Sincerity and peace of mind
Freedom from passion and from care
If they the amethyst will wear.
Oh, you are gonna love this. Amethustos in Greek means ‘sober’. Thus, Medieval kings and Romans drank from amethyst goblets to prevent drunkenness. Maybe worth a try. The goblet also being the purple color of wine, would also make weak wine look rich and tasty, especially the more you drank.
Now with this association with intoxication, Amethyst was thought to be Dionysus’ gem since he was the god of wine. According to Greek legend, after being kidnapped by sailors, Dionysus swore revenge and created vicious tigers to tear apart the next mortal who came his way. That backfired. It was the lovely maiden Amethyst that crossed his path and he had to protect her. His answer was to turn her into a statue. Devastated by the choice he made, he cried tears over her and with each tear the statue turned into this beautiful gem.
Well, what do you get from this lovely purple stone besides a fun night with the friends? Like the garnet, it has a long list of treatments for: eye problems, hypoglycemia, dyslexia, headaches/hangovers, blood sugar, mental healing, healing complexion, preventing baldness (rub it on the head daily maybe) and dissolving blood clots. It was also though to counter the’ third eye’ or evil thoughts, especially if worn with feather and baboon hairs. (I didn’t make that up.)
Amethyst symbolizes virtues of humility, sincerity, peace of mind and sincerity. Some Catholic churches even decorate with this gem because it is believed to encourage celibacy and symbolize piety. It is the sacred stone of Buddha in Tibet.
Ever hear of a Sark Stone? Just off the English Channel is an island called Sark and from there came an abundance of this gem. However, these amethyst gems were so popular that they have disappeared from the island. Yet, they still sell ‘sark stones’ but they are usually imported from Brazil.
Along with the ‘sark stone’ Amethyst is also referred to the ‘bishops’ stone’ because Medieval bishops served wine in amethyst cups for obvious reasons.
Now if you don’t drink or like purple, there is the other February gemstone…
Onyx
Onyx is thought to be a magical stone, that according to Magick of Kiram of 1686, that would cause a wearer to become invisible. You figure that out. And if a piece of onyx was engraved with a camel or two goats it would cause nightmares. In other words don’t wear this to bed. Okay?
Many of the ancients thought onyx could do many things including healing wounds, assisting in childbirth, helping with issues of the heart, kidney, nerves, hair, eyes and even strengthening fingernails. It may also help with objective thinking, eliminate negative thinking, apathy, enhance strength, stamina, and self-control and so much more. However, it was also thought to incite quarrels. Sounds fickle to me.
If this black stone is heated and dried, it is said to become even blacker. Onyx also comes in brown, white, and gray andcan be colored. The Mexican white onyx is thought to help with sleep and sharpen wits of the wearer. A beautiful thing about onyx is it is malleable enough to enhance jewelry, decorative boxes, bookends, figurines, knife handles, etc. and during The Art Deco period 1920-30’s onyx became quite vogue.
Onyx, of any color, is the gift for the 7th wedding anniversary while black onyx is specifically for the 10th year. Meanwhile, amethyst is the gift for the 1st or the 6th year. Now both onyx and amethyst are a hardy 7, thus you can also brush teeth and clean these semi-precious gems to keep teeth and gems sparkling.
