Amethyst

Meaning in lithotherapy

In the Crystal Vaults account (Linda Mason), amethyst is a “stone of spirituality and contentment”: it connects with the divine, gives spiritual protection and clears the energy field of negative influences. The same account stresses its double nature — the stone is said both to stimulate and to soothe the mind and emotions, and to help curb overindulgence. [121]

The Crystal Council calls amethyst a multidimensional stone. In its description the stone forms a protective envelope that helps a person keep a clear mind and steady energy, while its violet “rays” support contact with higher frequencies and the growth of intuition. A recurring theme is shedding the day’s weight and tension — in this current amethyst is meant to restore a sense of a safe place and of gratitude. [42]

Ways of working with the stone

Both sources treat meditation as the main way of working with amethyst. The Crystal Council suggests beginning with gratitude and “offering yourself up” to the stone’s violet light. Crystal Vaults gives a more detailed layout: a single crystal or small cluster is held in the left hand with the point towards the arm, or the stone is placed on the forehead over the third-eye chakra. Larger clusters are recommended for a meditation altar. [42] [121]

Beyond meditation, Crystal Vaults presents amethyst as an everyday stone: placed under the pillow or mattress it is said to support restful sleep, and set in a room or creative workspace it is said to focus and amplify the space. Worn in a ring or locket, or simply carried, it is meant to work through the day. The same author mentions the custom of wearing amethyst on the second finger of the right hand and its place at the north-east point of a crystal “medicine wheel”. [121]

Chakras, elements and astrology

These systems are not uniform. Both practitioner sources link amethyst with the crown and third-eye chakras, but they differ on the element: The Crystal Council gives air (“wind”), Crystal Vaults gives fire. The old astrological tables collected by Kunz also disagree: one places amethyst under Pisces, another under Aquarius; it belongs to Jupiter in one list and to Mars and Jupiter in another. [42] [121] [120]

Chakras

crown, third eye, etheric (The Crystal Council; Crystal Vaults also adds chakras above the crown) [42] [121]

Element

air (“wind”) according to The Crystal Council; fire according to Crystal Vaults [42] [121]

Zodiac signs

Virgo, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces (The Crystal Council); Pisces (Crystal Vaults; also an old verse calendar in Kunz); Aquarius in another old table [42] [121] [120]

Planets

Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune (The Crystal Council); Jupiter, or Mars and Jupiter, in old tables (Kunz) [42] [120]

Month and day stone

February (traditional birthstone); Thursday according to Crystal Vaults, Saturday as a “talismanic gem” in an old list in Kunz [121] [120]

Cleansing and “charging” in the tradition

Crystal Vaults recommends “clearing” amethyst from time to time by holding it briefly under running water while affirming that the stone is cleared. Programming the stone simply means holding it with an intention in mind. An interesting reversal of roles appears too: unpolished amethyst is said to “recharge” other crystals kept beside it. [121]

Older beliefs

Amethyst’s name comes from a Greek word meaning “not intoxicated”, and, as George Frederick Kunz wrote in 1913, the stone was long linked with protection against drunkenness. Kunz suggested that the belief arose from the stone’s wine-like colour, and that some ancient “amethysts” may in fact have been purple garnets: water poured into a red vessel looked like wine yet did not intoxicate. [120]

The Renaissance lapidary of Camillo Leonardi (Venice, 1502), cited by Kunz, attributed much more to amethyst: it restrained evil thoughts, quickened the intelligence, made men shrewd in business, calmed not only after wine but also in the heat of passion, protected soldiers and helped hunters. Kunz also notes amethyst amulets and scarabs in ancient Egypt, a Hebrew name for the stone associated with dreams and visions, and later Christian symbolism — amethyst as the emblem of the apostle Matthias and, among the Rosicrucians, of sacrifice and hope. [120]

Pliny the Elder (Natural History, book 37, chapter 40) ranked highest the amethysts of India, with “the very richest shades of purple”. He reported that “the magicians” credited the stone with preventing drunkenness — and derived its name from this — and claimed that, inscribed with the names of the Sun and Moon and worn at the neck with baboon hair and swallow feathers, it guarded against spells, ensured access to kings and averted hail and locusts. Pliny himself called these claims falsehoods. His translators note that his “amethystos” may have included other purple stones. [145]

Where the sources differ

The familiar story of the maiden Amethyst, turned to stone by Diana and stained with wine by Bacchus, is attributed to Ovid in Crystal Vaults and called a Greek legend by The Crystal Council. Kunz, however, traces it to a French poem by Rémy Belleau written in 1576. The emphasis differs too: The Crystal Council speaks mainly of mental clarity and relief from burdens, while Crystal Vaults develops the themes of spiritual protection, moderation and sleep. [121] [42] [120]

An Avonoria editorial suggestion

In the evening, write down three things from the day that you want to set aside. Place the amethyst on the note beside your bed as a sign that the day is closed; in the morning read it again and decide what really needs action.