Symbolizes perfection, protection, sincerity, peace and tranquility
Sources
Particularly found in Rio Grande, Brazil and Uruguay. Also, Russia, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia
Points of Interest
The Smithsonian has an amethyst that weighs 400 pounds!
In times of old, Amethyst routinely saw its place in the Catholic Church, worn on Bishops’ rings and used to adorn crosses. It stood for piety and celibacy.
Amethyst later has stood for the tribe of Dan, one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel (represented in the high priest Aaron’s 12 stone breast plate)..
The name amethyst derives from the ancient Greek word “amethustos,” meaning “sober”. It was said that an amethyst could prevent the wearer from becoming excessively drunk, and also instills a sober and serious mind.
There is a 2,000 year old story of Bacchus (the Roman God of Wine) who sent two tigers to attack a young maiden, named Amethyst, on her way to the temple of Diana, with gifts for the moon Goddess. As the white-clad girl was confronted by the ferocious tigers, she prayed for Diana to save her, and was almost instantly transformed into a pillar of clear crystal. Bacchus, pierced with remorse for what he had done, wept drunken tears of pity into his goblet. He then poured it onto the pure, fair creature and stained the quartz-encased Amethyst with deep purple wine and that is how the stone received it’s name and color.
Amethyst has been thought to have many attributes throughout history, and all of them are good. It was known as a gem that would bring forth the highest, purest aspirations of human kind.
Chastity, sobriety, and control over one’s thoughts were all attributes heightened by wearing the stone.
In Renaissance magic, an amethyst engraved with the image of a bear was worn as a protective amulet.
