Worldwide, Amethyst has reigned supreme as the most popular quartz crystal for centuries. The use of Amethyst dates back to ancient Egyptian and Greek cultures, some 4000 years ago. The use of Amethyst is also mentioned in biblical transcripts.
Amethyst is sought after so highly because it is the stone that connects the ordinary to the sacred. Said to have a direct link to the divine, Amethyst helps us connect our humanness and spirituality.
We’ll help you discover the healing properties of Amethyst, its connection to the Chakras, and how you can use Amethyst in your daily life.
The Origins of Amethyst
Amethyst is an ancient crystal dating back thousands of years.
Greek mythology states it was formed when the virgin Amethyst was assaulted by the god of wine, Dionysus (also known as Bacchus), when he was drunk. Amethyst cried out to the goddess Diana, who protected her by turning her into a beautiful, clear crystal. When Dionysus realized what his rage had done, he wept into his wine glass, which spilled over, soaking the stone and staining it in a beautiful, purple hue.
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Physical Properties of Amethyst
Dionysus’ tears is a popular nickname for the Amethyst crystal, which is the most popular color variety of quartz. The deep violet color of natural Amethyst is well-loved for jewelry and meditation practice alike. It may feature color zones, which give the crystal a deep, mystical property that appeals to many. Along with Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, it is one of the most popular and valuable gemstones out there. While Amethyst is stunning in its natural form, it is also often found in round brilliant and emerald-cut designs.
Quartz stones form when silicas cool, usually very slowly, inside igneous and sedimentary rocks. Igneous rocks form from cooling hot lava, while sedimentary rocks form from mineral deposits inside other rocks.
Deposits of Amethyst can be found all over the world, with large mines in South America (specifically Brazil and Uruguay) and Africa (often in Zambia). In the United States, Amethyst is still mined in Arizona, under a small, private mining operation. Smaller stores have been found in North Carolina, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, as well as many other states.
Amethyst has a Mohs hardness of 7, making it an extremely hard stone, not prone to scratching or breaking. It also often appears as Amethyst geodes.
Because Amethyst is a silicate, its brightness and clarity depend heavily on how slowly the silicates cool inside other rocks. The longer it takes to cool, the deeper the color. Amethyst comes in shades of color ranging from light, pale purple to dark berry and indigo.
Untreated Amethyst will be crystallized, with hexagonal prisms that reflect light. Amethyst is also popular for tumbling, which smoothes the stone’s surface and results in a marbled or chevroned pattern. A tumbled Amethyst will not be crystallized in appearance but will be glass-like and opaque.
Amethyst is neither completely translucent nor reflective, which makes it all the more mesmerizing.
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Ancient Use of Amethyst
Different cultures have ascribed various uses and meanings to Amethyst, which give it a rich history and increase its desire.
Ancient Greeks thought Amethyst guarded against drunkenness, likely due to the connected mythology about Dionysus, and crafted their wine goblets from Amethyst stone. Ancient Egyptians believed in its healing powers and thought that it offered protection during travel.
Chinese cultures believed that Amethyst helped increase wealth, which is why Amethyst is used in Feng Shui as a means of wealth enhancement. Feng Shui also recognizes Amethyst as a means of providing balance, harmony, and cleansing.
Monarchs and royalty have viewed Amethyst as a stone of both power and humility, a delicate balance those in authority should seek. As such, you’ll find Amethyst encrusted into crowns, diadems, and even ancient warrior breastplates.
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Metaphysical Properties of Amethyst
Binding together the physical being with the spiritual being allows Amethyst to have the reputation as one of the most spiritually important stones in any collection. Amethyst helps increase spiritual awareness, heighten consciousness, and trigger psychic ability.
Amethyst helps connect you to the spirit realm by clearing the pathway between you and your spiritual guides. If you seek the guidance of other spiritual beings, like angels, Amethyst can help connect you. At the same time, Amethyst is a spiritual guardian, protecting you from spiritual attack and negative spiritual influence.
