The Wonders of Amethyst

                The amethyst crystal is used to calm your mind, heighten your psychic awareness and to protect yourself from life’s everyday stress.  You can place amethyst around your home for soothing vibrations or keep a small piece with you or a beautiful piece of jewelry.  It is the birthstone of Aquarius and a very versatile crystal. It stimulates all the energy centers of your body, mind and spirit.

                Amethyst is a spiritualists’ stone and has been valued for centuries.  It is mentioned in the Bible and worn by Pope’s.  It is believed by spiritualists to bring the divine into more mundane parts of your life.  Amethyst helps the soul to feel grounded and comfortable in your physical body.

                In biblical times, in Exodus, it is one of the 12 sacred stones worn on the High Priest Aaron’s breastplate.  In ancient Egypt ambassadors carried amethyst scarabs when traveling abroad.  Ancient Persians believed amethyst had the power to keep away hail and locusts.  In fortune telling amethyst foretells a change or transition or the change is the answer to a problem.

                It is an all-purpose crystal.  Use it to protect your home, carry with you out on the town or for meditation.

                Amethyst comes from the Greek word “amethystos” meaning “not drunken”.  In Greek myth amethyst was a pure young girl who refused to get drunk, thus incurring the wrath of Dionysus, the god of joviality.  The goddess Diana, to protect her from his wrath turned her into quartz.  Dionysus later regretted his actions and knocked over his wine goblet in despair staining the quartz purple.  Greeks believed therefore that amethyst protected against the effects of alcohol.

                Amethyst is linked to your body’s energy centers at the pituitary and pineal glands.  Located in the center of your forehead, the sixth or “third eye” chakra, this controls your higher intuition and spiritual awareness.  It encourages bravery and wisdom.

                Amethyst is the element of water which helps to balance your emotions and influences your dreams.  Shifting ideas between the conscious and unconscious mind.

                Amethyst is a violet stone that stimulates the Brow Chakra easing one’s pain, agitation and stress.  Also boosts our concentration and mental awareness.

                Purple stones, such as amethyst, is the color of spiritual development and love.  Purple inherits spiritual, psychic and emotional properties from its governing planets, the Moon and Uranus.  It is a good all-around stone in meditation.  It brings protection from hidden fears and is a good color for spells to improve luck.  It has long been used to represent high rank and noble blood from Roman emperors to the Roman Catholic Church.

                Wear a piece of amethyst jewelry to open the chakras to positive influences such as beauty and spiritual love.

                Amethyst is 7 on the Mohs scale of hardness and lower in impure varieties.  It is a purple variety of quartz and gets its violet color in irradiation iron impurities (in some cases in conjunction with transition element impurities) and the presence of trace elements, which result in complex crystal lattice substitutions.