Amethyst: Meaning, Properties and Powers

Amethyst: Meaning, Properties and Powers by Caroline Lucas

In the ranks of crystals with metaphysical properties, few are as famous or as distinctive as amethyst. One of very few stones with its unique deep purple coloration, amethyst is a form of quartz that contains iron and other trace minerals within its structure. Just like Fluorite, Amethyst is a meditative and calming stone which works in the emotional, spiritual, and physical planes to promote calm, balance, and peace. It is also used to eliminate impatience.

Amethyst is one of the stones that was most highly prized in the ancient world, and continues to be prized by many people today. Amethyst is found all over the world, with some of the most precious deposits still found the vicinity of Greece, Italy, the Middle East, and the north of Africa.Today, it can also be grown very easily in laboratories, just like most quartz crystals. There is no problem with using laboratory-grown amethyst – the only reason not to is if you are interested in using a piece of amethyst that comes from a specific place that has personal meaning to you.

As long as you are actually buying amethyst, and not purple-coloured glass, the characteristics are exactly the same, and laboratory amethyst sidesteps the problems with worker safety that many mined gemstones face. The legendary powers of amethyst are virtually unmatched and it holds a unique place in the ranks of crystal lore.

Why Would You Use Amethyst?

Amethyst is one of relatively few gemstones with the specific purpose of improving intellectual and cerebral thought. There are many stones that are purported to enhance psychic powers, and many more that improve emotional intelligence, but the numbers of stones that have specific positive effects on the intellect are much rarer. Perhaps this is because, for much of western culture, intellectual thought has been something that was highly praised as a skill that had to be learned in schools, and used as a status symbol among those who were wealthy enough to pursue higher education!

While higher education is excellent (and amethyst won’t grant you intelligence all on its own) it can certainly help you to apply your intellectual powers to any situation you might face. It can help you think both soberly and critically about the situations you face, which will lead you to far greater success in handling them.

It is worth remembering that Amethyst gained its name from the Ancient Greek word meaning “not intoxicated”. It was said to prevent against drunkenness, and that its bright colour came from the god of wine, Dionysus, pouring out his wine over a clear crystal in mourning. Because of this, amethyst has long been said to promote sobriety – both in the literal sense of preventing drunkenness, and in the metaphorical sense of developing an ability to think more clearly and not be clouded with emotion of any specific sort. That emotion might be blind optimism or blind pessimism, but either way, it is blind – and amethyst can help you open your eyes.

This is a wonderful crystal to use if you frequently find yourself in situations where you are unsure how to take action because of your emotions. It is important to remember that emotions are a valid and necessary part of the human life experience, and they should not be discounted.

At the same time, however, emotions can be dangerous, because everyone’s emotional response to the same situation will be difficult, and it can be very difficult to communicate emotions between people.

Amethyst geodes will help you build the skill to critically analyze emotions, appreciate their weight and worth, and then choose whether to act on them, or whether to acknowledge their validity and then set them aside to act on intellectual decisions instead.

 How Will Amethyst Help You?

Amethysts are the great problem-solvers of the crystal world. Because of their ability to help you cut through difficult situations and understand what you are really seeing in front of you, they make it possible to get through difficult choices and decision-making processes as painlessly as possible.

Because of this, amethyst is an invaluable crystal when you have to solve a difficult problem with others, especially one where emotions are running high – or one where, as is so often the case, lots of people are talking, but no one is listening, and no one really knows what’s going on.

This happens more often than you’d expect, even in high positions in businesses, or between married couples!

Amethyst will help you listen to other people’s concerns, and then formulate and clearly articulate solutions in a highly practical, helpful way. It will help you address every concern that is brought to the table in a way that is most effective for the interests of everyone involved.

Amethyst crystals are also known for their rulership of the crown chakra. While there are dozens of stones associated with every chakra and amethysts are one of the best known for the crown. This is interesting, because the crown chakra is the chakra of spirituality, which many people (both religious and unreligious) see as diametrically opposed to the logical, even scientific thought that amethyst promotes. However, in reality, a critically engaged way of thinking is one of the best ways to reach higher philosophical understanding of the world. If you feel out of place in your spiritual community, perhaps due to feeling like you don’t really understand other people’s interpretations or spiritual experiences, then amethyst will help you come to an understanding of those that can lead you to a higher understanding of both yourself and the universe.