Emotionally, Amethyst helps bring balance. When faced with extremely strong emotions like grief, Amethyst helps cleanse the aura of sadness and regret and promotes the release of feelings that no longer serve you. This is especially helpful for grieving people, as it can provide freedom from grief when needed. Check out Top 15 Healing Crystals For Support During The Grieving Process.
Amethyst helps ensure emotional stability, reducing the strength of emotions and helping level anxiety and calm the mind. Amethyst promotes peace and tranquility and is even helpful in preventing nightmares and other unpleasant dreams due to its strong, spiritual vibration.
Amethyst also helps alleviate stress and improve motivation, making it an extremely useful crystal in the workplace and home. Amethyst emits a calming vibration that helps relieve high tension and increase feelings of rest and satisfaction.
Amethyst Crystal meaning
To find the true meaning of Amethyst, we look both to ancient cultural use and modern usage of the stone. The overarching use of Amethyst points to bridging the gap between our physical and spiritual beings, helping to keep us grounded as we journey through the spiritual realm and increase our awareness.
The word Amethyst translated means “not drunk,” so there is clearly a direct link to the use of Amethyst and the ability to remain self-controlled, guard oneself against addictive or unhealthy behavior, and make sound decisions free from temptation.
Amethyst and Chakra Connections
Because Amethyst is such a spiritually connected crystal, it’s no surprise that it is deeply connected to the Third Eye Chakra. It is thought that only when the Third Eye Chakra is open and clear can one truly begin their spiritual journey.
Amethyst helps cleanse, clear, and open the Third Eye Chakra, allowing spiritual energy to flow to and from the human body and mind, and the spiritual realm. You can use Amethyst bracelets to clear and open your Third Eye by simply having it present during your meditative practices or by placing an Amethyst crystal directly on your Third Eye.
The Amethyst crystal is also deeply connected to the Crown Chakra, which is the center of spirituality. Balancing the Crown Chakra helps you stay spiritually connected. When the Crown Chakra is open and clear, you are able to maintain contact with your spiritual guides and spirituality continuously.
A disruption in the Crown Chakra not only affects your spiritual journey and access to your spiritual guides but also hinders the function of the Chakras located below the crown. Wearing Amethyst hair accessories can help keep your Crown Chakra open and clear and free from aural smog.
When your Crown and Third Eye Chakras are blocked, you can experience physical ailments in addition to spiritual smog. These can range in intensity, but the longer your Chakras are left unattended to, the worse the physical symptoms will manifest.
Amethyst healing properties
Amethyst is a powerful healing stone that can help keep your body, mind, and spiritual being healthy and balanced. Using Amethyst in your daily rituals and ceremonies, as well as in your home and office, can help you maintain spiritual contact and even guard you against negativity. In fact, Amethyst is considered to be one of the best crystals for headaches.
Physical Healing Properties of Amethyst
Many times we experience physical illness when our Chakras become unbalanced or closed. Keeping Chakras healthy is vital to remaining spiritually well as well as physically strong and healthy.
The Third Eye Chakra
When the Third Eye Chakra is closed or filled with negativity, you can experience the following physical manifestations:
- Lack of mental clarity (such as: always feeling like you are in a mental fog, distracted, or unable to think clearly);
- Vision problems;
- Dizziness; and
- Sleeplessness.
Using Amethyst is a great way to help balance your Third Eye Chakra to ensure you don’t suffer from these conditions. You can balance your Third Eye Chakra by placing an Amethyst crystal directly on your Third Eye while lying on your back during meditation.
The Crown Chakra
Physical illness associated with an imbalanced Crown Chakra can be even more inconvenient and uncomfortable. An imbalance in your Crown Chakra can lead to:
- Headaches. This is the most common physical manifestation of a blocked or imbalanced Crown Chakra. If your Crown Chakra remains unbalanced, it can even lead to the development of migraine headaches, which can become debilitating;
- Hair issues including loss of hair; and
- Nerve pain.
These issues can be alleviated by balancing the Crown Chakra. Amethyst helps clear the Crown Chakra, keeping it open so you can enjoy health benefits from a balanced crown.
