Amethyst Meaning, Birthstone and Jewelry
Anna 27 Feb 2020 9140 Before tackling the subject of amethyst meaning, amethyst is a semi-precious gemstone with a very lovely purple color to it. It is actually a variety of quartz. The iron impurities found within the gemstone are what makes it purple.
The color is very unstable, though, and can vary greatly from pale lilac or lavender to deep and vibrant violet. The deeper the purple color is of the amethyst, the more valuable it is.
Amethyst is graded by color and has several terms used to describe the different color grades. The deepest or most vibrant purple stones are known as Siberian amethyst even though they can come from anywhere in the world. Amethyst with a medium-tone purple is called Uruguayan, and amethyst stones with lighter purple color are called Bahrain.
The very lightest color Amethyst stones are sometimes referred to as, “Rose of France”. The stones are pretty durable ranking in as a 7 on Moh’s hardness scale and they are found in various areas all over the globe.
While the stone is pretty abundant naturally, it is also often created in a lab to save on costs. Read more about amethyst meaning as well as the rich and interesting history of this gemstone below. Don’t forget to check out our incredible amethyst jewelry recommendations too!
Amethyst History
The oldest record of it being used was by the ancient Egyptians as far back as 4000 B.C. They used polished, carved amethyst for various reasons including as decorations. One of the things they did with amethyst in ancient Egypt was carved it into heart shapes and use it to help the deceased make their journey to the spiritual world.
For ancient Egyptians, the amethyst stone also represented the zodiac sign for the goat. This is important to note because goats were seen as the enemies of vineyards, which is interesting because all throughout history, the stone has represented sobriety and/or the lack of intoxication.
Sometime around 1300, the Greeks actually gave the stone its name. The word amethyst means, “sober” or “not drunken”. There is actually a legend told by the Greeks about the stone and its name.
The story seems to vary a bit between different sources, but the gist of it is consistent. The Greek god Dionysius – most commonly known as the god of wine and/or grapes – had supposedly been upset or offended by a human.
Seeking revenge, the god decided that he would unleash his rage on the first human he encountered. A poor virgin girl with the lovely name Amethyst ended up being his target. She had been on her way to worship the Greek goddess Diana. While on her way, Dionysius unleashed his tigers to attack the girl.
In desperation, she called upon Diana to help her. Mercifully, Diana saved Amethyst by turning her into a clear quartz stone that couldn’t be harmed by the tigers.
Realizing what his fury had caused, the god Dionysius felt immense guilt. As an offering of regret and apology, the god poured wine out onto the stone that had once been the young girl.
Some versions of the story actually say that Dionysius shed tears of wine over her stone rather than pouring it. Either way, as the wine soaked into the colorless stone, it became a beautiful purple color just the same as the lovely gemstone we all know today.
The Greeks believed so strongly in the sobering powers of the gemstone that they would wear rings of amethyst while drinking to avoid getting drunk. They even sometimes carved goblets of amethyst to use for drinking wine because it was thought that if they drank from the gemstone that the wine would have no power in intoxicating their mind.
The stone also held some religious meaning throughout time. It was even considered the, “Stone of Bishops” within the Christian religion. Where it was really popular, though, was among different royal circles around the world.
This was true in ancient Egypt, and long-running rumors suggest that it was a favorite gemstone of Catherine the Great of Russia. Amethyst even made it into the British Crown Jewels.
The popularity among royalty was likely due to the beautiful rare coloring of the stone. It’s also quite possible that the modern-day association between the color purple and royalty stems back to this early popularity of the gemstone. Fascinatingly, the now very common stone was once considered to be equal in value to diamonds.
After large deposits of amethyst were found in South America, the stone stopped being considered rare and became much more widely available. This, of course, also caused a considerable price drop making it generally very affordable. Now, it is can be purchased commercially.
Both the naturally occurring amethyst gemstone and lab-created amethyst stones are easy to come by.
Amethyst Meaning
There are a lot of special amethyst meanings behind this stone. The most prominent amethyst meaning is definitely the representation of sobriety, though. It is said to help curb addictive tendencies and supposedly can even help make managing newly found sobriety much easier.
