Description
Member of the quartz family
Hardness: 7
Month: February
Zodiac: Virgo, Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius
Planet: Saturn
Tarot: Suit of Swords
Element: Wind/Air
Found: Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, Africa, Russia, Canada, USA
Sensitive to the sun – they will fade over long periods of exposure
Goddess Association: Artemis, Diana
*Like Rose Quartz, Amethyst will give its color back to the sun if left in its direct light for an extended period of time.*
Geological Information
Amethyst is a member of the quartz family with a trigonal crystal system. Its varied purple color comes from the combination of trace amounts of iron and aluminum, plus natural and sometimes applied irradiation. Amethyst is produced in abundance from the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil where it occurs in large geodes within volcanic rocks. Many of the hollow agates of southwestern Brazil and Uruguay contain a crop of amethyst crystals in the interior.
One of the largest global amethyst producers is Zambia in southern Africa with an annual production of about 1000 tons. Uruguay, southern Africa produces the darkest known amethyst on Earth.
Amethyst occurs at many localities in the United States: the Mazatzal Mountain region in Gila and Maricopa Counties, Arizona; Red Feather Lakes, near Ft Collins, Colorado; Amethyst Mountain, Texas; Yellowstone National Park; Delaware County, Pennsylvania; Haywood County, North Carolina; Deer Hill and Stow, Maine and in the Lake Superior region of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario in Canada.
Metaphysical & Spiritual Properties
Amethyst is a gemstone often worn by healers, as it has the power to focus energy. A healer will usually wear several pieces of jewelry with amethysts set in silver, especially an amethyst necklace. The person to be healed will have an Amethyst to hold while the healing is being done. The healer will place another piece on the area of the body in need of healing, the heart or lungs usually.
This is a classic meditation tool. It carries a beautiful violet ray of healing. Carrying a sweet, high energy, it encourages spiritual expansion while clearing & strengthening the auric fields. Because it is such a high vibration stone, healing, clearing & protecting ones fields, it is said to protect & ward off lower frequency vibrations.
Amethyst facilitates connections to higher realms, opening one up to psychic abilities, dream states and intuitive work while offering a vibration of spiritual contentment. It is an excellent stone for meditation and may be used for purification and regeneration on all levels of consciousness. Before meditation, you can use a singing bowl to align the energies of amethyst – the frequency of the singing bowl will help to align the crystal structure to direct energy more efficiently.
~Amethyst crystal clusters are used to keep the air and life force in the home clean and positive.
~Used as a dream stone and to help insomnia. Put an amethyst under your pillow to bring about pleasant dreams, or rub it across your forehead to offer relief from a headache.
~Placed around your home, office, mediation space creates a bubble of light and protection.
~Symbol for sobriety
Neolithic people in Europe used Amethyst as early as 25,000 BC, and in ancient Egypt it was made into beads. Long viewed as a stone of royalty, it was used in crowns, rings, scepters and is still used by the Catholic bishops. It received its name from the Greek word “not drunken”. Its nickname, The Sobriety Stone, comes from a story based on the Greek god Bacchus.
In his poem “L’Amethyste, ou les Amours de Bacchus et d’Amethyste” (Amethyst or the loves of Bacchus and Amethyste), the French poet Remy Belleau (1528-1577) invented a myth in which Bacchus, the god of intoxication, of wine, and grapes was pursuing a maiden named Amethyste, who refused his affections. Amethyste prayed to the gods to remain chaste, a prayer which the chaste goddess Diana answered, transforming her into a white stone. Humbled by Amethyste’s desire to remain chaste, Bacchus poured wine over the stone as an offering, dyeing the crystals purple.
Variations of the story include that Dionysus had been insulted by a mortal and had sworn to slay the next mortal who crossed his path, creating fierce tigers to carry out his wrath. The mortal turned out to be a beautiful young woman, Amethystos, who was on her way to pay tribute to Artemis. Her life was spared by Artemis, who transformed the maiden into a statue of pure crystalline quartz to protect her from the brutal claws. Dionysus wept tears of wine in remorse for his action at the sight of the beautiful statue. The god’s tears then stained the quartz purple.
The Herkimer Diamond comes from only one place – Herkimer, New York, in the United States. The bedrock in which the crystals are found began forming approximately half a billion years ago in a shallow Cambrian Sea that lapped against the southern shores of the ancestral Adirondack Mountains (near the town of Herkimer, New York).
It is an exceptionally strong crystal for clearing electromagnetic pollution, radioactivity, and geopathic stress, and makes an excellent environmental spray or gem elixir.
Herkimer Diamonds have a crystal memory, accepting and retaining information which can be retrieved at a later time. They may also be programmed with thoughts of love, well-being, or healing for others to draw on.
Herkimer is a good crystal for teachers of spirituality and alternative therapies. As a power stone in the workplace, it brings positive attention and prosperity through high achievement, and assists with research and study as it stores knowledge. It is also beneficial in stabilizing company finances.
Larger Herkimers, even cloudy, included ones, may be used to grid a home, healing space or bed.
Known as the ‘attunement stone’, it can be used to attune oneself with another person, environment, or activity.
Exceptional for healing, meditation & vision work. Powerful amplifiers of spiritual energy. Raises the vibration & purifies its environment. Very programmable for specific purpose.
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