Amethyst is also powerfully connected to the endocrine system and can help to balance hormones and promote a more stable mood. Many menstruating users prefer to keep Amethyst near them during their monthly cycles to help ease physical discomfort they experience due to fluctuations in hormone levels.
Using Amethyst to support the immune system is another popular way users apply the healing benefits of Amethyst to their bodies. Does it seem like you always catch everything that goes around? If so, keeping Amethyst nearby can help support your immune system and help keep you better protected against the latest illness being spread around by your colleagues.
In fact, if you work in a large office or even a classroom, keeping an Amethyst on your desk can help support your immune system during cold and flu season, as it supports the respiratory tract.
Lastly, Amethyst has a calming vibration that is very deeply connected with peace and tranquility, which means it can help ease you into a better night of sleep. Keeping Amethyst by your bedside or placing a small crystal under your pillow can give you deeper sleep and defend against nightmares, especially if you frequently struggle with insomnia.
Emotional and Mental Healing
Amethyst is one of the most powerful emotional healers available. Because it is so deeply connected to your feelings and emotions, it helps support, balance, and readjust your mood. Keeping Amethyst close to you can give you a sense of calm like you’ve never experienced.
Just as ancient cultures relied on Amethyst to protect them against over-indulgence, you can use Amethyst today to help you avoid making unhealthy decisions. If you find that you struggle with drug or alcohol abuse, eating disorders, or even over-spending, Amethyst can help you avoid these temptations.
Amethyst helps resolve your mental obsessions by making them less appealing, lowering your desire for unhealthy activities, and increasing feelings of calmness and tranquility.
Using Amethyst also supports balanced emotions. Instead of feeling higher highs and lower lows, Amethyst helps ease the intensity of your emotions, allowing you to better accept and process them. An Amethyst helps you guard against being ruled by your emotions, which can help you make better decisions and think more clearly. They also promote empathy and consider to be one of the protection stones for empaths.
Spiritual Healing
Providing spiritual healing is the Amethyst crystal’s true showstopper ability. No other crystal is as closely connected with your spirituality as the Amethyst.
Amethyst helps open your mind and connect you to the spiritual realm. People who feel they are less spiritual, cannot reach their spirit guides, or do not “feel” a connection to the spiritual realm can benefit from Amethyst. Amethyst helps your spirituality by:
- Providing a gateway into the spiritual realm. If you feel you have trouble passing from the ordinary into the sacred, Amethyst bridges the gap;
- Creating a clear and safe channel for spiritual energy to flow both in and out of your aura;
- Protection against negative emotional and spiritual energy;
- Healing from partially completed spiritual work. Sometimes we begin a spiritual journey to heal past hurts or finish incomplete business from a past life but find ourselves too weary for the journey or simply at a spiritual impasse.
Amethyst helps soothe the hurt, increase your spiritual energy and vibration, and help you back on track to finish your spiritual business.
You’ll enjoy keeping Amethyst close in your spiritual ceremonies and rituals. Many users feel they are able to reach a higher spiritual level through the use of Amethyst in their practices.
For Healers
If you’re a healer, Amethyst is essential in your practice. Not only will you want to use Amethyst during your sessions with your clients, but you’ll also want to keep Amethyst around to promote balance and grounding in your own life.
Healers know the value of cleansing and balancing Chakras, but they also know how difficult it can be to take on negative energy from their clients. Sometimes, it’s simply unavoidable. It can also be difficult to separate your clients’ lives and past hurts from your own.
Amethyst helps keep the channel of your spiritual energy flowing, so you can be sure your connection remains strong. This helps you stay grounded, focused, and spiritually “in your own lane” so that you are better able to focus on your clients’ needs without intermixing your own.
Amethyst Uses
The benefits and healing powers of Amethyst are vast, but sometimes it can be hard to know just how to put a crystal into practice in your everyday life.
You can use Amethyst like you’d use any of your other healing crystals and their meanings. Amethyst is great as a standalone crystal for reiki and meditation and also helps support balance when used in your home and office.