 Amethyst, Healing and Health

Amethyst is an excellent crystal to enhance physical vitality, especially after chemotherapy, radiation, or pharmaceutical treatments. It’s an energizing healer on a physical level because it can strengthen the adrenal glands, the reproductive organs, and the heart. It can aid in the treatment of disorders that affect the lungs, pancreas, and spleen. It can also stimulate fertility and help in the treatment of conditions related to the reproductive system.

Amethyst can work in strengthening the immune system. It can also help you achieve a speedy recovery from a severe illness. It can be effective when it comes to cell regeneration. Amethyst is a natural stress reliever and can also detoxify the body. Emotionally, amethyst is used in crystal healing to help heal personal losses and grief, bringing one gently past painful experiences. Amethyst has a gently sedative energy that can promote peacefulness, happiness, and contentment. It also is said to bring emotional stability and inner strength. This stability and strength not only helps one hold firm in one’s life, but it can enhance flexibility and cooperation.

 Amethyst and Wealth

Amethyst is an excellent crystal to have when you’re serious about building your personal wealth, growing your business, or sharing your abundance with the people you love. It will foster creative output, brilliant ideas, and dedicated work. It’s the ideal crystal to put on your work table or office desk so that your productivity will be high. Amethyst will invite harmony in your professional relationships and prosperity in your financial life.

 Amethyst for Love and Relationships

Amethyst can help manifest your true self rather than be influenced by others to conform to other people’s expectations.

You will realize that only when you’re honest with yourself will you experience genuine happiness and satisfaction.

This crystal’s energies will help you understand your own needs, wants, and desires in your relationship.

You will know what truly makes you happy and just how you want to be loved or taken care of.

Amethyst will stimulate your heart and open yourself up to more love. It will break down your walls, and it will release all your fears and worries about love.

It can eliminate destructive actions and ideas and replace them with only affirmative, empowering, and uplifting ones.

You will be more confident in sharing how you feel, and you will be looking forward to the future more.

Amethyst can help you remove the lethargy in your relationship. With hard work and commitment, you will be able to restore what was lost and rekindle the passion that has been missing.

It will get rid of grief, despair, anger, or defeat. It will soothe emotional wounds and alleviate the pain that comes with emotional trauma.

Amethyst can help you confront your emotional issues and overcome them. It can bring your hidden or suppressed feelings to the surface so that something positive will take place.

You will have a more honest communication, and you will be surrounded with compassionate energies.

There will be more passion and engagement in your relationship. You will be feeling adored, admired, and appreciated.

Just like Selenite and Sunstone, Amethyst energies can give you comfort when you need it. You will never feel alone because you will find a way to be happy and contented even if you are by your lonesome.

You will know what to do when the hurt becomes unbearable, and you will know how you can stand up and move forward.

Amethyst will help you demonstrate strength of heart and mind. You will not be deterred by a few bumps in the road and by the mountains that you need to climb.

You will let your spirits be lifted up, and you will allow yourself to be happy. You will not dwell on the sadness and the hurt, but you will focus on the things that you want to manifest in your relationship.

Amethyst will support your growth as a person and as a partner in life. It will reassure you that there’s no fear in endings or beginnings because they are all just a part of living and loving!

Amethyst is also known to promote better relationships on an intellectual, cerebral level.

If you feel that your relationship is physically fulfilling but perhaps you aren’t connecting with your partner in every way that you would like to, you can use amethyst to develop a stronger mental relationship.

This will very quickly translate to an improved emotional relationship, since sharing thoughts and sharing emotions are intimately tied together.

 How to Use Amethyst for the Best Results

Amethyst is an extremely popular crystal for jewelry – and for obvious reasons! Purple is a colour that still carries a connotation of luxury, and it’s also relatively rare in the natural world, so many people love to wear it simply for that reason.