While the focus with amethyst has generally been alcohol addiction, it is supposed to be beneficial for any addiction from cigarettes to food. The stone has even become a popular way to proudly display your sobriety after giving up an addiction such as drugs or alcohol.
Since these gemstones promote a state of mental clarity, they don’t just help you get sober but can help you stay that way.
It is a calming stone that is meant to relieve the stress of all kinds and help you to let go of unimportant things. It is also said that the wearers are more likely to receive great wishes. Traditionally, it is the stone that is to be given on the 6th wedding anniversary.
Amethyst Healing Properties
One of the things that is most popular and well-known for is its ability as a healing crystal. The stone is thought to be one of the most powerful healing crystals and has a wide range of abilities in this area.
These can be physical, emotional, and spiritual. Please remember that none of this is meant as medical advice and you should seek care from a professional if you have any medical issues.
✓ Physical Healing with Amethyst
Healing different physical ailments is a very popular use of the crystal. One of the top physical benefits that amethyst is said to have is the ability to get the endocrine glad functioning at its full abilities. This should help with properly regulating your hormone production, which has a myriad of health benefits of all kinds in and of itself.
Beneficial for your head in multiple ways, amethyst is a great headache cure and can also be used to combat the effects of tinnitus by helping to end the annoying and disturbing ringing in your ears associated with the ailment.
When amethyst is placed underneath the pillow that you sleep on at night, it can help to reduce sleeplessness and improve your overall mood and energy levels. In fact, it is a very energizing stone in general.
This stone also helps to ward away nightmares – especially in the case of reoccurring nightmares, making it a good sleeping aid overall. Digestive issues of all types can also be remedied by the powerful and versatile gemstone.
Some people believe that rubbing the stone on the skin gently can get rid of skin problems and help promote skin healing for everything from acne to bruises.
✓ Mental Healing with Amethyst
There are a lot of mental healing benefits that can be gained from it as well. Within children specifically, amethyst should help to alleviate hyperactivity issues making it perfect for use in children with ADHD. Interestingly, it is also supposed to help with this issue in pets!
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is another ailment that amethyst can help someone to move past and heal from. Amethyst helps to give you a more balanced psychological state. This is ideal for anyone suffering from schizophrenia and can help them to manage their condition better and live a more normal life.
Anyone that suffers from anxiety or general paranoia can also see improvement in their condition when using and wearing the gemstone. Because of the balance that the stone helps create within you psychologically, it actually can do some good for virtually any mental issues that you might be going through or dealing with.
✓ Emotional Healing with Amethyst
The healing with amethyst doesn’t stop there, though. It is also ideal for emotional support and healing. When suffering through hard times emotionally, amethyst is a great stone to help you learn to accept things that can’t be changed in your life. It also helps to clear your mind and keep you calm through times of great stress.
Depression has often been treated using amethyst among other methods. Weather you are just feeling a little down or you have been severely emotionally wounded, amethyst can be a great tool to help you get through it and come out a better you because of it providing you a more open heart that is open to change and healing.
✓ Spiritual Healing with Amethyst
Finally, it can really help with spiritual healing as well as physical, mental, and emotional healing. We really can’t say enough what a great overall, an all-around stone that this is for its many incredible uses and, of course, stunning looks that it has. Since it tends to be an eye-opening, mind-opening stone, it can often be used to combat doubts and for healing the soul and spirit.
It helps you to see things more clearly without anything to fog up what you are experiencing. It is definitely a truly incredible stone for meditation use. It has an additional set of special benefits to be gained from the stone while using it during meditation.
It helps to clear your mind, of course, which is vital for positive and beneficial meditation. It helps you get spiritual guidance for better decision-making and it helps you to have a more humble and generous heart.
Amethyst Birthstone
One of the other things that the crystal is best known for is its use as the birthstone for the month of February. This amethyst birthstone has more meaning all on its own.
If you were born in February, then wearing the stone is supposed to be especially beneficial for you. Through the mind-clearing abilities that we have already discussed, amethyst allows you to become more self-aware.