Amethyst in Ceremonies and Rituals
Sometimes, a crystal practically begs to be a part of your spiritual ceremony. While you should definitely allow those crystals into your practice, you can always add Amethyst as an accessory crystal to help keep spiritual channels open and help you find a deeper connection to your spirit guide.
Even if you are focusing on other spiritual work (for example, enhancing psychic intuition, working on past shadows and hurts, or even scrying), the addition of an Amethyst crystal is a welcome accessory to your practice.
Amethyst is an unassuming stone, so it will not interfere with other powerful crystals. Instead, it balances your experience, provides safety and reassurance, and helps keep spiritual channels flowing.
Amethyst in Home and Office
Amethyst is used in Feng Shui to promote wealth and fortune, but also to provide balance, promote harmony, and grant access to higher planes of energy. Using Amethyst in your home can help promote a calm and balanced vibration that makes your home the ultimate sanctuary of peace and protection for you and your family.
Placing Amethyst in your home should be done to increase peace, help family members feel stable and secure, and promote spiritual awareness. Placing Amethyst in the northeast corner of your home can help encourage spiritual growth. Placing it in the southeast will help support good fortune and wealth.
It’s also recommended you place Amethyst in your home in areas where there tends to be decision-making, heated discussions, or emotional imbalance. Placing crystals in bedrooms, near dinner tables, or even in living areas can promote conversation, soften mood, and temper emotions.
Amethyst in Jewelry
It goes without saying Amethyst healing jewelry is popular. In fact, since its use in ancient times, it has literally increased in demand from generation to generation.
It’s the birthstone for February and Aquarius birthstone. Those born in the second month of the year or under the Aquarian sign are especially drawn to the beauty and spirituality of the world’s favorite purple-hued crystal.
Note: if you want to learn more about other Zodiac birthstones or Birthstones by month, check out our complete guides.
Wearing Amethyst is a great way to make sure you are always feeling in control of your emotions. If you are facing a difficult situation at work or home, keeping Amethyst on your body can help you feel more stable, bring better focus and mental acuity, and help you make decisions based on facts instead of your feelings.
Wearing Amethyst earrings or hairpins can help keep your Third Eye and Crown Chakras open and clear throughout your day. The closer your crystals are to your Chakras, the more interaction they’ll have.
Amethyst rings and bracelets can help you avoid negativity and the transfer of negative energy when you meet new people and extend a hand to shake. It also gives you a line of defense when using your hands to write or type correspondence, giving you a better ability to bridle your tongue and restrain intense emotions.
Cleansing, Charging, and Activating Amethyst Crystals
Amethyst crystals need to be charged, cleaned, and activated to ensure they are always able to channel spiritual energy and regulate emotions properly. Over time and with continued usage, your Amethyst can become heavy with negative spiritual fog pulled from your own aura and the aura of others.
To ensure the best use of your Amethyst, plan to cleanse and recharge your crystals from time to time.
Before beginning your Amethyst cleansing, focus on a cleansing intention. A simple intention of cleansing your Amethyst stone of all negative energy that does not serve you, the greater good, or all good is an effective intention to help remove aural smog from your Amethyst crystal.
Here are some of the most popular and effective ways to cleanse your Amethyst crystals.
A Jet of Lukewarm Water
The use of water to cleanse crystals is popular and ritualistic. It’s an easy way to cleanse single stones, and Amethyst reacts positively to water-based cleansing as it's one of the water-safe crystals.
You can hold your Amethyst crystal firmly under a jet of lukewarm water while focusing or saying aloud your cleansing intention. Keep your crystal in the flow of water for a few minutes and allow it to air dry or pat dry. The running flow of water from your tap can cleanse your crystal.
Alternate Salt-Cleansing Methods
If you still want to use the purifying properties of salt to cleanse your Amethyst but would like to avoid soaking it in salt water, you can submerge your Amethyst in a bowl of salt. The salt will naturally draw out negativity and impurities from your crystal.
You should leave your Amethyst submerged in the salt for approximately 2-4 hours, depending on how much use your crystal has seen.
