing to fall horribly since people can’t be 100% sure they are getting the real stone.
The synthetic quartz gem has been around for a long time, many decades. This synthetic version is actually what made the quartz watch popular.
Meaning & Uses of Amethyst
Amethyst is known for its power to emotions and the mind and also to stimulate. There have been times in the past that the amethyst stone was as valuable as the diamond is today. This stone has the energy of passion and fire, spirituality, and creativity, as well as the logic of sobriety and temperance.
Manganese is what produces amethyst from a clear crystal. The color of Amethyst goes from light red-violet to deep, dark violet. The amount of iron that is added is what makes the purple color.
Enhances Passion & Creativity, Expands The Mind
The definition of Amethyst in Greek is “not intoxicated”.
The legend behind this stone is that Bacchus (the wine god) was mad over an insult and swore that the next person he encountered would be eaten by his tigers. This “next person” ended up being a beautiful girl named Amethyst. When the tigers jumped at her, she found protection from the Goddess of the shrine, Diana. Amethyst was saved by being transformed into a clear crystal. The wine god was so upset over what he had caused the tigers to attempt that as an offering to Amethyst, he poured the wine from his grapes over the crystal, and this is what gave Amethyst its beautiful purple coloration.
Since then, the virtue of Amethyst is preventing overindulgence and drunkenness.
Connects To The Divine In A Spiritual World
For the Egyptians: Hemag, in the “Book of the Dead”, is to be carved in a shape like a heart for an amulet for burials.
For the Hebrews: Ahlamah, it was the 9th stone of the High Priest’s breastplate. It was also the 12th stone for New Jerusalem.
In Eastern Cultures: The amethyst was used for worship in temple offerings. Also, to align astrological and planetary influences. It was extremely popular in prayer beads and rosaries. Amethyst is given credit for creating mental peace, calm, poise, and quietude.
Protective Light & Purifies Your Aura
Amethyst has an exceedingly high inherent frequency that helps to purify auras from negative attachments or energy. It also creates a shield of light that protects the body. It can help to develop psychic abilities as well as initiating a greater understanding. Amethyst is also known to give comfort to those who have lost loved ones.
The amethyst stone has the capability of strengthening the imagination and refining thinking processes. It helps in creating new ideas, in bringing projects to life, and in helping one be successful and focus.
When worn somewhere on the body like in a ring or necklace, it can enhance your environment as well as being used for rituals of healing.
Do not keep your amethyst in the sun for too long because it can fade. Also, to clear the stone’s energies, run it under some water for a short time.
Calms & Soothes
Amethyst is known as a natural tranquilizer. It gives relief from OCD and hyperactivity. For curing insomnia and having nice dreams, rub the middle of your forehead with the stone, counterclockwise or you can put it under your pillow as you sleep. Put it under a child’s pillow to keep them from being afraid of the dark or having nightmares.
It can soothe tempers, decrease the desire to gamble or overspend. It curbs unpleasant habits and can help with stopping the addiction to alcohol, drugs, or smoking.
Amethyst Varieties
Other varieties of amethyst that are combined with different minerals can add more qualities.
1. Brandberg Amethyst
This amethyst is a mix of smoky & clear quartz with amethyst. It’s only found in Namibia, Africa, and is suffused with amazing enhydros, phantoms, and other rare inclusions and formations. It’s a talisman that is very potent to healing and to perfection with an ability to bring one back toward their original atmospheric design so they can realign themselves with the Divine Source.
2. Chevron Amethyst
This stone has a V-shape chevron that’s a deep purple in color with white quartz that flows into the layers. Considered a third-eye stone that is used for stimulating the vision of the physical world as well as within yourself. It opens psychic and spiritual channels through its purple color. It has an energy that is focused and strong to repel and/or dissipate any negativity. This crystal is exactly what you need to learn forms of healing in the spiritual nature.
3. Cacoxenite Amethyst
This type of amethyst has dark brown to yellow colors mixed in. Cacoxenite is an important component and phosphate mineral in what’s called the Super 7 crystal and of course, the host crystal is the amethyst. By combining these it has new ideas and creativity by creating thoughts that have never been examined before. It raises awareness spiritually to nature’s beauty and people’s kindness. It’s a calming stone that creates a connection with the entire universe.