 Faceted Amethyst

Because it is linked to the crown chakra (and, to a lesser extent, to the psychic energies of the third eye chakra), it is highly beneficial to wear amethyst crystals close to the physical locations of these two chakras (which are the top of the head and the centre of the forehead, respectively). Hair pins with amethyst are the best way to get it as close as possible to your crown chakra. Wearing a circlet with an amethyst droplet that rests against your forehead is a lovely, if avant-garde way to wear an amethyst for your third eye!

Ancient Greeks also claimed that wearing amethyst near the navel prevented drunkenness or intoxication, so if you happen to be going to a party but don’t want to get too drunk, then wearing an amethyst on a belt buckle, in your front pocket, or (if you’re daring) as a navel piercing will promote that effect.

Remember, however, to take precautions if you are drinking, and not to drive while under the influence of alcohol, even if you have amethyst to help you!

Amethyst is also a great crystal of travelers, so carrying a piece with you when you are taking journeys is a wonderful way to harness its energy for protection and safety while travelling. Preferably, it should be carried on your person to protect you, rather than staying in your luggage (unless, of course, you decide your luggage’s safety is more important than your own).

Because amethyst has a wonderful effect on the mind, place it where you do any work with your brain – whether that’s by your bookshelf where you read, by your working desk, or even next to your bed if you do your best thinking right before falling asleep (as many of us do!) Amethyst also has a long tradition in medicines, said to ease the stress that blocks recovery from almost any ailment.

 The Best Combinations to Use with Amethyst

Amethyst is very effectively paired with stones that promote emotional wisdom, to go alongside the intellectual wisdom that amethyst provides.

Many such stones exist, and you may find any of them to be successful, but some extremely popular ones include moonstone, which focuses on the nurturing elements of emotional wisdom, and aquamarine, which takes a more psychic and spiritual approach.

If you are using amethyst as a crystal for your crown chakra, then it can be combined with any other chakra crystal in order to directly address issues that your crown chakra and any other chakra may be able to solve in conjunction. For example, if you are interested in using your spirituality as a source of inspiration for your career, then you may want to pair your amethyst with a crystal that rules the solar plexus chakra (the chakra of ambition), such as topaz or sunstone.

Virtually any problem can be addressed with the right combination of chakra stones. Amethyst can also be combined with stones that develop a stronger tie to the earth, especially those that rule the root chakra. This can prevent the all-too-common problem among those who are trying to develop themselves intellectually of becoming too cerebral, and losing your ability to focus on reality.

Some such stones include jasper, bloodstone, and hematite.

 Amethyst Properties and Uses

All of these stones, and others like them, will keep you firmly rooted in reality and protect your ability to make decisions that will have positive practical outcomes rather than becoming excessively theoretical at the expense of practicality. Additionally, amethyst can be paired with stones that have protective powers that prevent against negativity, to great effect. For example, you may wish to pair your amethyst with tourmaline, which has an extremely strong ability to repel negative energies or people.

If you don’t want the effect to be quite as strong, then you can also pair amethyst with tourmalated quartz, which maintains that ability to dispel negativity, but pairs it with quartz’s ability to bring light into the void left behind by the negative parts of your life that leave you. If you are using amethyst in conjunction with any crystal at all, it is worth spending some time in low-stakes situations with the two of them together.

This will give you a better feel for their energy, as amethyst can sometimes be a bit of a “primadonna” crystal and not play well with the energy of every other crystal you may bring it into contact with.

 My Final Thoughts on the Power of Amethyst

There is a reason that amethyst remains one of the most popular stones for magical workings! Its energy is unique and has powers that few other stones do. There are not many stones that have the profound ability to recognize emotions without becoming embroiled in them that characterizes amethyst.

As such, this is an invaluable crystal if you work or live in any type of circumstance where you are routinely faced with situations where tensions run high, and where people have trouble communicating their emotions. In other words, virtually every job and every relationship, at times! There are few stones that have a history as long as amethyst’s, and even fewer that are just as useful today as they were in the ancient world. However, amethyst is certainly one of them, and something that every person should have in their collection. Are there any stones that you know of that have the same powers that amethyst does? I haven’t found one yet!