To cleanse your Amethyst with salt and avoid direct contact with the salt itself, fill a larger bowl with salt, and place a smaller, shallow bowl inside it. Place your Amethyst inside the smaller bowl and cover the two bowls with a towel. The salt will still be able to draw out impurities from the Amethyst, even though it isn’t touching the crystal.
You can leave your Amethyst in a contactless salt cleansing bowl overnight.
Moonlight
Amethyst loves lunar energy, so recharging your stone in the moonlight is a great option.
To cleanse your Amethyst with moonlight, sit your stone outdoors when the moon is the fullest and brightest. Because Amethyst is a grounding stone, sitting it directly on the earth will help it absorb cleansing lunar energy and send negative energy back into the earth.
If your Amethyst crystal becomes physically dirty, you can simply rinse it off and pat it dry.
With Clear Quartz
To fully recharge your stone, set it with Clear Quartz for two hours. The two crystals will interact and recharge, leading to a fully effective and clean stone.
Remember to hold your cleansing intention in your thoughts, or say it aloud while sound cleansing.
Smudging
Smudging is another great way to cleanse more than one stone at once. However, it’s also effective in cleansing a single crystal or stone.
To smudge-cleanse your Amethyst, light a fresh sage bundle and hold it safely in one hand. If you are cleansing a single stone, hold your intention in your thoughts or say it aloud as you pass the Amethyst through the smoke several times.
If you are cleansing numerous stones, wave the sage bundle over the stones to ensure the smoke has access to each crystal as you cleanse.
Geode Cleansing
You can cleanse your Amethyst crystal by setting it inside a geode. The Amethyst will cleanse and recharge by being inside the presence of other grounding stones. If you don’t have a geode, simply sitting your Amethyst among other stones is effective.
If you are using a geode cleansing method or are using other crystals to cleanse your Amethyst, make sure the crystals you are using are, themselves, clean and recharged. Using crystals that you haven’t used recently in your ceremonies and rituals is the best option.
Amethyst Cleansing Tips
Normally, you’ll want to cleanse and recharge your Amethyst on a regular basis. If you aren’t sure when you should be cleansing, look for signs. If you begin to feel stressed, less emotionally stable, or spiritually disconnected, it can be a good indication that your Amethyst needs to be cleansed.
While most any cleansing method will work, here are a few helpful hints.
- Avoid the sun. Sun can be damaging to your crystals, and Amethyst can be particularly sensitive to sun exposure. Sun can fade the color of your stone and even cause the formation of black spots. Sun is also thought to leach energy from Amethyst, so avoid keeping it in direct sunlight.
- Jewelry. When cleansing and recharging Amethyst jewelry, make sure you check with the manufacturer to ensure the hardware components and precious metals that adorn your Amethyst can tolerate the method of cleansing you select.
For instance, many precious metals should not be placed in water.
Safely cleansing and recharging your Amethyst crystal will help it last longer and remain effective.
Final Thoughts on Amethyst
Amethyst is a gentle yet powerful crystal, important to use in your meditative and ceremonial practices as well as your daily life. It helps keep you grounded and stable and provides a solid foundation for your daily decisions and spiritual work.
Using Amethyst helps keep the channel of spiritual energy flowing from your aura to the spirit realm. It helps keep you engaged spiritually and helps straighten out kinks in spiritual connection.
If you feel you have trouble connecting spiritually or feel like you're in a spiritual rut, Amethyst helps reopen the gateway so you can continue on your spiritual journey.
Amethyst helps strengthen the connection with your Third Eye and Crown Chakras, keeping them open, clear, and stabilizing them for other Chakra connections. Because there are physical ailments associated with imbalanced Chakras, Amethyst helps alleviate physical manifestations also.
Placing Amethyst on your body or in your room helps promote emotional control and stability, inner peace, and spirituality. Using it in your home and office will help you make better decisions and can also boost the peace and tranquility of those environments, helping those around you feel more connected and emotionally serene.
You can incorporate the use of Amethyst in your practice by selecting crystals that speak to you in vibration and color and by choosing jewelry pieces that are particularly attractive to you. Amethyst is a great addition to your collection and a great accessory in your spiritual practice.
