February Birthstone: Amethyst
Amethyst
Meaning: The meanings generally associated with the Amethyst are clarity of mind and calming of passions.
History: The Amethyst has a rich history and it was highly revered by many cultures (especially middle eastern cultures) for hundreds of years. Some deemed the amethyst more beautiful than the ruby and the sapphire, (today’s most esteemed gems). In Biblical history, it was one of the gems on Aaron’s breastplate, and the 12th layer of gemstones constructing part of the New Jerusalem in the vision of St. John.
Some background:
Purple has long been a color of royalty because it was extremely expensive to make purple dies, and therefore only the rich could afford the color. Because of this, bishops of the Christian church liked to wear rings of amethyst because its purple color symbolized the kingship (or royalty) of Christ and the richness of his reign. **side note - for this reason, (among others), purple has been the color for Advent and Lent in the liturgical seasons of the church because they are seasons marking the wait for the coming of the King. Therefore the amethyst held special significance in the history of the Church.
There are several Greek and Roman legends of the Amethyst stone, though it is suspected that perhaps the French poet Remmy Belleau of the 1500s created one or more of these legends in his writings to sound like an authentic myth. (Pretty funny, right?) His version goes like this: Bacchus, the Roman God of wine, was stewing in anger over an insult, so he vowed to unleash his tigers on the next poor person who crossed his path. But to his great remorse, a beautiful maiden named Amethyst walked by on her way to the temple to worship the Goddess Diana. To prevent her from the horrible fate of the tiger’s claws, Dianna quickly turned her into a pure white stone of quartz. To honor her and show his remorse, Bacchus poured wine over the stone and stained it a deep violet purple.
Name Origin: Whatever the myth surrounding Amethyst is, the word comes from the Greek ‘Amethystos’ translated, ‘not drunk.’ The Greeks believed that if you were wearing an amethyst on your person, you could drink to your heart’s content and not become intoxicated.
Sources: Currently, the largest supply of the world’s amethysts come from Brazil.
Fun Facts:
· The Smithsonian has an amethyst that weighs 400lbs!
· Legend says St. Valentine wore a ring of amethyst carved with an image of cupid.
· It is the gemstone for the 6th anniversary of marriage. (Side note: this is fun for me, because I was married on the 6th of February and – completely unintentionally – my wedding colors were silver and amethyst purple.)
· The amethyst is the stone of St. Matthias
· Because the Amethyst is said to calm passions and promote clarity of mind, some psychics will keep this stone near their tarot cards or ocular instruments.
· It is said that rubbing a moistened amethyst over pimples will make them disappear. (Hmmm, maybe I’ll try that on my kids when they become teenagers and come to me needing acne help…)
· Leonardo Da Vinci believed that Amethyst stone had an ability to enhance intelligence.
· Tibetan priests believed the amethyst aided meditation and therefore shaped the stone into prayer beads.
