Also called amethystos, purple quartz, bishop's stone
Amethyst is purple quartz, and its Greek name means not drunk: the ancients believed it guarded against drunkenness. Today people treat it as a stone of sobriety, calm and clear thinking, kept by the bed or worn as a reminder.
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Take care: Amethyst is hard and safe to handle. Do not drop stones into drinks, since small pieces can be swallowed and some are dyed or glued. For real problems with alcohol, a doctor, counsellor or group such as Alcoholics Anonymous is the place to start.
The Greek amethystos means not intoxicated, and ancient writers held that wearing the stone or drinking from an amethyst cup kept wine from going to the head. Pliny the Elder also discussed amethyst among the gems in Book 37 of his Natural History.
Uses: amethyst cup or ring
The often-told myth that Bacchus pursued a nymph named Amethyste, whom Diana turned to white stone and Bacchus stained purple with wine, is not ancient. It was written by the French poet Remy Belleau in 1576, in a book of poems on gems.
Amethyst became a favoured stone for bishops' rings, read as a sign of sobriety and spiritual clarity. Legend also says St Valentine wore an amethyst ring carved with a Cupid, which the GIA repeats as lore.
Uses: amethyst ring
Amethyst is quartz coloured purple by traces of iron and natural irradiation. Its name comes from the Greek amethystos, not drunk, and Greeks and Romans believed the stone protected against intoxication, perhaps because its colour recalls watered red wine. The Gemological Institute of America notes that amethyst was priced alongside ruby and emerald until the 19th century, when huge deposits were found in Brazil. It is the February birthstone and the gem of the 6th and 17th wedding anniversaries.
The pretty myth of the nymph Amethyste is not classical; it was written by the French poet Remy Belleau in 1576. Christian Europe made amethyst a bishop's stone, and modern crystal users treat it as a stone of calm, sobriety and intuition. Crystal healing has no scientific support: in a 1999 Goldsmiths experiment by Christopher French and colleagues, volunteers holding fake crystals reported the same sensations as those holding real quartz. Sunlight can fade amethyst, and heating it turns it yellow, which is how most citrine is made. Synthetic amethyst is common and hard to spot without lab testing.
A short calming ritual with a blue candle, slow breathing and handing your worries to something outside yourself, drawing on folk customs like Guatemalan worry dolls. It is a comfort practice, not treatment for anxiety.
A smooth, palm-sized stone, often with a shallow thumb-shaped dip, that you rub between thumb and finger to settle an anxious mind. It is part folk charm, part self-soothing habit, and its many claimed origins are mostly unproven.
A bedtime ritual for restful sleep using a lavender sachet and an old English bed blessing. It draws on centuries of bedside charms and herb-strewn bedding.
Tell us what you need and we will craft a custom spell, charm or reading for it. Or call to book a reading or a road blessing in person.