4. Ametrine Amethyst
Ametrine combines Citrine and amethyst together into the same stone. The two energies make for a balanced blend. It inspires an overwhelming amount of creativity with new insight and ideas. It’s also a healing stone that takes away tension and pain and it gives well-being and energy to your body and mind. It is a crystal that is an opening to contact a spiritual or angelic guide. If you want to have financial luck, leave the stone in sunlight from noon until the next morning so it can catch the lunar rays then wear the stone (necklace, ring, bracelet)
5. Rutilated Amethyst
This stone is an extremely rare form of amethyst that has Rutile in it though it actually has a brownish-colored crystal called Goethite. This is a mineral called “iron hydroxide” which is another mineral that is found in the Super 7 crystal. The stone Goethite finds the connection between the earth and the deep self. The amethyst combined with the Goethite clears the base chakras and the earth. It aligns the higher mind with the chakra system. It’s extremely helpful during times of grief. It helps to connect to other worlds.
6. Amethyst Quartz
This is a mixture of amethyst and milky quartz crystals. It contains both white and purple colors.
7. Cactus Quartz
The name comes from it having a cactus-type look to it. It’s only found in South Africa and it is a bigger than normal crystal that is surrounded by crystals that are smaller.
8. Canadian Amethyst
Having a “Hematite coating that is under the surface this amethyst is found only in Ontario, Canada.
9. Lavender Amethyst
The color of this stone is a paler color than an amethyst which gives it that lavender look.
10. Veracruz Amethyst
This stone gets its name from the area that it is mined, Veracruz, Mexico. It has the form of a prismatic, big crystal.
Amethyst Healing Properties
Physical Healing
- Improves your skin’s appearance
- Enhances your immune system
- Regulates your hormones
- Improves your endocrine function
- Reduces your headaches
- Promotes digestive health
Keep in mind that these physical healings are not proven, they are simple claims.
Emotional & Mental Healing
These are claims that have not been proven either.
Amethysts have been the topic of myth and legend, especially about mental health healing.
The story behind this is from Greek mythology:
Rhea, (a titan), gave Dionysus, (god of wine) an amethyst stone, this was supposed to keep his sanity intact. Ancient Romans were led to think, because of this, that amethyst would help them not to get drunk.
Natural health doctors may use these stones to treat addiction, but they don’t use them for the reasons the Romans did.
Amethyst stones are used to aid in calming and serenity. People who know how to use stones might use them to help with pain and anxiety.
In the fifteenth century, the pearl was the February birthstone. This stone is not made from geological activity but from biological procedures. A pearl is made when an invertebrate coats foreign annoyances with mother-of-pearl which gives birth to a pearl. A pearl is the symbol of love and purity, which is why the pearl is often used for wedding rings.
What makes pearls rare is that they are the only gems that are made inside a living creature. Pearls that are natural are hard to retrieve from the depth of the ocean, so an invention was made from culturing salt with freshwater pearls to make pearls that are close to the ones that are naturally formed.
During the period between the fourteen hundreds to the nineteen hundreds this stone was meant to be for the eleventh zodiac sign which is Aquarius and part of the coinciding month which is January. When it failed to equal garnet then the hyacinth stone fell to the month of February. The invasion into the following month also proved to be useless because, in 1912, America gave the gem Amethyst to the birthstone for February.
This is a stone that is thought to be made from the ray of the moon. It is also believed that it can be dissipated by those same rays. This stone can be utilized in a bunch of different colors such as brown, pink, green, peach, white, grey, and blue.
Chandrakanta is abundantly found in Mexico, Sri Lanka, Armenia, India, Norway, and Australia. It is commonly known because of its claim to having magical qualities that are associated with dreams and mystery. It’s also well known for the healing qualities that it has.
Chandrakanta claims to have many influences on humans. One is that it is a gem for lovers because it’s supposed to enhance passion and emotion. It also claims to aid in financial success. Another influence it claims to have is that it can cause a balance between nature’s rhythm and our human body. It balances the two most beautiful life forces, needs, and want. Last but not least, it is considered to be a stone of good luck.
This stone also has a claim to healing such as:
- Yin & Yang forces
- Aiding in beautiful dreams
- Help in curing epilepsy
- Used in meditation
- Relieves anxiety & stress
From the old Tibetan calendar, the birthstone for February is a bloodstone gem. This is a green opaque variety that has speckles of red. This red is usually red jasper. The bloodstone is thought to amplify courage and enhance physical strength which is why the bloodstone is worn by warriors and athletes in ancient times.