This awareness paired with the open mind it helps you to have on various matters will allow you to make the best decisions possible in any given moment or circumstance.
The amethyst birthstone for February is also perfect for getting those creative juices flowing and helping you to let go and be more of yourself.
Our Favourite Amethyst Jewelry Picks!
There are absolutely endless possibilities out there when it comes to amethyst jewelry. It is beautiful and has a nice and unique color to it. Sifting through all of those options can be a bit daunting, though.
So, instead of you having to go through the trouble, we are bringing you are our top picks for various types of amethyst jewelry!
PEORA 14 Karat White Gold Princess Cut Amethyst Pendant
Here is our absolute favorite amethyst necklace pick! This breath-taking necklace is refreshingly simple with just the perfect touch of a unique design. It features a stunning genuine natural amethyst stone that is an impressive 2.0 carats in size.
It has a very nice princess-cut to it and hangs at an angle as to create more of a diamond look instead of just a flat square look.
It is mounted using solid 14k white gold with 4 mounting prongs – one on each corner. From the front, the tips of the mounting prongs are the only white gold you see on the actual stone, but the stone has a white gold base underneath it. This helps give it a really sweet minimalist look.
The stone hangs down from a matching white gold chain with a dainty block chain design that certainly adds to the elegant feel of the necklace. It is 18 inches long.
The stone is a very lovely deep purple hue that adds significantly to its value and appearance. This is somewhat pricey, but definitely is worth the cost if you want a truly lovely necklace with great value to it.
Amazon Collection Sterling Silver Dangle Earrings
Since this gemstone is such a royal-looking and superiorly elegant stone, you will see a lot of fancy, high-end jewelry made from it. That includes these absolutely beautiful leverback dangle earrings from the Amazon Collection!
These earrings are the perfect fancy dress-up earrings for nicer occasions. Each earring features one large round-cut stone at the center of the earring with an additional smaller round-cut amethyst stone both above as well as below the center stone.
This gives it a really nice balanced look that is pretty and interesting. All of the stones are mounted using solid sterling silver and held together on the same base of silver.
They hang down perfectly from a leverback style design also made from sterling silver. This upper section of the earrings is textured for even better detail! They are mid-priced but mostly affordable to most budgets out there.
They are ideal to keep for those nice dress-up occasions now and then!
Solid 10k Yellow Gold February Birthstone Ring
Here is a perfect ring that shows just how incredibly well the purple of amethyst stones pairs will beautiful yellow gold. The purple hues of amethyst go great with any metal color, but when paired with yellow gold, there is something even more royal about it!
This ring is made from solid 10k yellow gold and features a nice, large, oval-cut amethyst stone right at the top center of the ring.
It is polished and multi-faceted for a stunning shine and sparkle like no other. The stone measures at just under 9mm in length and just under 7mm in width. It really stands out and grabs attention easily without becoming super overbearing as some jewelry pieces can do sometimes.
The stone is held securely in place with 4 yellow gold prongs and has a simple smooth gold band that goes all the way around the finger. On each side of the stone, small yellow gold rings produce outwards for a simple and elegant detail that won’t be easily forgotten.
It is a bit more on the expensive side, but still a very nice choice for a special occasion or just for when you feel like adding a little more flare and style to your look!
Handmade Amethyst Beads Stretch Bracelet
This sweet bracelet is the perfect choice if you are looking for a more subtle or more casual way to add amethyst into your wardrobe. This is actually a stretch-style bracelet, so it slides right over your hand.
It does not feature a clasp, which just makes it incredibly simple and easy to put on. You won’t need any help with difficult to reach clasps here.
The piece is strung with gorgeous semi-polished amethyst beads. The beads are cut smooth and round and have been polished, but it isn’t a high-polish finish. This actually gives it a really nice slightly opaque look that compliments the purple of the gemstone in a really cool way.
Each bead varies slightly in color and appearance because it is all natural, genuine, and handmade! It measures about 7 inches in length and should fit both men and women of generally larger size. The price is even right as this a very affordable cheap for seriously any budget at all!
