Amethyst is the birthstone of the month February. The name amethyst is derived from ancient Greek word amethystos which means to intoxicate. In history Romans made drinking vessels with amethyst with the thought that it will prevent intoxication and reduce drunkenness. Amethyst is basically the violet variety of quartz. There is also a belief that it is also said to protect the wearer against seduction. It is crystalline quartz and I available is all shades of purple, lilac or mauve colors called amethyst. It is said to protect one from poison. In ancient days people used to where the amethyst beads around the neck for the sake of alleviating the snake bite poison. It has many other benefits like prevents insomnia and is said to cause a pleasant dream to the wearer. The crystalline amethyst lies between transparent to translucent. The more transparent the stone the more powerful the effect of the stone allowing the sun rays to pass through the stone. There are also other color varieties of the amethyst ranging from yellow, reddish brown, green and also white or colorless as a result of mild heating. The origin of amethyst is wide and is available in most of the western hemisphere like Brazil, Ontario, Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Uruguay, Vera Cruz, Guerrero.
Amethyst is one stone that is ardently known as the Bishop's StoneMany catholic bishops have been using this amethyst beads for ages and it is believed to symbolize humility, devotion, spirituality and piety. Further more amethyst is also widely used by healers and witchcraft. Healers usually wear necklaces made out of several patterns of the amethyst gemstones . They usually uses a talisman or charm made of amethyst to heal. It ails in healing the heart and the lungs mainly.
As a home décor the color violet is said to be more intense as it intensifies beauty and above all when sun rays pass through this lovely stone and into your home it is said to discard negative thoughts in the house. Ancient Egyptians hung pendants and wind chimes made of amethyst to discard feelings of guilt and fear. It was a common habit to hang amethyst stones in spiritual and psychic center to improve focus.
Amethyst is a power stone and it was proven and believed strongly to be so for ages. Having known the power facts about this lovely violet amethyst lets see what geologists have to say. The origin of amethyst was mainly from Rio do Sol and the maraba variety from para. The major source was from brazil and later was found to have wide geology. The refractive index is 1.544-1.553. The hardness is 7 on the moh’s Scale with a specific gravity of 2.65 - 2.91.
