Stonewise: Amethyst

It's the last Wednesday of February, and so I went looking for additional stones that related to the month, the day of the week or the astrological sign...Amethyst came up a couple times, so Amethyst it is!

Amethyst has such an amazingly rich history that I can't possibly include it all in one blog post...which means I can come back to it later! Yay me! :D

So, here's some of what Ardriana says on this beautiful stone:

Amethyst is a transparent, coarse-grained variety of the silicon oxide mineral of quartz that is valued as a semi-precious gem for its violet color. Amethyst color ranges from a pale lilac to deep black purple, with the most valuable being deep purple. There's a "Color Change" variety that changes from dark purple to dark pink or varying lighter shades of the same. Bi-colored Amethyst is purple and lavender-white (not to be confused with Ametrine, which is Amethyst and Citrine). There's Rutile Amethyst, and Cape or Chevron Amethyst, which has milky white quartz to bold white quartz striations.

The name comes from the Greek, Amethystos, meaning "not drunken". The Hebrew word for Amethyst is Achlemah, meaning, "that which gives pleasant dreams".

Folklore: Connected to the god Dionysus, the Greeks thought it cured drunkeness. The legend of the origin of Amethyst comes from Greek myths. Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry was angered one day by an insult from a mere mortal and swore revenge on the next mortal who crossed his bath by creating fierce tigers to carry out his wish. Along came unsuspecting Amethyst, a beautiful young maiden on her way to pay tribute to the goddess Artemis. Artemis turned Amethyst into a statue of pure white crystalline quartz to protect her from the tigers' brutal claws. Dionysus wept tears of wine in remorse for his actions at the sight of the beautiful statue. The god's tears stained the quartz purple, creating the stone we know today.

Magick: Amethyst's nature is peaceful, sleepy, sweet dreaming, sober, noble, quick witted and deeply spiritual. With Amethyst's "anti-intoxicating" quality, it is a good stone to focus on for quelling compulsive passions. The "sacred" quality of Amethyst can focus on a connection with one's spiritual center to calm fears, reduce stress, dispel doubt and negativity.

Wear or carry to make the wearer gentle and amiable. Slip and Amethyst into your Tarot, or Rune bag for heightened intuitive abilities. Slip under your pillow for peaceful sleep and pleasant dreams.

Oh yes, I'll be coming back to Amethyst at a later date...

How I use it in my jewelry...the first bracelet I made was a Sleep Well, which I gave to my best friend. She suffers from migraines, but is allergic to most migraine medicines, so the best she can do is get a shot of a narcotic from her doctor and hope to sleep the headache out. This particular time she had already worn out the shot and was working on pain pills she'd also been given, but still no sleep.

She put on the bracelet and slept 12 hours that night, getting rid of the migraine.

This isn't the original Sleep Well design (strangely I have no pics of it), but the stones are the same.

The Amethysts are a central part to the bracelet, as you cannot have restful sleep without peaceful dreams. I really locked onto the dream warding aspect of Amethyst, and it's the first property I think of concerning the stone.

One of the first bracelets I sold was to an artist friend of mine, who picked the Sleep Well simply because she liked the colors. A month or so later, she came into the gallery, where I sometimes work, to tell me that the day before, she was taking a few minutes break on the couch and found herself thinking of all the things she had yet to do, while gently running her hand over the stones of her bracelet.

She then took the first daytime nap she's had in nearly 15 years. It was gentle and restful and altogether pleasant, which not all daytime naps turn out to be.

I love Amethysts. They're one of those stones I always saw as a cut above the other tumbled stones I collected. They were more precious, like the Garnet and Peridot chips I sometimes found. Later, when new mines were found, I discovered my love of the deep, deep purple Chevron Amethyst, and have quite a few pieces of it. There's so much history, lore and magick associated with Amethyst, it's truly a wonderful stone to have in your collection.

Someday I'll have a show piece, but until then, I'll be more than happy with the pieces I have...which is quite a few. ^^

And now you know a little more about why I do what I do.

Till next time, be well,

Red