Friday, October 29, 2010

Amethyst

My roommate just got back from a trip in England and she brought me a piece of amethyst on a cord necklace. I have always had a kind of love for this stone. No matter what state it's in, polished or rough it's always beautiful. So I always knew amethyst brings good luck, but I wanted to know the full story on this stone... so I googled some things. What I found was actually pretty funny and ironic in a way.

In Greek mythology
Dionysus, the god of wine and song, was angry and vowed to slay the first mortal who crossed his path. That unlucky mortal was Amethyst, a beautiful maiden.
However, Artemis (goddess of virginity and the hunt) intervened and transformed Amethyst into white stone. When Dionysus saw what had happened, he repented and poured wine over the stone, staining the top of it purple. That is why the top of amethyst is purple and the bottom is white.
Though the story has other variations such as: The Goddess Diana transformed a beautiful young maiden, Amethyst, into a statue of pure quartz in an effort to protect her from vicious tigers created by the vengeful God, Dionysus. Dionysus having looked upon the results of his actions wept remorseful tears of wine upon the statue endowing the stone with the rich purple hue we know today. Dionysus as it happens was the God of Intoxication.

Amethyst purportedly Brings luck, Ensures constancy, Protects against magic, Prevents home-sickness, Protects against drunkenness, (the Greek word amethustos means "not drunk")
Leonardo da Vinci wrote that the gem dissipates evil thoughts and quickens the intelligence -- high praise indeed.

Night one of wearing the stone...no such luck. Maybe it takes a few days to fully kick in...
Oh well...at least it still looks cool :)

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