Facts about Amethyst for Parents, Teachers and Students
In this article we will provide 39 facts about Amethyst and try and provide you with all the info you may need about the topic. If you’re looking for Amethyst facts, keep reading below.
Amethyst is a purple variation of quartz minerals. This beautiful gemstone is adored for its attractive purple color, and people use it for ornamental purposes widely.
In the 1800s, Amethyst was popularly found in Brazil and had a higher value.
There are so many interesting things about this gemstone that you will be surprised to know. So let’s begin and find out these facts-
40 Facts about Amethyst for Parents, Teachers and Students
1. Amethyst is a member of the silicon dioxide or quartz family.
2. Amethysts are primarily composed of iron dioxide, and people believe that it gets their purple color from the iron in them.
3. Generally, Amethyst is transparent, but it can have inclusions making it look opaque.unday is also synonymous with Lord’s Day. I
4. Amethyst has a hexagonal crystal structure.
5. Amethyst is hugely valued and liked for the purple shade and adorned by most people.
6. The places where Amethyst is found in general are- Brazil, America (North Carolina), Canada (Ontario), Australia, Siberia, Sri Lanka, France, Russia, India, Mexico, Zambia, Morocco, Tanzania, Namibia, etc.
7. It is a very hard material, and in the Moh scale, its hardness level is seven.
8. Amethyst loses its color when heated, or it becomes yellowish in color.
9. The rock amethyst is considered the birthstone of Aquarius. So it is the birthstone of people who are born in the month of February.
10. Jasper and garnet are considered alternatives for amethysts.
11. Amethyst is a Greek word that means protection from drunkenness.
12. The name came from the word amethustos, and the exact meaning of the word is “without being drunken.”
13. It is believed that Amethyst protects people from evil and poison. It is good for curing headaches, recovering hearing, promoting good sleep, and more.
14. Other traits symbolized by Amethyst are- peace, courage, stability, strength, and balance.
15. In ancient beliefs, Roman women believed Amethyst could keep their husbands loyal, and some popes wore a rosary of Amethyst.
16. It was mentioned in the Book of Revelations that Amethyst was one of the foundation stones of New Jerusalem.
17. In ancient times Amethyst was called the “gem of fire” because people believed that it contained fire like energy.
18. In ancient Egypt, Amethyst was known as “Hemag.” It was worn during marriage ceremonies with a heart shape cut.
19. In Hebrew, Amethyst was called “Ahlamah.” The name was taken from the Hebrew word “halam.”
20. Amethyst is widely used in astrology to align planetary influences.
21. People also used to keep amethysts under their pillows to get rid of nightmares and insomnia.
22. Although purple is the dominant color of Amethyst, it is found in variations like reddish-purple, bluish-purple, and violet. The color of the Amethyst depends upon the absorption of the wavelength of light.
23. The power of Amethyst was acknowledged by the great artist Leonardo da Vinci as well. He said Amethyst has the power to quicken intelligence and dissipate evil thoughts.
24. The largest amethyst mine is located in North America in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
25. Amethyst was a principal ornamental stone in medieval churches, and it was in particular considered as the stone of the bishops.
26. In medieval times, soldiers used to wear amethysts before going to the war as they thought it would protect them.
27. Until the 18th century, Amethyst was considered the most valuable or cardinal gemstone to be used by royalty. It was deemed equivalent to diamond, ruby, emerald, etc. But after the discovery of huge amethyst mines around the globe, it has lost its prestigious honor.
28. Amethyst is used as a fashion accessory in different ways. People wear amethyst rings, earrings, use them in broaches, etc.
29. Amethyst was an adorned stone by royalty as well because the color purple symbolizes the regal hue.
30. There are numerous myths related to the creation of Amethyst. One of the stories says Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, was angry because somebody turned against him, and he was seeking revenge.
He ordered the first person to come across his path and said that one would be eaten by tigers. Then a beautiful maiden named Amethyst was coming down the path to worship goddess, Diana.
Diana was aware of the calamity that was about to happen, so she turned her into a stone called Amethyst. When Bacchus saw this incident, he regretted it and poured wine over the stone, making it purple in color.
31. Amethyst is sold in different forms like- clusters, tumbled stones, geode slices, faceted gemstones, beads.
32. The word geode in Greek means “shape of earth.”
33. In ancient times there used to be amethyst geodes that were shaped like the arch of a cathedral.
34. Each crystal inside an amethyst geode has six sides. The majority of the amethyst geodes in the world are found in Brazil.
35. The biggest amethyst cathedral in the world is called Empress of Uruguay. It weighs over 5000 pounds, and it is about 8 feet tall.
36. These amethyst geodes are high valued stones. Their price can differ from a few hundred to thousands of dollars.
37. The price depends upon the geode’s size, size of the crystal points, the richness of the color, thinness of the wall, range of defects, symmetry, and rare formations.
38. There are some feng shui beliefs about using Amethyst. According to it, the best place to keep Amethyst is in the North-East area. It is considered as the knowledge and wisdom area.
39. Amethyst’s color gets faded in the sunlight.
40. People who have paranoia or schizophrenia should not wear Amethyst.
Conclusion
Those were some of the interesting and fascinating facts about Amethyst. Amethyst is a widely used stone across many centuries due to its healing and protective power.
Also, until recently, it was considered a precious stone, just like rubies and diamonds. Hopefully, these facts about Amethyst were interesting enough and have helped you gain some knowledge about this beautiful purple gemstone.
